Location

1 Devonshire Rd, Chiswick, London W4 2EU

Details

‍Monday | 7:30 am – 3:30 pm
Tuesday | 7:30 am – 3:30 pm
Wednesday | 7:30 am – 3:30 pm
Thursday | 7:30 am – 3:30 pm
Friday | 7:30 am – 3:30 pm
Saturday | 8 am – 4 pm
Sunday | 8 am – 4 pm

Website

Instagram

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We sit with Dorian Needs by the window at Tamp Coffee, his wood-clad café on Devonshire Road in Chiswick. The rhombus logo that adorns the window and cups came from his own sketches, inspired by old Umbro and Jaguar designs. When Needs started here in 2014, West London had virtually no specialty coffee scene. Now, after a decade of building relationships with regulars and recently making the bold move to roast his own beans, he's watching his social media explode – 22,500 Instagram followers in under a year by simply showing his face and sharing coffee knowledge. It's a story of patience, authenticity, and knowing when to pivot.

What's the story behind Tamp Coffee and how the concept first came to life?

Dorian Needs: I think the concept is something which is in motion – it's not static. When I was living in Brazil and came back to the UK around 2007, 2008, I loved the coffee shops out there that would bring together discussion, artists, politics, thinkers. They were like bubbling pots for culture, very relaxing places to be and cultural hubs. When I came back to London, I was trying to make it as a musician, which meant I needed a second job. I ended up working in one of the first specialty coffee shops – Artisan Coffee up the road – in 2012. I didn't really know much about specialty coffee, but I always loved coffee culture and everything it represented. Then I started to discover this third-wave Australian-style specialty coffee and I was like, "This is interesting," and I started to see the financial success they were having. So I made a decision to put the music on the back burner and focus on putting coffee first. Tamp came about as a combination of these cultural hubs in Brazil with what I was learning about third-wave specialty coffee in London.

The name "Tamp" is perfectly coffee-focused. What's the story behind choosing it?

D.N: I did a brainstorm of all the four-letter words to do with coffee – cafe, grind, tamp, milk – and checked which ones were trademarks. They were all used except for Tamp. I knew from working in marketing that four-letter names are very rare, difficult to come by, and leave a lasting impact. So I checked around, submitted a trademark application, and got it. I was the first.

I knew from working in marketing that four-letter names are very rare, difficult to come by, and leave a lasting impact.

You've been on Devonshire Road since 2014. What drew you to this particular location in Chiswick, and how has the neighbourhood evolved around you?

D.N: The neighbourhood has evolved massively. I'm from Hammersmith just up the road, and when I started, there was literally nothing in terms of specialty coffee in West London. It didn't exist. All the places were in Central or East London – nothing West. So naturally, being from the area and living in West London, I wanted to be the first. Actually, the location we wanted was on Turnham Green Terrace, but we couldn't afford it, so we came to Devonshire Road. It was cool and bubbling but not what it is now. Eleven years ago it was very different. Chiswick has changed dramatically in the last decade.

Tamp underwent a major transformation in 2021, evolving from serving Extract Coffee Roasters beans to becoming your own specialty roastery. What sparked that decision?

D.N: When we started, our first coffee partner was Mission Coffee Works. We actually opened serving an Ethiopian Yirgacheffe as espresso, which was a bit of a shock to the local community – they didn't know what was going on. It was delicious, but I think too out there for Chiswick at the time. After that, we worked with Extract Coffee in Bristol for many years – fantastic people, really good at what they do. But I got to the point where I wanted more freedom. I wanted to choose and source my own beans and push our own brand. So we partnered with Nicolas Pastelopoulos, who was previously head roaster at Saint Espresso. Now he's the founder of CoffeeReps, and we work in a really close partnership where he sources the beans we want and matches the profiles we're after.

What were the biggest challenges during this transition?

