Volcano Coffee expands Rise Up blend across WeWork UK, supports women's cooperative

Volcano Coffee Works has scaled its Rise Up blend across WeWork’s UK estate, supplying the coffee at WeWork barista stations and in bean-to-cup machines in coworking locations nationwide, a move that puts a Brazil-DRC espresso blend in front of thousands of members. The Original Report states the roll-out covers WeWork’s UK estate, and Volcano framed the launch as part of a social-impact push: “Rise Up reflects our commitment to creating a positive social impact.”

Rise Up blends coffee from Brazil and the Democratic Republic of the Congo and is described by retailers as an espresso with muted acidity and tasting notes of milk chocolate, orange rind and raspberry candy. Refill Shop lists the roast profile as Dark, strength 5 on a light-to-dark scale, and processing as Natural and Washed; Beanz and Volcano product copy echo tasting notes of milk chocolate, raspberry and orange rind.

The DRC component comes from Rebuild Women’s Hope, a female cooperative on Idjwi/Idjiwi Island in Lake Kivu founded by Marceline Budza in 2013. Refill Shop states the cooperative “empowers women by using coffee production as a means of socio-economic development, contributing to education, healthcare and economic growth for 15,056 women.” Volcano’s site repeats that the coffee is sourced “directly from a female cooperative, Rebuild Women's Hope (RWH) on the Island of Idjiwi in Lake Kivu.” The blend also features coffee from Fazenda Mio in Brazil, which Refill Shop says “funds an exciting agroforestry research project.”

Volcano’s founder Kurt Stewart started the business in 2010 with “a vintage Italian cart in South London.” Company profiles diverge on headcount: Refill Shop describes “a full roastery, café and team of around 45 people,” while Beanz records a “30 strong team” at Volcano’s Brixton roastery. Both sources underline Volcano’s mission language about fairness and supporting producer communities.

Volcano promoted a series of pop-up events for WeWork members in a LinkedIn post that reads: “Join us from Monday 23rd to Thursday 26th, as we celebrate the launch of our Rise Up coffee blend.” The post maps three site-day entries: Cursitor WeWork, WC2A 1EN on Monday 23rd; Finsbury Pavement WeWork, EC2A 1NT on Tuesday 24th; and Merchant Square WeWork, W2 1AY on Wednesday 25th. The LinkedIn copy lists four days in total but the excerpt provided omits the Thursday 26th location.

Retail listings carry additional details and some ambiguity: Refill Shop offers Rise Up in reusable, zero-waste packaging and includes a price fragment of £7.50 in the product UI excerpt, while Beanz lists certifications as Direct Trade and B Corp with inconsistent punctuation. Sources vary on certification and packaging details, and the Original Report contains a truncated sentence about the roll-out that ends after “the roll-out extends.”

The WeWork deployment places Volcano’s socially framed blend in high-visibility workplace locations and ties retail exposure to Rebuild Women’s Hope’s claimed impact of 15,056 women. Outstanding details include the full scope of the roll-out beyond the truncated report text, the missing Thursday pop-up site, and confirmation of certifications and current Volcano headcount. Volcano, WeWork and Rebuild Women’s Hope have been signposted for clarification on those points.