How it all started?
Out of curiosity and love for delicious coffees
Tereza and Jon first met working in a small coffee roastery in London. This was after several years working in various areas of the coffee industry.
Tereza began her coffee journey as a part-time barista whilst studying and quickly fell down the rabbit hole. Becoming a barista trainer and later finding herself volunteering at a Brazilian coffee farm. Her true passion now lies in responsible coffee buying and storytelling, and improving sustainability within our supply chains as well as operations.
Jon was first introduced to speciality coffee in Sweden, working in a high-end coffee equipment store, surrounded by passionate coffee professionals driving the local speciality coffee scene. Eventually pursuing a career in roasting after moving back to the UK and now being our head roaster and the key person responsible for ensuring we're constantly pushing to better consistency and quality of our roasting.
When in early 2016 the opportunity came to purchase a second hand roaster, we decided it was time to start our own venture outside of London and our heart was set on the vibrant seaside town of Margate. We wanted to bring more delicious coffee to Kent (Jon’s home county), better not only for drinkers but also producers and the planet. And Curve was born at the back of Cliffs - a multipurpose space hosting a cafe, hair salon and at the time also a yoga studio. Around a year later, we added a cafe premises to our operations. A place where we could meet with our local community face to face and showcase all the wonderful coffees we get to work with.
Fast forward to 2025, we still run both sides of our operations, now in larger and improved premises. Our team, roastery and cafe combined, has grown to the current total of 15 (including the both of us). We’ve established and are striving to nurture a wonderful community of customers in Kent, London and around the UK whilst constantly working on improving our sourcing practices, operations and impact.
Our big ambition?
To make coffee kinder
We love living in time when the quality of coffee produced around the world continues to improve and cutting edge processing methods expand flavour possibilities. At the same time, it’s important to acknowledge that the modern coffee industry was built on extractive practices and significant inequalities still exist today.
Most coffee on which the global industry depends is grown in rural communities in low- and middle-income countries, yet only a small share of the value generated makes it back to producing regions. Furthermore, conventional coffee production - sun-grown monocultures supported by synthetic fertilisers, herbicides, and fungicides - degrades the very ecosystems on which it depends. Meanwhile, nearly half of world’s smallholder coffee farmers live at or below the poverty line with an even greater number failing to earn a living income.
Making coffee kinder starts with acknowledging these realities and doing what we can to help accelerate change. Starting with improving value for the people who grow coffee and working towards a system where everyone has the chance to thrive.
Visiting our supplier partners - El Zapoteco Cafe in Sierra Juarez, Oaxaca, Mexico. The community is here represented by their leaders - farther & son - Romulo (left) and Alejandro Chavez.
Delivering consistently great coffee is at the heart of what we do, but quality has to go hand in hand with responsibility. Without producers and their work, we simply wouldn’t exist. That’s why we’re committed to long-term buying relationships, paying fair prices, investing in equitable supply chains, and supporting projects that contribute to sustainable local development. We also aim to work in ways that protect ecosystems and biodiversity, including supporting regenerative farming practices that help protect ecosystems and strengthen communities.
For us, sustainability means looking at the whole picture — people, planet, and product. Alongside our sourcing, we’re continually finding ways to reduce the environmental impact of our operations and support environmental protection projects where we can make a meaningful difference. As a small business, we know this is an ongoing process, and we’re always learning and improving — in our sourcing, in our operations, and in how we show up for the people we work with.
Our aim is to help build a coffee industry that’s more resilient, more equitable, and better equipped to care for the people and landscapes it depends on. Every purchase you make contributes to this mission! Thank you for joining our journey
