Guide · Coffee brands
Square Mile Coffee Roasters: Red Brick, decaf and how to buy
Square Mile Coffee Roasters sells seasonal espresso and filter coffee as whole beans only, led by its Red Brick blend. Here's the range, bag sizes, prices today and how buying works.
Square Mile coffee beans come from a London speciality roaster founded in 2008, and they’re sold one way only: as whole beans, roasted Monday to Friday and posted free within the UK. This guide covers the core range, led by the Red Brick espresso blend, plus the decafs, the seasonal single origins, bag sizes, prices on 3 Oct 2026 and how the subscriptions work. We haven’t tested this in person. Everything here comes from Square Mile’s own shop and FAQ. Read how we compare.
Square Mile coffee beans: the short answer
Buy Red Brick if you have an espresso machine and a grinder. It’s the roaster’s signature espresso blend and the cheapest coffee in the range, at £15.25 for 350g at Square Mile, checked 3 Oct 2026.
Who it isn’t for: anyone without a grinder. Square Mile doesn’t sell ground coffee.
Buy The Filter Blend if you brew with a cafetière, pour-over or batch brewer. Square Mile calls it sweet, balanced and medium-bodied.
Who it isn’t for: anyone who wants one bag for espresso and filter. Square Mile splits its blends by brew method.
Try a single origin if you want something more unusual. Kenyan, Ethiopian, Guatemalan and Colombian coffees were available on 3 Oct 2026, at higher prices.
Who it isn’t for: anyone on a tight budget. The single origins we saw started at £18.25 for 350g.
Who Square Mile is
Square Mile’s about page says it was founded in 2008 by Anette Moldvaer and James Hoffmann, and is now directed by Felicity Whitehead. It roasts in London, runs monthly roastery tours and tastings, and is linked to the Prufrock Barista Training Centre. The shop also sells brewing kit, from filter papers to grinders and espresso machines.
The core range and prices
All prices below are at Square Mile, checked 3 Oct 2026. Most coffees come in 350g and 1kg bags. Square Mile explains that it chose 350g because it found 250g too little to get to know a coffee, especially for espresso.
Red Brick (espresso): £15.25 for 350g, £40.75 for 1kg and £78.75 for 2kg. The current blend is 70% Altamira de Chirripó and 30% Lalesa. Square Mile says the components change with the harvest, so the bag you get may differ from the one described here. Its product page suggests VST 20g baskets for its espresso recipe.
The Filter Blend: £17.25 for 350g or £45.75 for 1kg. It’s built on the same seasonal idea as Red Brick; the current mix is half Union San Pedro and half Las Brisas.
Decaf Espresso: £17.25 for 350g or £45.75 for 1kg. It’s Union San Pedro Decaf from Oaxaca, Mexico, with chocolate, almond and honey notes listed.
Decaf Filter: £17.25 for 350g or £45.75 for 1kg. For more on decaf, see our decaf vs regular coffee guide.
Half Caff: £23.25 for 350g or £58.50 for 1kg. It’s a 50/50 mix of Union San Pedro Decaf and the Guatemalan El Urraco.
Sweetshop (espresso): £22.75 for 350g or £57.00 for 1kg. Square Mile pitches it as a fruit-driven espresso that “isn’t about balance”.
Who it isn’t for: anyone who wants the same coffee every time. Even the core blends change components through the year.
Seasonal single origins
These change through the year. On 3 Oct 2026 the shop listed, all at Square Mile:
- Los Arcos (Guatemala): £18.25 for 350g. Described as rich and chocolatey.
- El Urraco (Guatemala): £21.25 for 350g.
- San Miguel Urias: £21.25 for 350g, a yeast-inoculated washed coffee tied to a fermentation project with James Hoffmann and Lucia Solis.
- Chepsangor (Kenya): £25.75 for 350g, with blackcurrant and rhubarb notes listed.
- Shoondhisa (Ethiopia): £25.75 for 350g, with nectarine and lychee notes listed.
- La Guaca (Colombia): £19.25 for 175g or £94.00 for 1kg.
Who it isn’t for: anyone who likes dark, roasty coffee. The descriptions lean heavily towards fruit and florals.
Whole beans only: what that means for you
Square Mile’s FAQ says it only ships freshly roasted whole beans, because ground coffee loses flavour quickly and grind size affects extraction. So you’ll need a grinder. Our guide to burr grinders under £100 covers affordable options. The shop also sells a grind-size sample pack for £8.00 at Square Mile, checked 3 Oct 2026, to help match a grind to a brew method.
Delivery and roasting
Square Mile roasts and ships Monday to Friday. Orders are processed daily at 8:30am UK time and shipped within 24 hours of roasting. UK delivery is free by Royal Mail Tracked 48, with Royal Mail Tracked 24 at £4.35 and DPD next working day at £5.88 for mainland UK, both from Square Mile’s shipping page, checked 3 Oct 2026.
It says coffee and subscription orders can’t be cancelled once they’ve been processed for roasting.
Who it isn’t for: anyone who needs coffee tomorrow on a weekend. Weekend orders wait for the next roast day.
Subscriptions
Square Mile offers ongoing subscriptions to Red Brick, The Filter Blend, the decafs and an “Our Pick” option that rotates through its range and subscriber-only lots. Its subscriptions page says 350g subscriptions start from £13.50 per week (checked 3 Oct 2026), and that you can choose your own interval, then skip, pause or add products. The 350g bags are designed to fit through a standard UK letterbox. There are also fixed-term prepaid subscriptions, sold as gifts.
To compare with other roasters, see our coffee subscriptions guide and our page on Rave Coffee.
FAQ
Does Square Mile sell ground coffee? No. Its FAQ says it only ships whole beans.
How much is Square Mile Red Brick? £15.25 for 350g, £40.75 for 1kg or £78.75 for 2kg at Square Mile, checked 3 Oct 2026.
Is delivery free? Yes, within the UK by Royal Mail Tracked 48. Faster options cost extra.
Does Square Mile do decaf? Yes: Decaf Espresso and Decaf Filter, plus a Half Caff blend.
For other beans, browse our coffee beans hub.