Golden Sheep Coffee has been the  product of Michael's hopes and dreams for many years, but he just didn't get around to doing anything about it for many years. Working in F1 Motorsport for 30+ years doesn't give you much time to do anything else. Motorsport is a way of life rather than a job, with the intense long hours being par for the course.

In 2017, it was time for a change and a new start... there's only so much glitz and glamour a man can take, and it's nice to have a change from champagne every week! So following his dreams, he ventured into roasting, took some professional training and bought a roaster...as you do.

After outgrowing the garage at home in Stroud within a couple of months, Golden Sheep Coffee set up in a commercial unit on the outskirts of Stonehouse. Sales started with a stall at the Shambles Market in Stroud, and also other Farmer's markets in the area, as well as through our webshop.

An interview in 2017, broadcast on BBC Radio Gloucestershire enabled us to introduce ourselves & our ethics - fame at last! Our continued growth has been through word of mouth personal recommendation, so we must be doing something right.

Our identity is firmly planted in the Stroud Valleys and so we adopted the Cotswold Lion, with its golden fleece, as our brand image. A tribute to his(or her) importance in the woollen & textiles history of Stroud. We like to support the Cotswold Sheep Society who are working hard to save this beautiful rare breed.

We like to keep things local by naming our own blends after local areas (Worley Ridge, Coaley Peak, Forty Acre Lane and Butterrrow Hill).

We purchase our coffee beans from a Speciality Team (Falcon Speciality), who source the finest coffees from Africa, Latin America and Asia - all SCA graded 80 and above (Speciality Coffee).

They are all fully traceable back to the farmer (or co-operative), and to make this easier for you to find, we introduced QR codes to our bags. With a quick scan you can easily see who grew and processed your coffee.

By sharing every detail about every coffee that Falcon source, they support everyone in the supply chain who are invested in Quality Coffee - from farmer, exporter, roaster to barista.

As standard, Falcon Speciality pay premiums above the cost of production, regardless of the world price of coffee. They are transparent in their work and aim to have a positive impact wherever they trade, supporting projects at origin and channelling revenue back to the coffee producing regions where it is often needed most.

This ethical supply chain behaves in a manner in-keeping with the principles of trust, transparency, and integrity. It is based on the idea of co-operation rather than competition; nurturing , rather than predatory.

We aim to be as environmentally aware and considerate as possible in everything we do, and we're working hard to eradicate single use plastics wherever possible. In 2019, we were proud to receive the first 'Plastics-free Champion Award' for Stroud. This award recognised our hard work in trying to eliminate single-use plastics from our business.

1. We worked with 'Living without plastic' (pfree.co.uk) to identify ways in which we can make small changes to do our bit.
2. We use hand-stamped, brown craft paper packaging with a foil lining - all recyclable when separated. All of our coffee bags have a plastic valve (necessary for degassing freshly roasted beans) form which there is no getting away from currently, as there isn't a plastic-free alternative - but we won't give up looking! (You can cut this out and recycle separately.)
3. Our single-use takeaway cups and lids are 100% fully compostable (we've tested it in our compost heap at home), and the lids are Vegware (made from vegetables).
4. We offer a refill service for customers with their own containers and returnable jars. Regulars also refill their empty coffee bags several times too - Ditch the packaging.
5. We offer used coffee grinds from our espresso machines, and chaff from our roaster - FREE for your garden or compost.
6. We also use spent coffee grinds, and 'out-of-date' beans in soapmaking.
7. Wherever possible, our cardboard waste goes into our compost or made into fire logs.