About Campbell and Syme
Campbell & Syme is a roastery with a big heart and a London-based coffee shop filled with smiles. Their work doesn't just culminate in the production of good quality coffee, but also in the support of many projects aimed at protecting our planet.
The company was started in 2013 by Joe Syme and his mum Patricia with the goal of creating a space in London's East Finchley borough where everyone feels welcomed and appreciated. Where you can get coffee that's been roasted to a unique perfection and that's been prepared with love and care. A year later, Joe and Patricia were joined by roasters Jon Cowell and Duma Mathema. Today, their team comprises of 8 members who are constantly striving to educate themselves, to grow and to reach their goals and visions. And if there's one thing that everyone at Cambell & Syme always makes a point of, it's to do everything with a smile. No one will leave their coffee shop without being endowed with a warm smile (and a warm cup of coffee of course). As they say themselves: "When we started the company in 2013, little we knew about actual coffee roasting. We knew that coffee can taste incredibly sweet & juicy when its distinctive flavours are highlighted and that people will come and try our product if we smile and make them feel welcome and appreciated. Speciality shouldn't be exclusive, it's about sharing experience, exchange of conversations. A lot changed since then. Our company has grown over the years with people adding their valuable skills and knowledge, but our key values stay the same. We roast wonderful coffees grown by superstar farmers, we smile at our customers (lots of them became friends over the years) and we appreciated the opportunity to do what we love."
The journey from seed to cup is very long and laborious- hundreds of hands tending coffee on this journey. First farmers, to collectors, producers, exporters; then to traders and importers, people through logistics and administration, quality control; and finally to the roasters and baristas. And then, at the end of this long journey is you, the coffee-loving customers. Although this magical journey is fascinating, Campbell & Syme do not consider it magic, according to them, exceptional coffee doesn't just happen on its own. They argue that there is a collective effort behind all this. Sharing and learning together, which results in an overlap in our daily lives. That's why C&S prides itself o providing fair remuneration - and not just that. They pay premium prices for their coffee, higher than the price of production, which ensures a space for funding local life-enhancing projects for people who are not doing as well as the people who work at the end of this journey. It ensures a better salary for farmers and harvesters, who can afford not only a higher quality of life but also the development of the farm and coffee production as such.
Campbell & Syme is involved in as many projects as possible, all with the goal of increasing the sustainability of their industry:
"ONE TREE PLANTED"
One Tree Planted is a non-profit organization focused on global reforestation. For every 1kg sold, C&S donates £1 to One Tree Planted: Who in turn plant 1 tree for every dollar they are gifted. So far C&S has helped plant 644 trees in the Shakisso region in Ethiopia and 980 trees in the region of Nelson Mejia Cordova in the Peruvian Andes.
"BIO-BEAN"
Bio-bean collects all of C&S' used coffee grounds to transform the (otherwise) waste product into coffee logs (burning more efficiently than kiln-dried wood and provide a sustainable alternative to conventional solid fuels), coffee pellets (used in biomass boilers to generate heat and energy) and into biodiesel for some of the London buses. By recycling the waste coffee grounds, we release 80% fewer emissions than sending the
"PROJECT WATERFALL"
Project Waterfall is a charitable initiative working to bring clean water, sanitation and education to coffee-growing communities across the world. 785 million people around the world don’t have access to clean water. The majority live in isolated, rural areas – the same areas growing our coffee. Since 2011 Project Waterfall has raised over £1 million, changing over 37,000 lives in Nicaragua, Tanzania, Rwanda, Vietnam, Uganda, Kenya and Ethiopia. In partnership with Project Waterfall, C&S have also introduced a 10p paper cup charge for takeaway drinks which encourages us all to reduce our waste by bringing a re-usable cup. All the proceeds go to Project Waterfall.
REUSABLE SCHEME & CO2 NEUTRAL SHIPPING
C&S have two approaches to waste. To reduce the unnecessary waste, they introduced reusable tubs and crates instead of single-use bags and boxes to our local wholesale family and where they need to ship, they re-use boxes that they receive deliveries in. We ship in recycled enviro-boxes that use less material when we cannot re-use. We have reduced the packaging & cardboard consumption by 60% in the last two years. You can return used coffee bags directly in their cafes where they can be reused. Parcels that cannot be delivered in person are delivered using a DPD CO2 neutral service- the same amount of emissions that are produced in the process are counterbalanced by investment into projects that reduce carbon footprint.
To those who would like to hear a little more about C&S, this video is for you: