THE COFFEE FUELLING THE NHS
Katie Dempster, Senior Marketing Executive
The sweet Aroma of great coffee
Run by the NHS, for the NHS, Aroma Coffee is an essential part of thousands of key workers’ daily routines.
Aroma has numerous sites in hospitals and healthcare settings across Scotland and Wales, with all profits re-directed into patient care.
You may not know this, but since 2017, Matthew Algie has developed, roasted and packed a bespoke blend for Aroma from our carbon neutral roastery in Glasgow.
The Rainforest Certified blend has its origins in Brazil and Colombia, with the team at the roastery ensuring all NHS staff and hospital visitors can enjoy consistently great tasting coffee.
Our Director of Coffee, Quality & Sustainability, Dr Eduarda Cristovam, commented, “you will always enjoy a lovely cup of coffee at Aroma. During tastings, roast and some fruit notes are present on the nose, the palate has both fruit acidity and cereal, grainy notes.”
But this partnership isn't simply about delivering great coffee. We have developed bespoke training guides for Aroma, while the national training team visit every hospital outlet on a quarterly basis to conduct spot checks. On average they deliver 40 hours of training across 100 staff every quarter; from Aberdeen to Cardiff.
Aroma outlets produce over 2.2 million cups of espresso for staff and patients every year
Providing a vital service during the Pandemic
I recently paid a visit to some Aroma sites in the Glasgow area and sat down with the Retail Manager at Aroma Scotland, Patricia Sweeney. As she describes, Aroma Coffee played its own small part in helping NHS staff through some of their most difficult days.
"During the pandemic, most sites remained open, providing coffee and snacks to key workers across the NHS. We began to open sites earlier and stay later to support our wonderful staff and ensure they could enjoy a nice cup of coffee during those arduous shifts," said Patricia.
The Perfect Match
Matthew Algie is proud to work closely alongside Aroma, roasting an ethically sourced coffee, providing additional marketing support and helping them with new recipe development. But don't just take our word for it.
Joe Gilbey, Head of Retail at NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde said, “we have benefited enormously through this relationship with Matthew Algie. It's been a great working relationship, helping us to develop our coffee offerings, keeping us in the loop with the latest trends and what’s happening on the high street, as well as supporting us through with the addition of training and professional marketing support."
“Both our NHS staff and customers love our coffee, and tell us so all the time.”
As for the all important taste test, Patricia was keen to point out the fantastic feedback they regularly receive from delighted customers.
She added: “It’s the Aroma way. We are proud to serve great tasting coffee and go the extra mile to put a smile on our customer’s faces. Both our NHS staff and customers love our coffee, and tell us so all the time”.
Lastly, I'll wrap up by thanking all of our fantastic NHS staff and keyworkers for their hard work over the past few years. I hope they enjoy their next Aroma brew.
Katie Dempster
Senior Marketing Executive
Having recently joined the marketing team at Matthew Algie, Katie is responsible for customer marketing in Contract Catering, Healthcare and Hotel channels.
With an extensive background in hotels and hospitality, Katie is a great marketing all-rounder and keen to further her barista skills and qualifications.