Brighton Coffee Culture
Brighton has long been recognised as a coffee destination - a city where independent cafés flourished while many towns were still dominated by high-street chains. Today, however, the story stretches far beyond the city. Across Sussex, roasters, cafés and training spaces are helping shape a specialty coffee culture that rivals anywhere in the UK.
Brighton was one of the first places in the region where third-wave coffee really took hold. Cafés here treated coffee as a craft rather than a commodity, creating spaces where beans were roasted carefully, brewing methods were refined and cafés became social hubs as much as places to grab a drink. Early pioneers such as Small Batch and Redroaster helped set the tone, proving the city could sustain a scene built around quality, ethics and thoughtful sourcing.
That influence continues today. Cafés like The Milk Shed, roasting specialty beans in Kemptown, and PHARMACIE in Lewes, with its minimalist café and roastery, draw coffee enthusiasts from across the county who are as interested in flavour profiles and origin as they are in the ritual of the daily cup.
What’s most exciting now is how that culture has spread well beyond Brighton itself. Independent cafés and roasteries are emerging across Sussex towns, from Arundel and Lewes to Hastings, each adding its own character to the region’s growing coffee scene. These spaces are not just serving coffee but building communities around it - places where creativity, conversation and craft meet.
Across the county, baristas are increasingly becoming educators as well as hosts. Roastery tours, brewing workshops and tasting sessions are helping customers understand everything from grind size to extraction and flavour notes, turning coffee from a simple drink into something people are curious to learn about.
What makes Sussex’s coffee culture particularly distinctive is how naturally it sits within everyday life. Many cafés double as creative spaces or community meeting points, while sustainability is becoming a shared priority across the scene. From direct-trade sourcing to low-waste roasting practices and experimental brewing methods, Sussex’s coffee community is quietly pushing the craft forward.
The direction of travel is clear: more innovation, more sustainability and stronger connections between roasters, cafés and the people who drink their coffee. Whether it’s a hidden espresso bar in Brighton’s Lanes, a roastery in Lewes or a small-town café building its own loyal following, Sussex coffee is no longer simply keeping pace with the wider specialty movement - it’s helping shape it.
So is Sussex becoming one of the UK’s most interesting coffee regions? Spend a little time exploring the county’s cafés and roasteries via our map, and the answer might just be in the cup.
