First Light
JasmineCitrusStone Fruit
£13 /250g
/ Our Beans
From cherry to cup.
Great coffee isn't an accident — it's a chain of small, careful decisions made by people who care. We trace every bag back to the farm that grew it, roast it in tiny batches under a Bristol railway arch, and send it the moment it cools. This is how a green bean becomes the best cup you'll have all week.
/ How we work
Three promises in every bag.
/ 01
We source direct.
The best coffees come from growers who can afford to do things slowly — to pick only the ripe cherries, to dry on raised beds for weeks rather than days, to keep the lots separate. That kind of care only happens when farmers are paid properly for it.
So we buy direct wherever we can, return to the same washing stations season after season, and pay well above the Fairtrade floor. We've built relationships with growers in Ethiopia, Colombia, Sumatra and beyond — some going on six years now. We know their names, their altitudes, the year the harvest ran late. Traceability isn't a marketing word for us; it's just how good coffee gets to the bag.
/ 02
We roast in small batches.
Our roastery lives in Arch 14 on Gaol Ferry Steps — a converted railway arch in the middle of Bristol, brick walls, the smell of caramelising sugar by seven in the morning. At the heart of it sits a vintage drum roaster we've nursed back to life, charged just a few kilos at a time.
Small batches mean we can chase each coffee's character rather than flatten it. Our roaster watches the colour shift, listens for the first crack, and pulls every batch at the precise second its sweetness peaks. It's slow, hands-on work — and it's the difference between coffee that's merely fine and coffee that tastes like someone cared.
/ 03
We roast to order.
Coffee is freshest in the days just after roasting, then it quietly fades. Most beans on a supermarket shelf were roasted months ago and have long since given up their best. We think that's a waste of a good harvest.
So nothing sits on a shelf at Dawn & Co. We roast against real orders, the morning a bag is due to ship, then seal it within hours and send it on its way. By the time it lands on your kitchen counter it's still bright with character — exactly as the grower intended, exactly as it left the drum.
/ The journey
Cherry to cup, in four steps.
01
Sourced
Ripe cherries are hand-picked at altitude, processed at origin, and graded for quality. We taste samples, choose the lots we love, and pay a price that keeps those growers growing it.
02
Roasted
Green beans arrive at Arch 14 and are roasted in small batches at dawn. Each origin gets its own profile — lighter to keep a coffee bright and floral, darker to draw out cocoa and depth.
03
Rested
Fresh from the drum, coffee needs a moment to settle and release its gases. We rest every batch so it's brewing at its best from the day it reaches you — never flat, never over-eager.
04
Shipped
Sealed in recyclable, home-compostable bags and sent fresh, with free UK delivery over £20. Roasted one morning, on its way the next — in your hands while it's still telling the truth.
/ Tasting notes
Find your flavour.
/ Light
Bright & floral
The most delicate roast, letting a coffee's origin sing. Expect lively acidity and aromatic, tea-like notes — think Jasmine, Citrus and Stone Fruit. Lovely as a filter or pour-over when you want something clean and morning-fresh. Start with "First Light", our Ethiopia Yirgacheffe.
/ Medium
Balanced & sweet
The crowd-pleaser, and where most of our range sits. Rounded and approachable, with sweetness and body in easy balance — Caramel, Cocoa, Honey, Hazelnut and Toffee. Happy in any brewer, milk or no milk. Reach for our "Sunrise" House Blend or the "Golden Hour" Colombia.
/ Dark
Rich & bold
Roasted further for depth and a heavier body, with the low, comforting notes — Dark Chocolate, Molasses, a hint of spice. Made for espresso and a proper splash of milk. If you like things big and bittersweet, our "Embers" Sumatra is the one to pour.
A small vocabulary of sweetness.
When we say a coffee tastes of Caramel or Red Apple, we don't mean anything's been added — these are the flavours the bean naturally develops in the cup. The vocabulary is just a way of pointing at what you're about to taste, so you can choose the morning you fancy.
Stone Fruit
Cocoa
Caramel
Citrus
Honey
Jasmine
Hazelnut
Toffee
Molasses
Red Apple
Not sure where to begin? Browse the whole range — or let "The Sampler" three-bag taster choose for you.
/ The range
The beans, by name.
Golden Hour
HoneyHazelnutRed Apple
£13 /250g
Embers
Dark ChocolateMolasses
£11 /250g
Taste the difference.
Now you know where it comes from and how it's made — the only thing left is to brew it. Pick a bag, set your grind, and let us roast it fresh the morning it ships.