Exploring Scotland’s coffee scene with the UK’s best roaster
A decade after moving to Scotland, Jonathan Martinez was named the UK’s best coffee roaster at this year’s Glasgow Coffee Festival. In a recent episode of Scran podcast, Mr Martinez and Brewers Cup winner Andrew Wong chat about all things coffee and how consumers tastes are changing.
Whether you’re into coffee or not it’s hard not to notice how much the coffee scene in Scotland has changed within the last five to 10 years. Independent businesses, cafes and roasteries have become more prominent, with many people preferring these to the big chain shops. Good coffee and its tasting notes are now being appreciated like good wine. As consumers look to spend money well on experiences, an appreciation of coffee is on the rise.
Our appreciation of varieties of coffee - and a decent brew - can be seen in the growth of the Glasgow Coffee Festival which was founded by Dear Green Coffee owner Lisa Lawson in 2014. It has grown year on year and in 2026 it was the biggest to date with over 2,000 attendees over a weekend in May and visitors travelling from across the world, with 39% coming from outside Glasgow.
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At this year’s festival, a new competition was launched to find the UK’s best coffee roaster and this was won by Jonathan Martinez. The competition required finalists to roast an identical coffee to their own specifications, as well as submit a sourced coffee representing their brand’s style, judged through a blind, peer-assessed cupping.
The 37-year-old, originally from Ahuachapán in north-west El Salvador — a major coffee-producing region — moved to Glasgow after meeting his now wife, Nuala. The couple now live in Maryhill with their three children, who are six, eight and 17 months old.
“To be honest, moving to another country never crossed my mind. But that’s what love does to you, right?” he said.
Love is also what led him back to his coffee roots. Homesick, unemployed and with no roasting experience, Jonathan began looking for work in 2016, soon after arriving in Scotland. Nuala, who worked at The Ubiquitous Chip, approached their coffee supplier, Thomson’s Coffee, to ask if any roles were available.
After a visit to the roastery, Jonathan took an entry-level position, packing and using his background in electronics to help with odd jobs. And he’s never looked back.
Jonathan, who’s now Thomson’s head roaster, said: “I was feeling homesick and coffee felt like a link to my culture and my people. I began packing coffee and fixing anything that broke in the warehouse because of my background in electronics. Then I started roasting on the Loring, which was the first one in Scotland at the time.
“I grew up around coffee farms where we could walk freely and pick fruit from the trees. There weren’t things like holiday clubs, so we’d spend our time on the farms instead.
“My godfather Emanuel is a small coffee producer, and during school holidays I worked picking coffee to earn some money. I remember looking up steep hills knowing I’d have to carry heavy bags of cherries to the top.
“My favourite part was lunchtime, eating beans, tortillas and guamas, and then sitting together at the end of the day, sorting coffee cherries and talking.
“When a coffee from my hometown arrived at the roastery, I knew at least ten people who had hand-picked it. The winning roast was deeply personal as it immediately took me back to my childhood.”
Now with the responsibilities of being a dad-of-three and a head roaster, Jonathan is also studying for an electronics degree alongside his work. He added: “Glasgow has given me a home, and I’m absolutely thrilled to bring this prize to the city.
“The calibre of competitors was outstanding. Glasgow Coffee Festival creates the perfect environment for coffee professionals to grow and showcase the dedication that goes into every cup. I’m proud of the coffee scene here with so many amazing cafés, outstanding roasteries and a real sense of community. People genuinely support each other.”
Another winner at this year’s festival was Andrew Wong who won The Brewers Cup, run by the Specialty Coffee Association.
Reflecting on the win, Andrew said: “I still find it hard to believe, especially considering the talent this year. I’m proud to represent Scotland, where I developed my craft and will give everything on the world stage. Glasgow Coffee Festival is a brilliant opportunity for professionals to come together and connect.”
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Lisa Lawson, founder of both the Glasgow Coffee Festival and Dear Green Coffee Roasters, said: “We say it every year, but this was our biggest yet. Opening a second hall allowed us to do more than ever before, and demand continues to grow.
“This was a true celebration of a passionate and thriving coffee community, and I’m incredibly proud to be part of it. Thank you to everyone who makes Glasgow’s first class coffee scene as special as it is.”
Since launching in 2014, the festival has grown into a key fixture in the UK coffee calendar. New additions this year included the Best Roaster UK competition, the SCA UK Brewers Cup Championship and the Best Coffee Shops UK Awards.
The UK’s best coffee shops were selected by a panel and announced at the festival. Winners included Scottish favourites such as Birch, Ottoman Coffeehouse, Zennor and Cairngorm Coffee, among others. All winners are now in the running for Europe’s 100 Best Coffee Shops, set to be announced in Brussels later this year.
As a not-for-profit event, more than £3,000 will be donated to charities from Glasgow Coffee Festival, including Bike for Good, Kwetu Coffee, Change Please and Glasgow Children’s Hospital Charity.
The growth of the Coffee Festival goes hand in hand with Scotland’s coffee scene booming, and consumers desire for good coffee. Let’s face it, a cup of coffee is setting us all back about £4 now so it needs to be worth it.
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Jonathan said of Scotland’s coffee scene: “People are really enjoying the fruitier coffees and cold brews, especially in the summer. Good filter coffees are also popular as they can be light and some can taste a bit like peach iced tea. Usually these beans are washed Ethiopian."
Andrew added that people are more open to trying something less traditional and that the fruiter coffees are also popular south of the border, saying: ”There is a big boom in higher quality coffee and I’ve seen, especially in London, the rise in Colombian and Panama coffees which are higher quality and price. That has, in some ways, affected the more daily coffee in that more people are willing to spend money on good coffee. It drives the industry forward and, on average, the coffee we have now tastes better than what we had before.
“Three or four years ago, if you went to a coffee shop you’d get a chocolatey, nutty flat white which was the only option but now you have that traditional type of coffee as well as a fruitier one. A lot of the shops I’ve worked at, the customers prefer the fruitier coffee now especially if it’s introduced to them as something a bit different. People now pick up on the different flavours and quality of coffee.”
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