OUR TEAM

JAMES GUARD

James founded The Coffee Circle (changed to Heart & Graft) in 2012. From the humble beginnings of roasting in his garage James set about learning this complex craft with the aim to make coffee approachable and accessible to everyone.

SEAN FOWLER

Sean joined forces with James in 2014-2015 after working at Lincoln and York, a large commercial roastery. His role as an assistant buyer is where he amassed a wealth of coffee knowledge by visiting coffee origins and tasting a lot of coffees allowing him to pick the best, which he continues to do at Heart & Graft.

KIERON CARNEY

Kieron joined us in 2018 as our coffee trainer. He provides all of our wholesale customers with top quality training and support. A certified SCA Trainer and UKBC competitor he is our fountain of all coffee knowledge and has enabled our customers to track and train their progress and skills in the world of coffee.

MICHAEL MITCHELL

Michael is the glue that holds Heart & Graft together. Since 2016 he has brought hitherto unseen levels of “Guy at the desk” energy. Implementing new systems, helping us achieve SALSA certification and bringing efficiency to all aspects of the roastery. Our go-to guy.

FRANKIE RANDALL

Frankie our head roaster has been with us since 2021 he roasts the majority of our coffees. The ultimate lion tamer of Big & Lil’ Purple (our 30kg and 15kg roasters). He leads QC with cupping and other analytical measurements to make sure our coffee is as tasty as can be. Fueled almost entirely by yogurt and fruit.

NICOLE COX

Nicole started out as a volunteer following her passion for coffee and developing skills and knowledge along the way. In 2023 she became a fully fledged member of this dysfunctional family and is now in charge of lead generation, events management and social media.

MONIKA PETROVAITE

Monkia is our favourite roastery assistant. A machine in the packing department, she brings efficiency with an artistic flair.

OUR STORY

James founded The Coffee Circle in 2012, teaching himself the complex craft of roasting from his garage. Sean, meanwhile, was the youngest Q Grader in the country, an industry-certified coffee taster, working within a major commercial roastery.

Driven by the desire to build something truly special in Manchester, we came together in 2015 and created Heart & Graft. From the start, our mission has been simple: make fantastic speciality coffee approachable and accessible. Since then, our wholesale business has grown immensely, and we’re incredibly proud to supply some of Manchester’s busiest and most beloved bars, restaurants, and coffee shops.

At Heart & Graft, we all share the same view on speciality coffee: it should feel inviting, not intimidating. Our job is to make it easy for people to step into the world of better coffee. We do that by sourcing and roasting exceptional coffees with real character, real provenance, and a story worth sharing.

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