Sodexo, the world’s largest services company, has joined forces with specialty coffee provider, Taylor St Baristas to launch a global world class quality coffee programme, putting baristas at the heart of its coffee offer.
As one of the most sophisticated coffee markets in the world, London has been chosen as the launch market for the partnership.
The new exclusive partnership will see Sodexo offer its clients two premium quality coffee offers; an exclusive Taylor St licensed offer with an extended menu of premium quality coffees; and Chapter & Verse, a fresh new specialty coffee brand, co-developed by Sodexo and Taylor St.
Both offers boast 80+ Q-graded beans that are sourced in a way that incentivises quality throughout the value chain whilst also paying farmers prices that are typically 20-50% above those paid by Fair Trade. And all coffees are expertly hand-roasted by Taylor St.
The partnership is not just about the coffee: the partnership also includes an accompanying food menu which has been developed in line with the high quality, world-leading coffee on offer.
Sodexo and Taylor St Baristas are both passionate about their people. This new partnership enables Sodexo to offer specialty grade premium coffee, made by highly skilled baristas trained by one of the most highly credentialed coffee teams in the country.
Before serving any customers, all Taylor St and Chapter & Verse baristas undergo an extensive 40-hour training programme through Taylor St Baristas’ world-class training academy. Training and development continues as the baristas develop, helping them grow and acquire new skills over the course of their career.
Nicola Morris, divisional managing director and head of food, Corporate Services, Sodexo UK & Ireland says: “Research amongst consumers identified quality coffee as more important than location, service or atmosphere when looking at coffee shops. With over a third of people leaving the office to purchase coffee it was imperative that we looked for a coffee which met the needs of our consumers and sets us apart from other food service providers.
“We looked beyond the coffee bean to address this need which is why this partnership with Taylor St is unique. We now offer an authentic expertly-crafted coffee of the highest quality with the provenance and traceability we insist upon, served by passionate baristas. London is the perfect market to launch our partnership and we look forward to seeing it expand in other urban markets such as New York, Dublin and Paris.”
Taylor St was founded by Laura, Andrew and Nick Tolley, three siblings from Australia with a penchant for all things coffee. It was one of London’s first coffeehouses of the artisan coffee movement and today is one of the premier transatlantic roasters and retailers of specialty-grade coffee. Taylor St Baristas has broken ground in everything from café design through to guest experience, operating technology, product development and its barista training academy.
“We are looking forward to partnering with Sodexo to bring Chapter and Verse to life; to training people who are passionate about coffee and excited to become a part of an elite group of baristas,” said Nick Tolley, CEO, Taylor St Baristas. “We’re confident this new quality line will be among the best specialty offers available”.