City centre training centre adds to the coffee bean scene

A Scottish coffee shop’s state of the art roastery, café bakery and training centre is now open.

Occupying the recently developed iconic Argyle Street Arches, Thomson’s Central will be a gold-standard training hub for would-be baristas across the country, as well as serving a range of speciality coffees, drinks and freshly cooked food in its new café area.

Taking centre stage inside the purpose-built space is the new state of the art Loring Kestrel S35 Smart Roaster – the only coffee roaster of its kind and size in Scotland.

Described as ‘reinventing’ the way beans can be roasted, the energy-efficient Smart Roaster offers an unparalled level of control in terms of production, as it can be programmed to roast your beans just the way you like them, time after time – ensuring a consistently superior coffee.

The open plan roastery, bakery and café, which is also dog friendly, will serve pizzas and breads freshly baked on site in the in-house bakery.

The 58-seater café – and the only space within the Arches to span two floors – will be open Tuesday to Friday from 8am to catch the morning commuters, and serving food and a wealth of Scottish craft drinks late into Thursday evenings. The café is also one of the first and only places to stock BrewDog’s foray into the artisan spirit world, with their ‘LoneWolf’ gin.

For a weekend caffeine fix, Thomson’s is at your disposal both Saturday and Sunday, opening from 10am to 8pm, whilst the much-celebrated Platform food market is on, whose traders’ produce is locally and sustainably sourced, seasonal, free range and fair trade to boot.

Thomsons has opened its new roastery, café bakery and training centre

Having supplied coffee throughout the 19th, 20th and now into the 21st century, Thomson’s has a huge legacy to draw on and their ‘Legacy’ collection is the embodiment of this history.

Considered the cornerstone of Thomson’s DNA, these coffees have been enjoyed by generations of loyal customers, whereas Thomson’s Lab collection is formed of a variety of exceptionally rare and unique coffees, micro-lots and experimental roasts for those who want a taste of tomorrow.

With the installation of Scotland’s first Loring Smart Roaster, Thomson’s are also pioneering a brand-new standard of coffee – which is exactly what their third collection focuses on.

This curated collection of speciality coffees is produced exclusively on the new roaster, and are meticulously sourced, exceptional coffees of unrivalled quality.

Russell Jenkins, managing director of Thomson’s Coffee Roasters said: ‘It’s taken a great deal of time and effort to create this new bespoke space within The Arches. The team and I have been working hard to get Thomson’s Central fully up and running and we are delighted at the response we have had so far.

‘We’re naturally passionate about training – from bean to cup we’re obsessive over every detail, which is why we’re well-placed to educate and inspire other people about our favourite drink.

‘We’re so excited about this new chapter in our story, founded on over a hundred and seventy five years of heritage as a brand, and are looking forward to building our future on this legacy, as a real centre of excellence.’