Dark Horse Roastery

Dark Horse Roastery Speciality coffee roasted in Oxfordshire. Wholesale, equipment, care. Courses & experience. Webshop

All set up and looking forward to Sandy Lane Farm Farm to Fork Open Day tomorrow 🎉Saturday 12th September 10am - 2pm 🥕🧅🫜...
11/09/2026

All set up and looking forward to Sandy Lane Farm Farm to Fork Open Day tomorrow 🎉

Saturday 12th September 10am - 2pm 🥕🧅🫜🥬☕️

Since launching from our horsebox in 2015, we’ve been working with Cate and George on all things coffee ☕️

We’re delighted to be joining them again this Saturday for their Farm to Fork, and even Farm to Cup Open Day!

Enjoy the bespoke Sandy Lane Farm blend at their coffee bar, then visit our pop-up Dark Horse Roastery bean bar to smell, taste and explore a selection of our house blends and single-origins ..

All the coffees will be available to buy and can be ground to order for your preferred brewing method at home 🏡 ☕️

We can’t wait to meet you, chat about coffee, home brewing and introduce you to the fascinating journey, character and diversity behind every bean. 🌎☕️

Did you know …Our coffee blends are named in memory of the horses from the original horsebox history Horsebox Coffee Dar...
06/09/2026

Did you know …

Our coffee blends are named in memory of the horses from the original horsebox history Horsebox Coffee

Dark Horse aka Solomon an Irish Draft, Big, bold, steady, gentle. Does the heavy lifting, and the one everyone keeps coming back to ☕️

Brightstar is the Arab / Welsh cob mix. Lighter, brighter, a bit showy, but well built with a balanced temperament, always shifting a little with the seasons ✨

Seahawk is the Welsh Hunter. Underestimated, tough as anything, more powerful and ‘robust’ than it looks 🔥

Champagne is pure Arab, Brightstar’s mum and pretty feisty, perfect for a celebrationary festive brew!

Finally the only horse not in the Horsebox History ..

Wild Horse is the Mustang. Hardy, thriving in the most remote places. Both coffees are genuinely wild and shade grown 🌍

Our favourite is of course Dark Horse😄

Comment yours below 👇

Learn more link in bio 🤗 💙

coffeelovers

01/09/2026

What is Sam up to? 🤔

Slurping. Very loudly on his ‘coffee break’ 😂

It’s called cupping, and it’s how every coffee that comes through the roastery gets checked, evaluated and selected, before it ever reaches your cup...☕️

🔸 Grind 15g beans on a medium setting, check the fragrance 👃
🔸Add 230ml hot water at 96oc, then set a timer ⏳
🔸 At 4 minutes ‘break the crust” and breathe in the aroma
🔸 Then remove the crust and slurp. (The sharper and louder the better) it aerates the coffee and spreads it across the palate 👅
🔸 Assess fragrance, aroma .. and then acidity, sweetness, body, aftertaste and overall flavour notes 🤔

Same method, every single time. It’s how we choose a coffee that is interesting enough to earn a spot as a Globetrotter or select what is perfect for one of house blends 🌍✨

All part of the job, and just as we thought, there’s no such thing as a coffee break as a coffee roaster 😄

Thanks Sam 💙

As promised we are delighted to present our Mountain Water Decaf ☕🏔️💧If you already love our Sugarcane Decaf, we think y...
17/08/2026

As promised we are delighted to present our Mountain Water Decaf ☕🏔️💧

If you already love our Sugarcane Decaf, we think you’re going to love this one too ☕️💙

Grown in Frailesca, Mexico, this coffee is decaffeinated with the help of pure spring water from Pico de Orizaba, which is used to make a caffeine free green coffee solution. When soaked in this solution caffeine gently moves out of the green coffee via osmosis 🤓 gently removing the caffeine while keeping all that natural flavour and sweetness in the cup. 💧

We’ve roasted it to a medium profile to bring out its rich, character and delicious across all brew methods. Perfect for when you want all the flavour, just without the caffeine. 🌙☕

🇲🇽 Origin: Frailesca, Mexico
🍫 Milk chocolate, caramel & dates
💧 Mountain Water Process

Don’t worry, our much-loved Sugarcane Decaf isn’t going anywhere, we’re just giving you two delicious decafs to choose from ☕️😋

🌟 MEET THE TEAM 🌟This is Alycia, one of the newest members of the Dark Horse team 🎉Alycia’s favourite brew?A black Ameri...
12/08/2026

🌟 MEET THE TEAM 🌟

This is Alycia, one of the newest members of the Dark Horse team 🎉

Alycia’s favourite brew?
A black Americano - sometimes with a dash of oat milk ☕️ 😋

Alycia’s favourite thing about working with us?
There’s something very satisfying about setting up systems, getting into the flow and packing up all that lovely wholesale coffee 📦☕️🙌

When she’s not surrounded by bags of coffee, you’ll find Alycia growing veggies, knitting, swimming or heading out for a hike 🥕🧶🏊‍♀️🥾🌿

A pretty wholesome mix, if you ask us 💙

Welcome to the team Alycia - and a great song choice! 🎶 👋🐴☕️

Calling all decaf lovers! ☕️✨Something we’re pretty excited about has just arrived at the roastery, thanks to the brilli...
08/08/2026

Calling all decaf lovers! ☕️✨

Something we’re pretty excited about has just arrived at the roastery, thanks to the brilliant folk at Ensambles Cafés Mexicanos ! 🙌

Mountain washed decaf… 🏔️ 💦 ☕️

Watch this space look 👀 more to come! ❤️

🎉 Whoop whoop... we are so excited to share that we have achieved another great taste award! 🏆⭐ We’re incredibly proud t...
30/07/2026

🎉 Whoop whoop... we are so excited to share that we have achieved another great taste award! 🏆

⭐ We’re incredibly proud to announce that our Seahawk Blend has achieved a Great Taste ⭐

This one feels special because Seahawk features Canephora (often known as Robusta). Arabica is celebrated for its finesse and complexity, however carefully grown, harvested and processed Canephora reveals a unique character of its own.

The Canephora in Seahawk comes from Clarke Farm & Coffee Estate , nestled at the foot of Uganda’s breathtaking Rwenzori Mountains, where Canephora truly belongs. Grown with exceptional care, it brings depth, body and a unique personality to the cup.

Here’s what the Great Taste judges had to say:
“The crema is well judged. The beans are medium to dark, with the Arabica beans working hard to deliver a pleasing balance of brightness and fruit. It has balanced depth, a slight bitter finish and there is a predominantly darker forest fruity acidity.”

A huge thank you to Clarke Farm for producing such outstanding coffee, and to everyone who continues to support what we do. Here’s to celebrating exceptional Canephora! ☕💙

darkhorseroastery

Address

Highlands Farm
Brightwell-Cum-Sotwell
OX100QX

Opening Hours

Monday 8:30am - 4:30pm
Tuesday 8:30am - 4:30pm
Wednesday 8:30am - 4:30pm
Thursday 8:30am - 4:30pm
Friday 8:30am - 3pm

Telephone

+447887656114

Website

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