Solo Coffee

We are Alex Foss Sims and Theo Garcia, and together we founded Solo. We both met working as baristas. Theo came from working in the speciality coffee industry. From working as a barista in one of the leading cafés at the time, to then training baristas for a coffee company, to then winning the national Aeropress championship. Alex came from the wine industry, having previously set up the British sparkling wine bar “Brit Pop”. We had a shared love for coffee, but had become disillusioned with the process. There’s lots to know when it comes to brewing and the industry is notoriously non-inclusive. We then put our heads together to mix Theo’s coffee expertise, and Alex’s industry know-how to make great coffee more accessible. We started by flooding our parent’s kitchen, tweaking and perfecting the recipe until we were finally happy to release the finished product. Speciality coffee is great. But it can get pretty complicated. For us, it felt that an outstanding cup of coffee is hard to come by. It’s easy enough to find a promising bag of coffee beans, but it then takes lots of skill to brew it to perfection, even at a good café the quality seems to be hit and miss. That’s when we decided to make it our mission to make great coffee more accessible. The name comes from the Spanish “Café Solo”, directly translated as “just coffee” which is the name given to black coffee or espresso. We think there’s something powerful about doing one thing well. Simplifying, not complicating. We’re not interested in trying to do everything. We’ll focus on doing our one thing well, so our customers can focus on doing their one thing well. Whilst we are hugely passionate about coffee itself, we feel our true love for coffee is found in its use and its effect. Coffee makes us focussed, dynamic and energetic. Characteristics that enable productivity and creativity. Modern coffee companies are notoriously non-inclusive. Lots of jargon. Lots of snobbery. Lots of facial hair. As a modern coffee company ourselves, we feel that it is our right to avoid talking varietals, altitudes and terroir. We don’t feel the need to celebrate just the coffee, we want to also celebrate what it allows us to do. That’s where the format of bag in box was born, the ultimate fridge pack. Coffee on tap. 3 litres or 15 servings ready to drink. Pour it straight over ice, mixed into cocktails or shakes. Bag in box allows us to lock in flavour without heat treating or preservatives and ensures a constant flow of coffee without rapid staling. We source direct trade coffee, coarsely grind and brew with filtered water for over 16 hours to create a refreshingly smooth, naturally sweet coffee.