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The benchmark of excellence

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The The Cafe Awards celebrate the people, businesses and organisations doing exceptional work. Explore the categories and help recognise someone shaping the future through their achievement, leadership and impact.

The Cafe Awards

Coffee Shop of the Year Award

Great coffee, served with care, every single cup.

About this category

This award recognises a coffee shop, independent or part of a group, where the coffee is excellent, consistent and served with real care. Judges look for coffee quality, barista skill, consistency and customer experience.

Eligibility

  • Open to coffee shops in the UK
  • Independent or part of a group
  • Entering as a single site

Judging criteria

  • Coffee quality and consistency
  • Barista skill
  • Sourcing
  • Customer experience
  • Speed of service

Qualitative criteria

Coffee people cross the road for.

Metrics

  • Cups served
  • Customer reviews
  • Repeat custom and sourcing information

Additional criteria

Entries should include a short description of the cafe or business, photographs of the space, food or drink where helpful, supporting figures such as covers, average spend, growth or reviews, and, where possible, comments from customers. Figures can be given as ranges and nothing in an entry is shared beyond the judging panel. Judges consider the size and setting of every business, so a single counter kiosk competes on equal terms with a busy high street cafe or a small group.

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