D.N: It took a while to understand the rotation and order levels. We had to keep costs under control because we dreamed that roasting our own coffee would be much cheaper – you do buy green coffee cheaper, but there are so many other factors: the roasting itself, packaging, labels, shipping. Suddenly you realise it's not that much cheaper. The biggest benefit wasn't economical – we're paying almost like-for-like what we were before. The biggest benefit was complete freedom to source and profile our own beans. We're buying some incredible filter coffees – Nestor Lasso, Wilton Benitez. We can buy some of the same coffees as the top roasters in the UK.

How do you approach sourcing and selecting your coffee origins?

D.N: We don't source per origin. I don't choose coffee based on where it's from – I choose it on flavour profile and affordability within that profile. I know what flavour profiles I want, and our roaster knows exactly what I like, what we want from the filters and the espresso. That's how we choose our beans.

What's been the biggest learning curve in going from just serving great coffee to roasting it yourself?

Learning to manage the orders, the volume, the stock rotation, resting the coffee, packaging – all of that was a massive learning curve. Managing aspects like packaging itself and labels, then everything else around design and digital strategy.

Your online presence extends beyond selling coffee to building community. How has the digital experience evolved?

D.N: This is interesting because I only jumped into the digital world very recently. About a year ago, we had to close our Instagram account, which was ten years old with about 6,000 followers, because our posts weren't reaching anyone. A professional company said we were stuck in a bad algorithm. So I made the difficult decision to close it and start fresh, this time showing my face – I'd never done that before. We started with simple coffee knowledge videos, basic stuff, which just blew up. We've got 22,500 followers now in less than a year. TikTok's growing at 6,500 followers, we've launched YouTube, and now we're launching a podcast. In the social media aspect, I've only just started to embrace it and it's going well. The webshop side – I can't get my head around it, or I don't have enough money to make it work.

‍How do you balance community needs with business sustainability – for instance, customers with laptops?

D.N: The laptop thing became a problem early on. We had bigger tables and were doing brunch service, so each table was more valuable. I walked in one day and counted 11 or 14 laptops. I walked straight to the plug socket and turned the Wi-Fi off. Our shop was inundated. But we don't serve brunch anymore, and I think the general public are more aware now. People know that for a little business like us, if you're going to sit here with your laptop all day, you're actually harming us whilst supporting us. That awareness is more prevalent today. Wi-Fi is back, and we don't need to ask anyone anything.

People know that for a little business like us, if you're going to sit here with your laptop all day, you're actually harming us whilst supporting us.

Looking back over the decade, what's one piece of advice you wish you'd known when starting?

D.N: Do as much in-house as possible. We entered a dangerous period when we weren't producing our own food – we were buying everything in and reselling, which destroyed the margins. So we started doing everything in-house. It can be a game-changer for a business, either make or break.

We notice you've expanded into apparel alongside coffee. What was the thinking behind that?

D.N: I've always liked the idea of having my own line of apparel. I like streetwear and surfwear, and our apparel fits right into that. I initially came up with trucker caps just to see if it would work. I ordered a hundred, they sold out. I ordered another hundred, they sold out. I realised I was onto something. I implemented the same philosophy with apparel as with food and coffee: simplicity and excellence. The t-shirt blanks are all made in Portugal – high-quality Portuguese cotton. We only make 25 of each t-shirt, 100 of each cap. Low quantities, but really high quality.

Where do you see Tamp heading in the next few years?

D.N: Right now I don't have an appetite to open more sites – this is the only one for the time being. I'd really like the webshop to take off and have more success in the direct-to-consumer market. We've also got the podcast launching in July with some fantastic customers – some people will recognise, some won't, but all interesting people. Who knows where that will take us.

When you're exploring West London, make Tamp Coffee on Devonshire Road an essential stop for expertly roasted beans and the café culture Needs has been cultivating for over a decade. With the podcast launching in July and coffee knowledge videos that have captivated thousands, follow @tampcoffeeuk on Instagram to stay connected with their evolving story.