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Full Court Press ‘take things to next level’ with new coffee bar
It has taken 13 years for the team at Full Court Press to open a second premises, and Bristol is incredibly fortunate that our city is the home of one of the UK’s most forward-thinking cafes and coffee roasters.
Their new speciality coffee bar opens at 8am on Monday morning in a railway arch on Oxford Street in St Philip’s and showcases all of the coffee roasted by FCP in the neighbouring arch.
There is no food here. Everything is focussed around the best way to enjoy FCP’s coffees, whether as an espresso or filter, or to choose which bag to take home.
Full Court Press’ coffee bar on Oxford Street in the Dings is open from 8am to 2pm from Monday to Friday – photo: Martin Booth
There are an astonishing 16 different single-origin coffees on the menu on opening day.
And every one of these will taste as fresh as the day it was roasted as each coffee is frozen soon after roasting which locks in all of its unique flavours.
Behind the baristas are a number of freezers, in which pre-dosed coffees are stored in tubes, perfectly measured for each cup of coffee and then individually ground for every customer’s order.
The coffee is then made using a top of the range Modbar EP machine hidden under the counter.
Each coffee is frozen and pre-dosed in each 17g tube, meaning the flavours are all locked-in for freshness – photo: Martin Booth
Full Court Press co-owner Jonny Simpson described the new space as “a tasting room styled around a micro-brewery taproom where there are lots of different things on offer”.
At FCP’s original cafe on Broad Street in the Old City, coffees roasted by them will continue to be rotated weekly; while here on Oxford Street, they can all be showcased at once.
Sixteen coffees for sale at any one time will remain the target. Some will be both espresso and filter; some just espresso; some filter; and most available in bags to brew at home.
“We wanted to take it to another level, do something a bit different,” said Jonny, one of FCP’s co-owners alongside Rosy Smith and Fency Feng.
Full Court Press head roaster Fency Feng at work in the neighbouring arch – photo: Martin Booth
So why has it taken so long for FCP to branch out? Full Court Press’ cafe on Broad Street was opened by Mat North in 2013 and the pandemic pushed the team into roasting which is now a key part of the business; but only now is there a second cafe.
“I’m not interested in expanding for the sake of it,” Jonny told Bristol24/7.
“There needs to be a good reason to start something new and this has a clear purpose.”
FCP’s new coffee bar will host events such as cuppings and roasting classes in the future; but for now will also be able to see the FCP team roast and serve better coffee thanks to immediate customer feedback.
16 different coffees are able to be enjoyed at the new Full Court Press coffee bar, with many able to be taken home – photo: Martin Booth
FCP joins a growing food and drink community on Oxford Street – which has plans to be pedestrianised – including next door Forest Bakery and micro-breweries Little Martha and Unwin’s.
The glass which makes up the bar at the new FCP is a nod to the stained glass window at the original cafe on Broad Street which features in both the logo and on every coffee bag.
Choose to drink in and you will be enjoying your coffee from a mug made by former FCP barista Rebecca Finnerty, a ceramicist who will soon be opening her own new premises on Church Road in St George.
“I’m really excited,” added Jonny. “We’ve been working on this for a while now and I hope it has been worth the wait.”
Main photo: Martin Booth
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