Rosslyn, the independent collection of specialty coffee shops in the City of London, opened its tenth store this week on Cheapside — a stone’s throw from St Paul’s Cathedral and set directly beneath the bells of St Mary-le-Bow, the church whose peals have defined “true London” for centuries.

The opening comes after Rosslyn was named the highest-placed coffee shop in London in Europe’s 100 Best Coffee Shops, the continent’s definitive ranking of specialty cafés, cementing its position as the capital’s leading name in specialty coffee at a moment when the brand is also expanding its footprint across the City. 

London’s relationship with coffee is one of the oldest in the world outside the Middle East. The city’s first coffee house opened on St Michael’s Alley in Cornhill in 1652, and within a generation London had more coffee houses than any other city on earth — hubs of trade, gossip, journalism and politics that gave rise to institutions from Lloyd’s of London to the modern stock exchange.

Rosslyn’s team see the Cheapside opening as a continuation of that rich history.

“London invented coffee culture as we know it, long before Melbourne or Seattle got anywhere near it,” said James Hennebry, co-founder and CEO of Rosslyn.

“Somewhere along the way the city forgot how good it used to be at this. We’ve built Rosslyn on the belief that Londoners deserve the coffee their own history promised them, and opening on Cheapside, under the Bow Bells, feels like the most fitting home for Rosslyn.”

Tradition holds that to be a true Cockney — a true Londoner — one must be born within earshot of the Bow Bells. For centuries the bells of St Mary-le-Bow have marked out the beating heart of the City, a symbol of authentic London life amid a Square Mile now dominated by glass and steel. Rosslyn’s tenth store sits directly in their shadow. 

“There’s something in that old idea of the Bow Bells that we love,” Hennebry added.

“It’s about proximity to the real thing, the true version of London, not the postcard version. That’s exactly what we’re trying to do with coffee: not a trend, just the real thing, done properly, for the people who actually live and work here. Ten stores in and we’re still only interested in serving true London.” 

The new Cheapside store follows the same model as Rosslyn’s other nine City sites: specialty coffee, made properly, in a fast-paced format built for Square Mile workers, without compromising on quality or hospitality.

Rosslyn is 100% independent and has grown organically from one coffee shop on Queen Victoria Street in 2018 to ten sites across the Square Mile, all thanks to the support of the City of London community.