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About Redemption Roasters

Redemption Roasters is roastery located in UK. More precisely behind the bars of HM Prison The Mount. 

We already know that prisoners are 50% more likely to reoffend if they leave prison without skills and a job. And we definitely know that in specialty coffee, people need exceptional skills. Enter Redemption Roasters, the world’s first behind bars coffee company. We were approached by the Ministry of Justice to help address the state of reoffending through coffee. Our roastery is inside the walls of HMP the Mount and our network of barista academies operate in justice sector institutions across the country.

What you do?

At our roastery at HMP The Mount, we train residents in barista, coffee production, and roasting skills as well as roasting incredible coffee for our London coffee shops and our network of over 100 wholesale clients. We also run barista academies at 9 other prisons.

Why are you doing this?

The UK’s re-offending rates are amongst the highest in the western world, and it’s costly on both a national and personal level. 46% of prisoners in England and Wales go on to commit another crime within one year of being released. Reoffending costs the Treasury an estimated £4.5 billion every year (£131,000 for every re-offender). Only 36% of prisoners manage to find work within two years of being released. If prisoners do find employment, they are 50% less likely to return to prison. There is always a job for a good barista or roaster. That’s why we are doing this. We want to show the coffee community and the world that a positive commercial environment can be created behind bars and that exceptional specialty coffee can come from places and people you wouldn’t expect.

Who actually roast the coffee?

Our roasting team led by our main roaster Ross. He personally oversees each batch and takes care of our coffee offering. Apprentices are immersed in all elements of the roasting process and their involvement, with increasing experience, is increasing.

Isn't it just 'cheap labour'?

No. Roasting coffee in a prison is expensive. The additional costs associated with more complex logistics, increased staff, education provision and management time means our roastery costs per kg of coffee roasted are higher than for comparable companies operating outside a prison. We do not achieve greater economic efficiencies through our prison-based facility; that’s not our aim. Instead, we recognise that the value for our business is in the unique story of social good behind our product and brand loyalty that it creates with customers. Our business is successful because our customers and clients buy into our ethos, not because we have no costs.

Isn't this just marketing? Are you actually making a difference?

Absolutely not, and yes. Work initiatives in prison, generally speaking, are not as good as they need to be. Common examples of work done by prisoners in the UK are: sorting recycling or waste, mail-related manual tasks and call handling. There are some examples of educational work initiatives, especially in the building trade, but much more needs to be done. Mundane work neither teaches hard skills, nor does it foster enthusiasm for work. Our training does both. We are teaching real skills to our learners that they can immediately make use of upon their release, equipping them for an industry always on the lookout for staff. Moreover, we provide direct employment opportunities for ex-offenders on release. You can read more about our outcomes in our most recent Social Impact Report.

Are the prisoners who work with you paid? How much are they paid?

All prisoners are all paid for work undertaken during their sentence pursuant to The Prisoners’ Earnings Act 1996. We as a company do not have any influence on the amount any individual apprentice is paid, neither are we allowed to pay them directly. We see our value in the opportunities we provide for education and employment post-release.We pay a fee to HMP The Mount in order to operate there. Part of this contributes to residents’ pay.When we employ any ex-offender on the outside, they are paid on exactly the same scale as other employees.

Do people at prison drink your coffee?

Yes. Tasting and appreciation (through drinking!) is a central part of our apprentices’ training. We also run a small coffee shop for the prison community.

What is your longterm goals?

We hope do this in coming years:

• increase amount of coffee that we roast so we can say that this project is growing
• recruit and train as many offenders as possible
• find job for our apprentice after their release and see them living life where they don't have to break the law
• see one of our apprentice in barista/coffee competitionand eventually open a chain of cafes where most of the staff will be ex-offenders
  

What is the story behind your name and logo?

The two R's are brought together from the brand name which forms into a keyhole to represent the "unlocking of a prison door and the unlocking of untapped potential". The logo is also shaped to reflect the silhouette of a coffee roaster.⁠

What is the hardest part about being a roastery?

There are many challenges with being a roastery but I think the hardest challenge we have is also our USP - roasting inside a prison. There are times when the logistics are challenging, but the reward is working with inmates and seeing the joy and purpose it gives them when hope and opportunity is low. We have seen some real successes with many of our graduates going on to pursue careers in the industry upon release, or at least giving them the confidence to pursue other opportunities that they may not have seen they had before.

What is the one thing people still don’t get about coffee?

There are plenty of things consumers still don't get about coffee - but I think the biggest thing is the difference between specialty and commodity. There is a big gap in general knowledge for the majority of coffee drinkers - people are passionate about coffee as a habitual beverage, but the distinction between good coffee and mediocre coffee requires them to buy into the idea of specialty. The challenge here for specialty roasters is to have clear messaging and a language that is easy to understand - I think that we too often make it sound more complicated than it really is. We need people to buy into the idea without feeling threatened by their lack of knowledge - we need to be more welcoming and open to a wider audience!

Which one thing do you wish you’d done differently since starting a roasting business?

Hired quicker. We probably spent too much time carrying out a lot of functions ourselves and there was an opportunity cost of this.

Is there a person in the industry people should know about?

I’ll change my answer to this to a place, if that’s ok? My favourite cafe is Friends of Ours in Hoxton. It’s quite near my house. Incredible coffee and Michelin star-worthy food for a tenner. More people should know about them.

What’s been your biggest failure?

We tried to set up a company selling specialty coffee in South Germany. That was a bit of a mistake as the market wasn’t really ‘ready’ for it. I guess there’s such a thing as entering a market too quickly. Also, I always think it’s a shame when a new team member (whether an ex-prisoner or not) doesn’t work out. It’s only happened a few times but you always wonder what you could have done differently to give them a better chance of success.

What are you most proud of?

We have now placed or employed over 40 ex-offenders who completed our training program. Notable successes include one of our trainees from Aylesbury who now works as a head roaster and a graduate from our HMP Spring Hill academy who was promoted to supervisor at Redemption. We will continue to do more! Assuming we successfully negotiate the Coronavirus situation, that will be our best achievement. We have 50 employees and saving 50 jobs is important.

How will the specialty coffee market look like in 2025?

Tough to say with everything that is happening now with Covid-19. I think a bigger question is what will the industry look like post coronavirus. There are bound to be some casualties, but the positives I see are the increase in consumers brewing coffee at home, which in turn will see an increase in interest in specialty roasters as people shop around to try different coffees.

Tell us little bit about “The Cup” - best cup of coffee you’ve ever tasted?

My best cup of coffee wasn't necessarily the best I've tasted, but it was full of romance! Whilst on a sourcing trip in Colombia a couple of years ago I was lucky enough to visit a farm we had purchased from previously - and we bought a bag of their coffee back to brew for them. They in turn brewed us a coffee - which really was all the low grade stuff they can't sell - but it didn't matter - it was the joy of sharing a cup with each other.