Edinburgh-based Cairngorm Coffee cafe will re-open on Frederick Street offering an 'immersive coffee experience'

A popular Edinburgh coffee shop is set to re-open after repeated closures, with a new aim to provide an ‘immersive coffee experience’ for visitors.

The revamped Cairngorm Coffee, which is located on Frederick Street, will cater to those interested in speciality coffee.

The venue will serve limited edition beans from around the world. On opening week, beans from Barcelona, Spain, Belfast, Northern Ireland, and North Carolina, USA, will be on the menu alongside coffees from Cairngorm’s own roastery in Leith.

Each customer will be guided through a choice of three different espresso beans and a wine-style hand-brewed filter menu with 15 different options - with plans for this to exceed 100 by the end of the year.

The re-opening comes after the Frederick Street branch was forced to close several times, due to lockdowns, low footfall, and a staffing crisis.

The coffee shop, which first opened in 2014, was popular amongst office workers and tourists before the pandemic, however, it has struggled in recent years. Luckily, Cairngorm Coffee survived thanks to online orders.

Robi Lambie, the founder of Cairngorm Coffee, believes that the re-vamp will future proof the Edinburgh city centre branch.

Cairngorm Coffee’s Frederick Street Café is re-opening, after a major revamp.

Mr Lambie said: “We are doubling down on what made our “OG” location great back in the day – the experience – but this is a complete revamp. I don’t think it’s enough to just open a run of the mill specialty coffee shop anymore. So many people make great coffee so we have to do more to compete. While the roastery and Melville Street are flourishing, Frederick Street wasn’t best prepared for the pandemic and it has struggled to recover from it, so we’re going to be aggressive and relentlessly ambitious to make sure we’re ready for the cost-of-living crisis.

“We will stop at nothing till we’ve created the most well-rounded, immersive coffee experience possible. Visiting our shop will be an event, during which people slow down and truly appreciate the very best coffee, rather than just guzzle it on their way to work.

Along with his co-owner Harris Grant, Mr Lambie has hatched a five-year plan to become one of the world’s leading coffee roasteries.

He said: “We’ve renovated the space to return to the essence of what this shop was when it opened, which is all about community and bringing the very best coffee possible to our customers. I love the idea of customers getting to know each other around one big table as they learn about coffee. We want it to be as approachable and welcoming as possible.

Cairngorm Coffee founder Robi Lambie is hoping to restore the Edinburgh coffee shop back to its former glory.

“I believe Frederick Street can be more than just a coffee shop. We’ve been inspired by some of the world’s top coffee venues that we’ve visited on our travels, like Coffee Collective in Copenhagen, Sub-Zero in St. Kilda’s, Aunty Peg’s in Melbourne, and George Howell Coffee in Boston. We want to bring the essence of what we love about them to Edinburgh, but put our own spin on it.”

The cafe will open from 9am to 5pm on Wednesday to Sunday. The space will be used as a space for cuppings, recordings and events on Mondays, Tuesdays and evenings.