If you head down to the bottom end of Arundel Street, a key artery of the city’s rejuvenated Cultural Industries Quarter, you’ll discover a pair of old workshop doors with one key detail that separates them from the rest: in place of customary large brass handles, you’ll find two porta filters – a trusted tool of the barista. Give these quirky adornments a turn to enter Frazer Habershon’s recently opened coffee haven.
“That was just a quick DIY job,” laughs Frazer, as he welcomes Exposed into his new café and roastery space. The building itself has over 120 years of history and was once used to repair old horse-drawn carriages and stagecoaches in the early 1900s – a fitting link, given that resourcefulness and general upcycling are an integral part of the Frazer’s Coffee story.
It was back in 2014 that Frazer rolled up his sleeves and built an industrial coffee roaster from a repurposed barbecue using Sheffield Forgemasters steel. This piece of kit was in action at the first ever Peddler Market event and facilitated the company’s development into a fully-fledged wholesale business.
Almost a decade down the line and Frazer’s has grown into one of the most recognisable coffee brands in South Yorkshire, all the while staying true to its core ethos: providing high-quality, ethically sourced products at honest prices while teaching anyone that wants to listen about how coffee works.
“We want people to have a different experience here where, if they are curious, we can teach them a little bit about the coffee they’re drinking, the types of beans used, how they’ve been roasted,” says Frazer. “But we want to do that in a friendly, non-judgemental way. Coffee shouldn’t be pretentious; these discussions should be just as normal as asking bar staff to tell you about the beer you’re thinking of ordering.”
The new venue is divided into three sections. The front door opens into the inviting café space where you can browse a wide-ranging menu of brews, with further options of homemade cookies, pastries and pizza al taglio – large square slices made using fresh 24-hour fermented dough. During our visit, which occurred two weeks post-opening, it was mostly a takeaway service with limited seating, but that is all undergoing an exciting transformation.
Tucked away behind the café, you’ll find Frazer’s latest renovation project in full swing: a spacious seating area with communal tables that offer a view into the adjacent roastery, constituting the third and final piece of the jigsaw. The owner elaborates on his vision, which he hopes to see fully realised by Christmas this year: “The concept is that customers can place their coffee orders at the front, and then they can step into the hall, take a seat, and see the coffee roasting process in real-time. Similar to the way some breweries allow you to observe their equipment in action, here, people will have the opportunity to catch a glimpse of the inner workings of a roastery.”
Further big plans are in the works for utilising the upstairs space as a barista school, where anyone can book in and learn the tricks of the trade themselves. “Artisan coffee shouldn’t feel like a closed club, or like it’s off limits for anyone to get into,” says Frazer. “I’ve been lucky enough to see coffee made from incredibly humble origins in Central Africa and South America. I see it as my job to showcase that and talk with people about the journey behind the product, ensure that it’s the best product it can be and was sourced through the best practices possible. If people enjoy our coffee, that’s great. If they want to learn a little bit more about it, even better – they’ve come to the right place.”
