Title:

Founder and roast-master
Union Hand-Roasted

Areas of expertise:

Making exceptional coffee the norm

Interests:

Gadgets and gizmos, anything tecchie and loves good whisky

 

Jeremy was born and brought up in Nottingham. He began his career as an optician until he spent some time in San Francisco and found his true calling. One of the things that really stood out for him was the difference between the 'speciality' coffees he discovered and what was generally available in the U.K. So giving up a 10 year career as a practicing optician, Jeremy began working full time for Peet's Coffee & Tea, the region's premier coffee roaster & retailer.

In the spring of 1995 after returning to the U.K. Jeremy, along with partner Steven Macatonia established Torz & Macatonia Gourmet Coffee Roasters. Clients included many of the most respected chefs and Michelin-starred restaurants in the country.

As the emerging coffee culture began to burgeon, demand for good quality espresso on the high street grew quickly - leading to the launch of the Seattle Coffee Company. This company, the first chain of coffee shops in the UK, soon became a customer of Torz & Macatonia.

In the spring of 1997, Torz & Macatonia merged with Seattle Coffee Company and oversaw all sourcing, roasting and blending decisions. Just one year later the group was the subject of acquisition by Starbucks Wholesale; Jeremy was appointed Sales & Marketing Director responsible for sales strategy, overseeing the entry of Starbucks Coffee into the UK foodservice environment.

In July 2000, Jeremy left Starbucks and after taking time out to travel with Steven, who also left the company, it became clear that coffee was still their true passion. Revisiting some of the hopes, dreams and excitement behind the launch of Torz and Macatonia, Jeremy and Steven decided to re-enter the coffee business as independent artisan coffee roasters.

This time they wanted to work directly with farmers and growers. They realised that to produce exceptional coffees they would need to directly source the beans from the farmers and set up sustainable trading systems. From this concept of forming a 'union' with the farmers, the company was born - in September 2001 - Union Hand-Roasted.