Ethical Addictions Coffee: Farm-Direct Coffee Roasted in the Cotswolds, enjoyed at Wild Thyme!
Based near Cheltenham, Ethical Addictions Coffee is quietly building a reputation as one of the most interesting speciality coffee roasters in the Cotswolds.
At first glance, it’s a small Gloucestershire roastery producing high-quality coffee for local cafés and homes. But behind each bag of beans is a much bigger story - one that connects coffee drinkers in the UK with farming communities across the world.
Ethical Addictions Coffee is built around a simple principle: great coffee should also be fair for the people who grow it.
The Story Behind the Roastery
Ethical Addictions Coffee was founded in 2006 by two friends passionate about both coffee and social impact. Their goal was to create a coffee company that delivered exceptional flavour while ensuring farmers received a fairer share of the value chain.
In the global coffee industry, beans often pass through multiple intermediaries before reaching a roaster. By the time the coffee reaches the consumer, the original farmers may have received only a small fraction of the final price.
Ethical Addictions set out to challenge that model by building direct relationships with coffee producers. Instead of relying solely on commodity markets or large trading companies, the roastery works closely with farmers and small coffee-growing communities around the world.
This approach allows them to source high-quality beans while supporting growers in a more transparent and sustainable way.
From Coffee Farms to a Cotswolds Roastery
Once the green coffee beans arrive in Gloucestershire, the coffee is roasted in carefully controlled batches designed to highlight the unique character of each origin. The roasting process is both a science and an art. Small adjustments to time, temperature and airflow can dramatically influence the final taste.
The result is a diverse range of coffees including single origin coffees, espresso blends and decaf coffee (all of which can be enjoyed in our Wild Thyme Cotswolds shop in Bourton-on-the-Water).
Coffee Origins and Supplier Partnerships
Ethical Addictions sources coffee from several well-known coffee-growing regions across the world with producers in Brazil, Tanzania and Colombia, each offering distinct flavour characteristics.
Brazilian coffees can be smooth and balanced, often with chocolate and nut notes. Colombian coffees are known for balance and sweetness, while coffees from Tanzania can be brighter and more complex.
By working closely with farmers in these regions, Ethical Addictions can trace each coffee back to its origin and maintain strong relationships with the communities producing it.
Coffee with a Story
Every cup of coffee has a journey behind it. It might begin on a hillside farm in South America or East Africa before travelling across oceans to reach a local roastery.
Ethical Addictions Coffee aims to honour that journey by creating a supply chain built on quality, fairness and transparency - all of which we look for and value at Wild Thyme.
For our customers, it means more than just good coffee. It means knowing the beans were sourced responsibly and roasted locally with care.
In a world where coffee is often treated as a commodity, we want to offer something different - a cup of coffee with a story that stretches from global farms to the heart of the Cotswolds.
