The owner said it will fill a gap in Liverpool’s café scene
The Coffee, on Water Street, opens its doors this week(Image: Colin Lane/Liverpool Echo)
An international coffee brand is set to open its first UK café in Liverpool. The Coffee ザ・コーヒー will welcome customers from Thursday, December 4, as it takes over a newly renovated ground-floor unit at the Grade I listed Oriel Chambers on Water Street.
The chain, which operates more than 150 cafes across 28 countries, has already established sites in major cities including Barcelona, Paris, Sydney and Dubai. Its Liverpool opening marks the beginning of its UK franchising plans.
Founded by brothers Alexandre, Carlos and Luis Fertonani, the brand blends Japanese aesthetics with Brazilian coffee culture – an idea born from their travels in Japan.
The first store opened in Brazil in 2018 and measured just three square metres. Described on the company’s website as ‘the best of Brazilian coffee combined with the purity and perfectionism of Japan’, the business has expanded rapidly, with Liverpool now becoming its first UK venture.
Hussein Umar, the owner of the new UK site, said the city instantly stood out as an obvious launch location. He said: “For us, Liverpool is a massively historic city, from its architecture to its very diverse culture. I’m also a Red so that also made the decision a lot easier.”
He added that the city’s growing coffee culture also influenced the choice. Hussein said: “There’s a big coffee scene here too. Since Covid, I think people became very interested in coffee and a lot of people became home baristas and invested in some kind of at home setup.
Liverpool has become The Coffee’s first UK venture(Image: Colin Lane/Liverpool Echo)
“Everyone knows a bit more about coffee so they can appreciate the difference between the mainstream and specialist coffees.”
Hussein also believes the location will fill a gap in Liverpool’s café scene.
He said: “As far as I’m aware, this area specifically doesn’t have that many good-quality coffee options, so we wanted to bring a highly specialist experience with our combination of Brazilian beans and Japanese-inspired interiors and aesthetics.”
The café will operate from 7am to 10pm daily and offer a menu that differs from traditional UK coffee shops.
Hussein said: “We’ve got the standard drinks like espresso and americano but we don’t serve lattes, cappuccinos or flat whites. We have our version called ‘the true white’ which acts as a blend between the three.
The Coffee is based in a newly renovated ground-floor unit at the Grade I listed Oriel Chambers (Image: Colin Lane/Liverpool Echo)
“We also have a range of speciality matchas that come from Japan and different seasonal drinks. My favourite drink at the moment is actually from the seasonal menu and it’s a black charcoal latte.
“It just looks really cool and it’s got an almost coconut taste – it’s a really special drink. When we open, we’re also going to be offering baked goods that will come from a local bakery.”
The store will also introduce a tech-focused ordering system designed for convenience. Although staff will be available to help, most orders will be placed via an app or tablets inside the café, enabling full customisation – from milk temperature to syrup level – and allowing customers to track their queue position.
“Due to our location, our ideal situation is that anyone working in the nearby office buildings will be able to order from their desk and by the time they walk to the store, their drink will be ready. They can just grab it and go.”
Hussein said he also hopes the café will become a social hub.
He added: “It will also be a great meeting spot for friends because it’s going to be really warm and inviting. We’ve invested in some very nice ceramics, so it will definitely be a place for conversation too.”