Business Gateway back Fife man's thriving eco-friendly coffee bean business

Paul Armour used to supply his products on Kirkcaldy Esplanade before moving into new premises in St Clair Street where he operates a retail coffee bean shop, and can focus on the wholesale side of the business supplying coffee shops, restaurants and hotels with bespoke premium coffee blends.

The move came with the backing of Business Gateway.

Paul, who has 20 years of experience in the coffee trade, used to run the Caledonia Coffee Shop in the west end of Kirkcaldy High Street.

He launched Ecobean in 2018 when he converted an old horse box and installed a small coffee roaster and espresso machine.

He took it out to customers on Kirkcaldy’s Promenade, roasting coffee onsite and designing new blends.

He can still be seen at weekend farmers and artisan markets throughout Fife where he has developed a regular client base.

As a client of Business Gateway Fife, Paul was supported by adviser Stephen Mitchell and given advice through Digital Boost for his website and access to Trade Development Support for a national food and drink trade show.

Paul said: “I am grateful to the support given to me by Stephen who helped guide me through the different options for assistance that were available to me. It helped me enormously to focus on the main priorities.

“Our focus is the craft of roasting ethically sourced coffees using innovative eco-friendly roasting techniques. We are also dedicated to reducing our negative impact on the earth and supporting the communities that took part in the coffee production process.

“We strive to bring environmentally friendly coffee solutions to the forefront of consumers’ minds.

“That's why we use EcoRoast Technology - a carbon neutral, zero waste process that harnesses the energy of waste coffee grounds that would normally have been sent to landfill. The unique, innovative coffee roasting technology uses this energy to power the Eco-Roaster, producing one of the most environmentally friendly coffees in the world.”

In keeping with the ethos of Ecobean to help reduce the impact that coffee consumption has on the planet, the business is working with The Ecology Centre in Kinghorn to use the waste coffee grounds as compost for their allotments.

Paul added: “We are dedicated to reducing the plastic packaging we use so we have introduced our EcoTubs to wholesale customers.

“Rather than delivering coffee to cafes and coffee shops in six one kilo plastic bags, the coffee is now delivered in six Kilo ecotubs, removing six plastic bags from landfill. In addition, these customers also receive empty tubs to collect their used coffee grinds in, thus preventing them from going to landfill.

“Over 500,000 tonnes of used coffee grinds are put to landfill each year in the UK.

“Once we deliver a fresh ecotub of coffee, we also collect the tub of used grinds and deliver them to the ecology centre to compost, a complete Zero Waste Coffee Solution.”

For more information on Ecobean, check out www.ecobean.co.uk

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