Redemption. The Social Impact Coffee Roasters

Redemption Roasters are one of our favourite coffee roasters here at GUSTATORY, and not least mention the quality of coffee they source and roast, but also for their social crusade which embodies their entire mission and statement. If you've not heard, we thought to share with you this very ethical movement, one which we can applaud time and time again.

Founded in 2017, Redemption were born from the belief that reoffending within the UK could be reduced through the production of specialty coffee. Reoffending is a significant social issue in the UK so Redemption’s core purpose is to add value and help tackle this problem. The way they have sought to do this is through setting up a series of barista training courses in prisons across England, as well as offering concrete routes into employment to the inmates that graduate from their courses.

Redemption have fairly recently published their Social Impact Report, and perhaps one of the more shocking statistics that we discovered after reading was that the single most important factor in preventing reoffending is having a job on release. The structure that this provides to an individual is imperative and helps to ensure that these individuals don’t reoffend. However, 60% of employees won’t even interview an ex-offender, meaning only 26% of individuals find employment on release. The figures speak for themselves. There is a clear mismatch between what works and what opportunities are actually available. The fact that more than 50% of offenders are reconvicted within one year of release really does not come as any surprise.

Through Redemption's barista academies, which are now in prisons up and down the country, Redemption have managed to reach nearly 200 offenders. 62% of these in-custody trainees went on to graduate with a Merit or a Distinction and, wherever possible, they have been hired directly into one of Redemption Roasters 5 coffee shops. With a number of success stories, both working within Redemptions network and beyond working for other roasters or in other parts of the industry, the practical application of the courses are proven. As the training also focuses on skills such as communication, time management, teamwork, and taking responsibility, the aim is for their training to be useful regardless of what trade the trainees may choose to pursue in the future.

Another area that Redemption have also managed to tackle is the mental health of the offenders that they work with. With 49% of prisoners suffering from depression and incidents of self-harm at the highest level ever recorded, tackling the more intangible issues related to mental health has been key to their success. In fact, when trainees were asked to pick the single most important benefit of training with Redemption Roasters, they chose mental health – the results really do speak for themselves.

All in all, the impact of the work Redemption Roasters do is demonstrated by their success stories, as well as the support and praise they have garnered from the Governors of the prisons they operate in, the Ministry of Defence and even Richard Branson, all of which serves to reinforce their concept and its effectiveness. We’re honoured to be working with them and proud to support the work they do.

Discover, browse and shop Redemption's coffee on the GUSTATORY marketplace, you're in for a coffee treat.

GUSTATORY (adjective): curating excellence in taste.