In the smallest town in Britain, on the edge of the Cambrian Mountains, TOST is quietly shaping a new kind of coffee culture. This is a café built not just to serve coffee, but to celebrate honest food, place, craft, and community.

If you’re searching for the best coffee in Powys, you’re not alone. Over the past few years, Mid Wales has quietly built one of the most exciting independent coffee scenes in the UK — from artisan espresso bars in market towns to cosy rural cafés serving specialist and locally roasted beans.

Wales is quietly becoming one of the UK’s most exciting destinations for independent coffee. From small-batch roasters in North Wales to speciality cafés transforming Mid Wales and Cardiff’s fast-moving coffee scene, a new generation of coffee shops is reshaping how Wales drinks coffee.

Not everyone wants a full caffeine kick, but that doesn’t mean they want to compromise on flavour. In 2026, low-caffeine and decaf coffee are stepping out of the shadows and becoming a key part of the specialty coffee scene.

A 焙烙（ほうろく / hōroku, often written “horoku”) is a shallow ceramic roasting pan traditionally used in Japan over charcoal or an open flame. It’s one of the oldest ways to roast coffee at home.

Wishing everyone a Happy Christmas! We hope your day is filled with peace, love, and happiness ❤️

Dymunwn Nadolig Llawen i bawb! Gobeithiwn y bydd eich diwrnod yn llawn heddwch, cariad a hapusrwydd ❤️

Motorcycle Tour - The TOST Cambrian Loop: ~110 miles. A relaxed day ride on empty B-roads, mountain passes, valleys, reservoirs, stunning countryside and sweeping bends.

Understanding coffee roasts is key to brewing the perfect cup of coffee. From Arabica vs Robusta to espresso vs cappuccino, each roast level changes the flavour, aroma, and body of your coffee.

Blending roasted beans is a common practice in specialty coffee, allowing roasters and speciality coffee shops to balance flavour, aroma, body, and consistency in a way that a single-origin coffee alone cannot achieve. And why not - its great fun and something you can also experiment with at home.

Have you ever ordered the same drink in two different cafés and noticed it tastes completely different? Even if the beans are similar, coffee can vary dramatically from one place to another. That’s because flavour isn’t just about the bean — it’s about everything that happens before the cup reaches your hands.

If you’ve ever heard baristas talk about “cupping,” you might wonder what it actually means. A coffee tasting, also known as cupping, is a standardized method used by coffee professionals to evaluate aroma, flavour, quality, and consistency. It’s how roasters, buyers, and cafés decide which beans make it into your cup.

Specialty coffee isn’t just about a good cup anymore — it’s becoming an experience, a culture, and a movement. From sustainability to tech innovations, the next decade is shaping up to be exciting for coffee lovers everywhere.

If you’ve visited an independent café recently, you’ve probably heard the term specialty coffee. It appears on menus, packaging, and coffee shop websites — often alongside tasting notes, origin stories, and brewing methods.

In towns and cities across the UK, from Cardiff to Llanwrtyd Wells, independent cafés are thriving — even in the shadow of big chain giants like Costa, Starbucks, or Caffè Nero. But how do small, local cafés compete with these household names?