Lime came to us with a straightforward request: make the coffee better. Their UK operations hubs had grown quickly, the teams were putting in long days, and the coffee situation — a shared kettle, a tin of granules, a box of long-life milk — wasn't keeping pace with the energy in the room.
What started as a simple sourcing brief became something more interesting.
The Brief
Lime's UK facilities lead wanted a consistent specialty coffee set-up across three London hubs — Stratford, Bermondsey, and Park Royal — without the complexity of full espresso bars or trained baristas on shift. The coffee had to be good enough to make people happy, simple enough for anyone to operate, and sourced in a way that aligned with Lime's sustainability commitments.
Budget: sensible. Timeline: six weeks to first cup.
What We Did
Sourcing
We spoke to eight UK roasters before recommending Curve Coffee in Bristol. Their approach to traceable sourcing, consistent roast quality, and wholesale reliability was the right fit. We negotiated a monthly subscription model — two origins rotating by quarter — with cupping notes and staff cards included in each delivery. Lime's teams now know what they're drinking and where it's from.
Equipment
We specified a Moccamaster batch brewer for each location — reliable, repairable, genuinely good — alongside a hand grinder for the occasional pour-over when someone fancies a slower moment. No espresso machines. No steam wands. No one calling IT because the touchscreen's playing up.
Training
A half-day session at each hub. Not barista training — coffee literacy. How to grind and dose correctly, what the water temperature is doing to the cup, when to adjust and when to leave it alone. We gave each location a laminated one-pager and a standing invitation to ask questions.
The goal was confidence, not competence. People who feel like they understand something look after it differently.
The Result
Three months after launch, all three hubs are still on the programme. The Bermondsey team has started a rotating coffee board — different staff pick the origin each quarter. Stratford ordered a second Moccamaster because demand went up.
More importantly: it's one less thing their facilities lead thinks about. The orders are automated, the equipment is low-maintenance, and the coffee is reliably good.
That's what we were hired to do.
What This Tells Us About Workplace Coffee
Most workplace coffee programmes fail because they're treated as procurement decisions, not culture decisions. You can spend £800 on a machine and still have bad coffee if no one understands how to use it or cares to.
The fix isn't always expensive. It's usually just: better beans, the right equipment for the context, and ten minutes explaining why any of it matters.
If your team deserves better coffee and you're not sure where to start, get in touch.