The 2024 Grounds of Innovation Award winners have been unveiled – celebrating coffee shops that don’t just serve coffee, but create vibrant, buzzing hubs for their communities.

For the second year, with the help of an esteemed panel of judges, BRITA scoured the UK for the most forward-thinking, trend-setting coffee spots. The results are in, and the top ten most innovative coffee shops in the UK have been revealed as:

Mother Espresso, Liverpool
A speciality coffee spot using locally sourced ingredients to fuel their food menu with a community-focused vibe

Redemption Roasters, London
A roastery and café reducing reoffending in the UK through coffee through training to ensure long-term employment within the coffee industry

Hart’s Bakery, Bristol
An artisan bakery working out of a large Victorian railway arch at Temple Meads station in Bristol

Batch Baby, London
A coffee shop celebrating global roasteries with events to match

Carnival Coffee Roasters, London
A neighbourhood coffee shop and roastery

Steep Street Coffee House, Folkstone
A literary coffee shop inspired by the famous book cafés of Paris

Viv’s Coffee, London
A purpose driven shop supporting female owned roasteries

Cabinet Rooms, Winchester
A family-run café-bar with a range of inclusive events

Kin Coffee, Kent
A welcoming sustainable roastery and coffee spot

Ola Coffee Co, Reading
Great coffee with no single use-products

Being the only award of its kind in the sector, BRITA Professional assembled an elite panel of coffee industry titans to help narrow down the shortlist and create the top 10 ranking:
Alex Bell, Editor at Café Life
Alex Dalton, Founder at Rascal Coffee
Howey Gill, Head of Coffee at Grind
Ben Lewis, award-winning barista and latte artist

Mother Espresso, which took the top spot, was praised for its ingenuity in repurposing excess products to make items for their menu, such as using coffee leaf to brew their own kombucha. The team also believe they have created the world’s first fruited pastry cold brew, further showcasing their commitment to innovation.

As recognition for their creativity and innovation, Mother Espresso will receive a latte art masterclass from award-winning Ben Lewis, a delicious coffee bundle from sustainable coffee brand Grind and an exclusive coffee tasting experience by Guatemalan roastery, Rascal Coffee.
The top three ranked cafés, Mother Espresso, Redemption Roasters and Hart’s Bakery, will each win a PURITY C iQ filter from BRITA, the world’s first data-driven intelligent filtration system designed to ensure cafés deliver consistently great tasting coffee.

What makes a great café?
BRITA Professional’s research into what draws customers to one coffee shop over another shaped the award criteria, revealing the top factors:

Great coffee (60%)
A convenient location (47%)
Interactive events (45%)
Good value for money coffee (26%)
A café or coffee shop that is tailored to their hobbies (24%)

To view the full list of winners and learn more about the top three, visit: www.brita.co.uk/grounds-of-innovation-2024