After leaving his native Ireland and taking up posts in coffee training Rob Dunne was part of the team that established Tapped and Packed as a major force on the London scene before setting up Dunne Frankowski with Victor Frankowski. Their simple coffeebar in Shoreditch is like an experimental lab of coffee taste focussing on presentation, service and design. They have worked in consultancy as well as in training and educating the public and industry.
Phil W: What do you think were the key factors in the development of the London independent coffee scene?
Rob: From my external observations it was predominately the movements of a tiny core group of people looking for more variety of coffee and a higher quality of coffees within the London scene. Monmouth had been paving the way for many years, laying a solid foundation for others to stand on and improve upon. It was the introduction of SquareMile which initially offered the only alternative for Independents thus acting as the catalyst which produced today’s ever expanding cafe scene within London. SquareMile introduced a higher standard, with a cultural mix up of English / Scandinavian coffee knowledge. For me these core people were, Hoffmann, Morrissey , Anette Moldvaer, and Tim Williams at that time at Climpson & Sons. Flat White proving coffee was not just coffee in 2005.
PW: Why did it happen when it did?
Rob: James Hoffmann led the way with a determined approach for improvement via competition, pushing boundaries and planting seeds for future growth, establishing Square Mile Roastery in 2007, This introduction to an alternative coffee, style and approach began a push for quality. Coupled with the attention from the WBC pole position, the ball began to roll. The following year on winning the WBC two years running with Stephen Morrissey smashed the ball into the back of the net, securing London as a coffee authority world wide.
PW: What were the key events?
Rob: WBC awareness, coffee variety, consideration to espresso preparation, increased competition, a small but growing community which was more then willing to share and advice one another, just like the movements which started this movement 7 years prior in Norway.
PW: How did you first get interested in great coffee?
Rob: I studied printing management & design. As I studied, like most students, I got a part time job as a chef in a cafe. This job began to take up more and more of my so called social life. It made me realise that I could see myself in the hospitality industry and be happy. At this point I hated coffee, I had never tasted a single coffee I could appreciate. I began to study tea, coming to London to study with the UK Tea Council, understanding the subtle details in tea, I realised coffee had to be more interesting and that preparation was key… Long story short, I attended caffee culture in 2008, attended a latte art class hosted by an unknown Irishman, who inspired me and prompted me to leave Ireland, “Go to Kenya,” he said and learn about coffee. One month later this Irishman became the world barista champion, convincing me that there was a career to follow in coffee, that man was Stephen Morrissey, the legend.
PW: How do you feel about the London coffee scene right now?
Rob: It has evolved to a point where the standards across the board are higher on the whole. But this expansion seems to be less knowledge based and more mimicking what was laid down before it. There is a repetition that I find boring and uninspiring, bar design that doesn’t interest me, I see little or no creativity, consideration to the customers experience or understanding of the product. I see a group of cafes that all follow one another but have little or no interaction with each other. I see cafes that unknown to them are still taking from a Starbucks model regarding counter display, till positioning and customer conversation, I do not see anything special, I see a confused industry, not just in London but everywhere. I wish to see a division in design, and service from that of the high street chains, having a speciality branded coffee bag on your serve does not make you special. This mentally has been used for years by brands like Illy & Lavaza .
PW: What do you see happening in the future?
Rob: I would like to see individual spaces, places that are calming and social, conversational and focused on interaction with the bar and product itself. But I’m afraid the future will just be an expansion of a standard market selling “specialty coffee”, keeping its speed focused service, poorly considered food menus, salads and soup. When quality coffee is solely associated with a pain au chocolate and toast, I am afraid that we have already confused and mislead ourselves. The high street will slowly be surely take aspects of what we do and make it commercial.. Hello Harris + Hoole .
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