AN ENTREPRENEUR from Winchester is using his experience working on coffee farms in South America to improve the quality of his home city's coffee. 

Will Harrigan, 29, set up River Coffee Roasters a few years ago inspired by his travels in Columbia and Mexico. 

Now the business has bloomed - and the small Hampshire start-up has not only survived the turbulent pandemic years, but it has also grown into one of the best-rated coffee roasters in the country, supplying some of the city's most popular coffee shops and restaurants. 

Will went to South America after studying for a degree in business. 

He said: "It was there that I thought I wanted to come back and start my own coffee business. So I came home and started roasting coffee. It started small, in a unit in Winchester, and then it started to take off so we need to scale up to a bigger premises so we moved to Alresford. 

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"Now it's grown, it's well-known across the city, with cafes and restaurants like Winchester Orangery, Open House Deli, Rawberry, Winchester Tennis Club, plus many more now serving our coffee." 

Will is in business with girlfriend Emily-Kate Stuart. They met in a bar in Winchester and bonded as Emily-Kate had also developed a love of all things South American after travelling there. 

They are joined by friends Max Murphy, Max Williams and cousin Charlie Harrigan.  

The small team of five roasts up to a tonne of coffee per week, making more than 50 tonnes per year. 

Will said: "We are the newest coffee company out there, but we stand out as we really pride ourselves on the quality of our product. 

"We are in a really good place right now. The last few years have been pretty tough, but coffee is always growing as an industry, and we are starting to make our mark." 

As well as supplying trade, the business diversified during the pandemic and set up a subscription service, delivering coffee directly to people's homes in Winchester. 

This proved popular so they decided to continue it. 

They also expanded the River Coffee Roasters website, selling a range of coffee - such as beans, ground, and pods - and coffee-related paraphernalia directly.

The team were showcasing their products at the recent Local Produce Trade Show, run by Business South at the Ageas Bow. 

Their products are also stocked in a host of shops, such as the Natural Deli in Winchester city centre.  

Go to rivercoffeeroasters.com/.