Coffee by Tate

Started in 2011, our small roastery team focuses on sourcing and roasting high-quality specialty coffees, grown by inspirational producers and enjoyed across Tate spaces.

As part of Tate Eats, all profits made by the roastery are donated back to Tate. Every coffee or service you purchase therefore supports both the farmers we work with at origin and the gallery itself.

Our range includes coffees from individual, community and family producers, reflecting the seasonality and diversity of coffee grown around the world. Our sourcing is guided by our Gender Equality Project, which celebrates its 10th anniversary in 2026.

In 2016 we started our Gender Equality Project, pledging to source at least 50% of our coffee from Female producers. This project has introduced us to some incredible producers and coffees that may have been missed through standard sourcing procedure.

To launch the GEP we worked with importers DRWakefield and Brazilian exporters SMC to create a blend from three female producers – Trio de Mulheres. We are proud to still have this coffee as a part of our core offer every year and we still work with producers from that first blend.

To celebrate a decade of this project we have put together some special releases from producers we have worked with across the last ten years.

Carmen Lúcia

Fazenda Caxambu is a farm owned by the De Brito family. Carmen Lúcia Chaves de Brito, otherwise affectionately known as ‘Ucha’, focuses her efforts on variety and processing management. She has a deep understanding of complexity in coffee, the micromanagement of flavour and quality through each stage of the process, from developing new varieties in her “experimental field”, to pushing the boundaries of flavour with experimental processing methods.

This coffee is a study in both varietal expression and processing, produced as an experiment with Dionathan Almeida, 2024’s World Cup Tasting Champion. Cherries are picked and then defined by maturation at collection via a laser colour sorter. Placed under banana and mango trees, temperature stability is created by protection from the direct heat of the sun. The cherries are then wrapped in banana leaves and undergoregular checks while they ferment over 72 hours. Once complete, they are taken to concrete patios and dried over 12 days. Research conducted on the farm with Dionathan and Professor Flavio Borem showed that this is the crucial point at which gasses are exchanged between the cherry and husk, and where a natural coffee develops its distinctive character.

We have been working with Ucha since the first year of the GEP and are thrilled to have sourced this unique coffee to celebrate this ten-year milestone.

Manassés Sampaio Dias

We have sourced coffee from Manassés a number of times, starting the relationship back in 2016. The coffee Manassés’ produces certainly speaks volumes about his dedication to quality and understanding of farm management.

Sítio Três Barras has belonged to Manassés’ family for at least 70 years when his grandparent, José Caetano Dias, acquired a small lot in the region, originally cultivating potatoes and peppers. Besides the farm’s main activity of potato cultivation, José had high hopes for coffee cultivation and, in the 1950’s, planted around five thousand trees but because he didn’t get good yields, the crop was discontinued. It wasn’t until 2001 that Manassés’ father, Artesio Sampaio Dias, decided to give it another go. The farm has been producing coffee ever since!

Alongside our own production we also host a collective of slot roasters who lease out our roastery space ranging from small businesses looking to take their first steps in roasting, to established multi-site cafes. We offer clients our advice and support to give an accessible and affordable route into coffee production.

We also offer contract and white label coffee production, where we will assist with sourcing, profiling, and roasting coffee on your behalf.

If you are interested in any of the coffees or services Coffee by Tate can offer, then get in touch with our team at coffee@tate.org.uk.