New Ground was founded in 2017 when Dickon and Joel combined a passion for social justice with a passion for great coffee.
It's well documented that prisoners are much more likely to re-offend after release if they are without training and jobs. That's where New Ground fits in. We roast high grade, speciality coffee in Oxford and offer training and work opportunities for ex-offenders across the Thames Valley. We buy quality and ethical green beans and roast them to bring out the unique characteristics of each coffee. We use profits to fund training and guide ex-offenders into a long term, sustainable future.
We have a very strong ethical and sustainable focus to provide a variety of exciting coffees. We work with small-scale farmers who produce the best coffees around the world, and ensure that these farmers are paid fairly and their communities are positively impacted.
We work hard to get the most out of each coffee, and so each one is roasted differently to fully develop all the flavours, and to showcase what makes them distinct. The resulting cup should be clean and clear - but we’ll let you be the judge of that.
Can you please introduce your roastery in few short sentences?
Roastery based in Oxford, UK, serving up a variety of high grade single origins. We use this company as base to train and employ guys coming out of prison and help them into back into normal life
What is the story behind your name and logo?
New Ground is a bit of a play on the word ground - obviously a widely used word in coffee, but also providing New Ground for ex-offenders. The logo is kind of a mountain theme, as good coffee tends to be grown at altitude,.
What is the hardest part about being a roastery?
Logistics...there's a lot coming in and going out each day, in various forms.
What is the one thing people still don’t get about coffee?
The amazing amount of man hours that go into making each bean taste amazing - from growing, to processing, to roasting and finally brewing.
Which one thing do you wish you’d done differently since starting a roasting business?
It has been such a huge learning curve, building a roasting business and though making mistakes, we have learned so much and come out stronger the other side, so I wouldn't have done anything differently.
Is there a person in the industry people should know about?
Josh Tarlo from Kiss the Hippo is a bit of a legend. Probably the friendliest and most open guy in the business.
What’s been your biggest failure?
I don't really see many things as failures, only things that can be learnt from - like our first release of Columbia, rather than Colombia - d'oh.
What are you most proud of?
Seeing our guys who have come out of prison excelling and thriving within the coffee industry is pretty special.
How will the specialty coffee market look like in 2025?
Hopefully fewer chains, selling coffee that takes advantage of farmers. I'd love to live in a world where every single coffee shop that I can go into, is serving totally transparent coffee, where I know that every person through the supply chain has been paid and treated fairly.
Tell us little bit about “The Cup” - best cup of coffee you’ve ever tasted?
Our first ever roast on the Loring. It wasn't the perfect roast, or best coffee, but it was a momentous one.