The smell of fresh coffee beans filled the air of the 200 Degrees roastery as glasses were raised to celebrate 10 years of the Nottingham coffee company on Thursday, October 14. The coffee brand has become one of Nottingham's best-known brands.
The celebrations saw customers, family and friends gather to raise an espresso martini to co-founders Rob Darby and Tim Vincent. What started as one cafe in the Flying Horse Arcade has now spread to an impressive 17 locations.
Despite Covid restrictions, Brexit and now the cost of living crisis, the brand has gone from strength to strength. 200 Degrees has three locations across Nottingham along with their recently renovated roastery on Meadow Lane.
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Rob Darby, CEO and co-founder of 200 Degrees, is hugely proud of the business and how many staff they support. He says the creation of the brand came from the search for a decent cuppa.
"We founded the business in the search for better coffee when we realised people were looking for more refinement. We wanted better coffee and also, better kit and training, too, which we hadn't been able to find. The coffee out there was very variable in quality and the only kits meant to press a button and you are done," he explained.
"We created 200 Degrees to solve a lot of the problems for us as coffee customers. We learned to roast, then we eventually had a product we could try with our customers for free in exchange for feedback on what they thought. We developed our products that are our house blend and the brand before opening shops."
He added: "I'm proud when I see how many people we employ and the number of rent payments, and mortgages that this supports. There is a lot of hard work that goes into it and we have such an amazing team. We've come a long way and we have so many wonderful people that deliver the 200 Degrees experience."
It's been a consistently difficult time for the hospitality sector thanks to Covid restrictions and now the cost of living. Rob says it's hard not to notice that the cost has increased but it means being adaptable to survive, which is something 200 Degrees excels at.
"When Covid first arrived, it felt like the world had ended. It really was a horrible time but when we look back on it, we had a great business and really good people. We did use the furlough scheme because we had tons of shops that had to close but we were able to grow our online presence so it gave us time to do that so that was a silver lining.
"The underlying costs are going nuts now and you can't hide from that. Bean prices alone are up 25% along with milk prices and others in our supply chain. It's getting more expensive and hard to source things or you have trouble with packaging. It's physically hard to get hold of the things we need to trade so it's not an easy time and feels like a massive curveball after Covid."
Alex Spampinato has been working in 200 Degrees for seven years after stumbling across the brand with his wife. He instantly recognised that the business had what it took to be truly successful. He started out on the shop floor in Flying Horse Walk before moving up into various different jobs in management - he is now the head of wholesale customer training.
"I started as a wholesale customer but my wife and I found the brand while out walking in Nottingham and I hadn't noticed it before. I went in and really liked what they were doing. I thought, if these people keep doing what they are doing, they are going to do very well for themselves."
Part of the reason 200 Degrees is known for excellent coffee is due to the high level of training and exceptional knowledge of the staff. Alex says staff are always on hand to explain all things caffeine related but people need to ask more coffee questions.
"One of the things I love about the coffee industry is that we are here to educate you. If people aren't sure what is going on then we can educate and explain the difference between a long black or Americano. We can show you there is a difference between a flat white or latte in that there is less milk so you can go, great I'll have one of those," he said.
"No one ever explains this to you but at 200 Degrees, we are all about education. This is why we have the Barista Schools and we are in the process of getting higher-end certifications with the training. At the same time, it's about asking, is there anything we can help you with? when we see people looking at things."
"When you go into an Indian restaurant and there are all of these things on the menu, they have little descriptions on them to help you choose. Being able to have that same experience going into a coffee shop and knowing the difference between these things because someone has explained it to you in a professional manner makes all the difference in the world."
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