Dalston Coffee is a Barcelona-based specialty coffee roaster that took its name and visual identity from a London neighborhood. It opened its own café in 2017 and today supplies businesses in Spain and across Europe. Small batches, compostable house-shaped packaging, and design awards—that’s Dalston in a nutshell.
The whole story began in East London. That’s where founder Borja Roselló first discovered the world of specialty coffee in 2014 — until then a professional chef who had worked at several renowned restaurants and knew practically nothing about specialty coffee until he tasted a flat white and realized he was drinking something completely different from what he was used to. Three years later, he opened his own café right in Barcelona’s Raval neighborhood—a small, distinctive space with a lot of character. It was literally a “one-man bar”: a counter, two outdoor tables, an espresso lever, and a Moccamaster drip coffee maker.
The turning point came in 2020. Until then, Dalston had operated as a multi-roaster, serving coffees from other roasters, but then came the leap to in-house roasting—and with it, the ability to choose exactly what they wanted to offer. Borja started roasting with a friend, then on his own, and today he has entrusted this key part of the process to head roaster Sebas; however, they do the cupping together, and the founder still has the final say. In 2023, they added their own roastery in La Garriza, just outside Barcelona. The philosophy remains the same: a conscious selection of green coffee, gentle roasting in small batches, and a clean, pleasant cup without additives. They also emphasize traceability—each lot comes from a specific farm and includes detailed information about its origin, variety, and processing method.
At Dalston Coffee, the visual aspect is just as important as the contents of the bag. The brand’s concept is inspired by the brick houses and colorful awnings typical of London’s Dalston neighborhood; the packaging design was created by Íngrid Picanyol and won a gold Laus Award in 2024. The illustrations of the house facades were created by artist Lourenço Providencia. The coffee is packaged in 100% compostable bags in two sizes—a 250g “little house” bag and a 1-kilogram package.
Coffees from Dalston Coffee
Raspberry, orange, eucalyptus
Burundi Rubagabaga
Dalston CoffeeWashed Red Bourbon from the Rubagabaga washing station in the Kayanza province of Burundi, supported by roughly 2,700 smallholder farmers. The Barcelona-based roastery Dalston Coffee recommends it exclusively for pour-over—and it’s clear why.
Rubagabaga is a washing station in Butare, in the Kayanza region of northern Burundi. It has been in operation since 1992 and is currently managed by Greenco. Cherries are brought here from about 2,700 small local farmers who cultivate plots smaller than one hectare at elevations ranging from 1,600 to 1,900 meters. This is the classic Burundian mosaic—no large plantations, but hundreds and hundreds of micro-plots that, when combined, produce a lot with a surprisingly consistent character. Kayanza is known for its coffee, but also for its banana trees and clay soil, which is traditionally used to fire roof tiles and bricks. This Red Bourbon takes full advantage of these conditions: the altitude, fertile soil, and ideal climate all contribute to its sweetness, acidity, and aromatic complexity. The cherries are hand-picked, sorted by flotation and hand-sorting, washed with clean water, and dried on raised beds for about two weeks. The result is a clean, sweet, and elegant coffee that doesn’t hide its origins—look for raspberries, orange, and a hint of eucalyptus in the cup.
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Dates, amaretto, dark chocolate
Burundi Gakenke
Dalston CoffeeHoney-processed Red Bourbon from Kayanza Province, produced by 1,780 small-scale farmers from twenty-two surrounding hills. Dates, amaretto, and dark chocolate—a profile perfect for espresso and mocha.
The Gakenke washing station is located in Burundi’s Kayanza Province and operates exactly as one would imagine East African coffee at its best: without large plantations, but with a vast number of small farms. There are 1,780 registered growers here, spread across twenty-two surrounding hills. Most families cultivate about 250 coffee trees, primarily the Red Bourbon variety, and harvest the cherries by hand at optimal ripeness. The elevation ranges from 1,500 to 1,800 meters, a zone where ripening occurs slowly and the beans have time to accumulate sufficient sugars. At the station, everything proceeds quickly and methodically. The cherries are washed, sorted by hand, and hulled within six hours of delivery. Then comes the crucial part—the parchment is slowly dried on African beds for two to three weeks, with constant sorting. Each lot is kept separate by station, harvest date, and quality, ensuring 100% traceability. The result is a honey-processed coffee with a distinctly dark, sweet profile: dates, amaretto, and dark chocolate. Dalston Coffee, a roastery in Barcelona, recommends this lot for espresso and Italian moka.
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