Peter Sturdey founded Tunbridge Wells Coffee Roastery in 2020, the only coffee roaster based within the town itself. He roasts in small batches through the week, working with importers who trace beans back to named farms and cooperatives rather than buying on the open market. The roastery operates from a unit on the David Salomons Estate, a Victorian mansion estate on the edge of town now given over to small businesses, where sacks of green beans become single-origin and house-blend coffee for cafes, offices and home brewers. Sturdey came to roasting after years in hospitality, drawn by the gap between supermarket coffee and beans handled with care from farm to cup. The business supplies wholesale accounts and runs a small mail-order service for households wanting fresher coffee than the supermarket shelf allows.
Surveyed