Buds & Beans is a family-run florist café based in Dorset, a space that marries speciality coffee and bespoke floristry services under one roof.
Matt Bailey is their Director, as well as Head Barista and Florist, and took some time out from a busy day of clipping, pruning and pouring to tell us about how it all works.
What’s the concept?
We offer quality fresh flowers and plants alongside delicious coffee and cake. What’s not to like?
Who’s involved?
It’s a proper family business, run by me, my Stepdad Steve and my Mum Ashley. Steve does most of the day-to-day operations in the shop, Ashley (Mum) runs all of the accounts, and I’m the Head Barista and Florist. I have over 12 years’ experience in floristry and over 5 years’ in the coffee industry. We all play to our strengths.
Where did it all start, and where are you heading?
I’ve always wanted to open my own flower shop, having learned floral design after school, but after falling in love with coffee from a side-job at a large high-street franchise I decided it would be a great idea to combine the two! After the pandemic we found a shopfront in Dorset and decided to go all in. It’s been nearly two years of success, and we plan on going for a long time more.
Hopefully, someday soon, we’ll be able to open another shop and grow the business so we can share our wonderful concept with more people.
How did you find out about Roasting Party?
I was working for a café in Maidenhead when we changed coffee suppliers and I instantly fell in love with the Roasting Party coffee and brand. Since then, I knew that I had to bring Roasting Party to the table for my own business.
How long have you been serving The Roasting Party coffee?
We’ve been serving it since day one – June 2021. We did a blind tasting with five different coffees, all from different roasters, and all of us instantly preferred the Roasting Party coffee – it was unanimous. We chose The Party blend because it’s so smooth, yet still has a little funky flavour to make it unique. No one else in our area has been able to replicate it!
Do you have any tips or trade secrets on how to make the perfect cup?
With Roasting Party’s signature recipe combined with an unhomogenised milk from a local dairy farm, we’re able to create a flat white that’s rich and super creamy.
The relationship with the dairy farm is important to us as the milk has a huge impact on how the lattes and cappuccino taste, so we make sure to pair the finest coffee with the finest milk. That is our biggest – and worst kept – secret!
What do your customers say about your coffee?
“One of the best specialty coffee shops in Dorset”
“Best coffee in town”
“… fave coffee shop to go to”
Our Google reviews speak for themselves! We love it when customers bring their cup back to the counter just to tell us how good the coffee is.
And finally, what’s your go-to coffee order?
Steve’s would be an oat milk cortado made with The Party blend. Mine would be a flat white with unhomogenised whole milk, made with either The Party or The Captain blend.