Owens Organic Gara Blend Coffee Review

Owens Coffee have been roasting 100% certified Organic and Fairtrade coffee at their Ivybridge roastery in Devon since 2010. They were the first dedicated organic coffee roaster in the South West, and they’ve since built a reputation that extends well beyond the region. Their roastery is home to a Loring convection roaster that uses 80% less energy than conventional drum roasters, which gives some sense of how seriously they take their environmental commitments.

The Gara blend is their best-known coffee and, by most accounts, their best. It has won UK Best Organic Coffee at the Soil Association BOOM Awards, a Great Taste Award, Taste of the West, and most recently two stars at Great Taste 2025. That’s a genuinely impressive shelf of awards for a small Devon roastery.

Gara: The Blend and Its Origins

The Gara blend combines Arabica beans from Honduras and Peru, selected for their complementary profiles. The Honduran component contributes body and a clean caramel sweetness; the Peruvian adds a crisp lift and the roasted nut character. Both are certified Organic and Fairtrade, which means the farmers growing them receive above-market prices and no synthetic inputs go into the process.

Medium-dark roasting brings caramelisation to the sugars while preserving enough origin sweetness to keep the profile interesting. It’s a mince to oversimplify organic coffee as automatically “worthy but dull.” Gara proves otherwise.

Aroma

Fresh-ground Gara smells generous and inviting: caramel and toasted almond up front, with a buttery biscuit note underneath. There’s depth without heaviness. It’s the kind of aroma that makes the kitchen feel like a good café.

In the Cup: Espresso

Pulled as a double espresso at 92°C with 28-second extraction:

• Caramel sweetness upfront, smooth and clean
• Roasted hazelnut mid-palate, warm and rounded
• Biscuity sweetness on the finish with a gentle fruit lift
• Body: medium-full, smooth
• Acidity: low, approachable
• No bitterness to speak of

This is the kind of espresso that makes you want a second. The absence of bitterness is notable, and the caramel finish is long. It works equally well as a lungo.

In the Cup: Cafetière

In a cafetière (30g/500ml, 4 minutes), Gara becomes more chocolatey and rounded, losing some of the fruit lift but gaining creaminess. A very good everyday cafetière coffee.

Value

At £8.95 for 250g (£3.58/100g), Gara is exceptional value for award-winning, certified Organic and Fairtrade specialty coffee. You would pay considerably more for comparable quality from a London roaster without the ethical credentials.

Who It’s Best For

• Espresso and cafetière drinkers who want a reliable everyday coffee
• Anyone prioritising Organic and Fairtrade certification without wanting to sacrifice flavour
• People who want to support small-scale UK independent roasters
• Gift buyers looking for a well-presented, well-certified option

Not for: filter coffee enthusiasts who prefer bright, light-roasted single-origins, or those seeking complex origin-specific flavour.

Verdict

Owens Organic Gara is the rare coffee that wins prizes, carries meaningful certifications, and still manages to be genuinely delicious. The caramel, nut, and biscuit profile is accessible and consistent, the price is fair, and the ethical credentials are as good as it gets. I’d argue this is the best value certified organic espresso blend available from a UK roaster.

Rating: 4.4/5

Frequently Asked Questions

Where can I buy Owens Organic Coffee in the UK? Owens Coffee is available direct from owenscoffee.com, with free delivery on orders over a certain threshold. They also sell via independent organic retailers and farm shops across Devon and beyond.

What organic certifications does Owens Coffee hold? All Owens Coffee products are certified Organic (Soil Association) and Fairtrade. The Gara blend has specifically won the Soil Association BOOM Award for UK Best Organic Coffee.

Is Owens Coffee good for milk-based espresso drinks? Yes. The medium-dark roast and caramel-forward flavour profile makes Gara particularly well-suited to flat whites, lattes, and cappuccinos. The sweetness carries through milk without being overwhelmed.