Raw Coffee Leeds: Inside the sleek Mill Hill cafe determined to make 'the best brews'

The latest addition to the bustling street of Mill Hill, Raw Coffee opened in March 2024 with a straightforward menu including coffee, Yorkshire tea and quick bites.

Now, just three months in, the business is home to its own roastery and a nitrogen machine, allowing Raw Coffee to set itself apart from other cafes.

Speaking to the Yorkshire Evening Post, co-owner James said the business idea was formed about three years ago but the keys to the property - which was formerly hairdressers Lox of Love - were only secured in December last year.

In the new year, the couple began transforming the venue into a sleek, monochromatic coffee shop with black furniture and grey walls.

The coffee industry was familiar to Anya, who has a decade of experience in the field, but James said he had left a job with Sainsbury’s to pursue the business.

The 32-year-old added: “I have always been quite interested in coffee.

“I was looking for a way to get out [of Sainsbury’s] and we were meant to move into a flat but it ended up getting delayed.

“We were still looking for a flat to buy and we just thought, ‘actually, it’s not bad timing to use that money to do what we have been talking about for so long’.”

And the couple could not be more thrilled to see the support locals and tourists have shown the business.

James said: “The response from customers has been good. They enjoy it and it’s something different. 

“For us, it’s not just about the coffee, it’s a whole experience from when you come through the doors to when you leave, how your drink is presented, how you are served on the till. I think people take it really well.”

He added: “A lot of people have been saying it’s something that Leeds has been missing. We didn’t identify a gap in the market, but we saw that there was not many places in the UK doing what we are doing, nevermind in Leeds. 

“I don’t want to be cheesy and say we push the boundaries, but we know we can keep pushing coffee and that’s what we are constantly trying to do. 

“Meeting everyone has been the highlight. There’s so many great and interesting people in Leeds.”

The current menu at Raw Coffee features nitro brew lemonade and nitro matcha but James said that there is still more that the business wants to make and achieve.

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He said: “That’s the beautiful thing with coffee. It’s not that you will never be satisfied but there always seems to be more to go for.

“We’re just trying to be the best we can, that is what it was all about for us.

“I guess our success is measured by how much people like our product. We never did this for the money, it was always because this is what we are passionate about.

“If we make any money, then great - that’s a bonus. It was always more just how can we do the best product for the consumer. That’s what we want to do.

“We want to make the best cup of coffee we can and if we can give that to other people, that’s the bonus of it all.”