Kiss the Hippo Review: Tried, Tested, Honest Verdict

There's a small courtyard tucked behind the Kiss the Hippo cafe in Richmond. I found it on a Tuesday last October, ducking out of a sharp autumn drizzle with a flat white I'd just ordered at the counter.

The first sip stopped me mid-step. Butterscotch. A low, rolling sweetness that didn't fade so much as settle. I stood there under the awning, rain tapping the cobblestones, thinking about how many sustainable coffee brands I've tried where the ethics outpace the flavour. This wasn't one of them.

London's Green Roaster Put to the Test

In our roundup of the best coffee beans in the UK, Kiss the Hippo landed at number five, specifically for sustainability. But strong credentials on paper don't always translate into a strong cup at home. So we brought a full range into the lab to find out if the coffee holds up away from those beautiful Richmond cafe surroundings.

The Brand Story

Kiss the Hippo was founded in 2018 by Can Eren in Richmond-upon-Thames, west London. Eren's ambition from day one was to build a speciality coffee company where sustainability wasn't an afterthought bolted onto the branding. It was the foundation.

The numbers back that up. Kiss the Hippo became the world's first coffee company to be certified carbon negative by On A Mission, a Swiss non-profit that audits companies' entire carbon footprints, from sourcing and shipping to roasting and packaging. Their Richmond roastery runs a Loring Smart Roaster, which recycles its own heat and uses dramatically less energy than conventional machines. The roastery holds Soil Association organic certification. The beans carry Fairtrade, Rainforest Alliance, and Smithsonian Bird Friendly accreditation.

Then there's the coffee talent. Kiss the Hippo is home to both the 2018 and 2019 UK Barista Champions, Joshua Tarlo (Head of Coffee) and Paul Ross. When your head roaster has competed at the highest level, it shows in the cup. The company pays double the Fairtrade minimum for all its coffees and visits origin farms at least once a year. You can explore the full story at kissthehippo.com.

How We Tested

We tested four Kiss the Hippo coffees over ten days in February 2026: the George Street Blend, two rotating single origins (Brazil, Chapadao de Ferro and Costa Rica, Aquiares Field Blend), and the Craft Instant Coffee. Brewing methods included a Sage Barista Pro for espresso, a Hario V60 for pour-over, and an AeroPress for immersion. Each coffee was tasted black, then with oat milk. Our three-person panel scored across five categories: aroma, flavour clarity, body, finish, and overall balance. Full details on the process live on The Editor Lab™ methodology page.

Taste & Quality

The George Street Blend is the flagship, and it earns that title. It's a two-coffee blend of Peruvian beans from Cooperativa La Prosperidad de Chirinos and Ethiopian Guji. Ground fresh for the V60, the dry aroma opened with toffee and a faint red berry lift. First sip: butterscotch, clean and persistent, rolling into milk chocolate at the mid-palate. The body was syrupy without being heavy. With oat milk as a flat white, it became something genuinely comforting. Rich. Sweet. One taster wrote "Sunday morning in a mug" on the scoring sheet, which felt about right.

The Brazil Chapadao de Ferro single origin was brighter than I expected. Vibrant stone fruit on the nose, giving way to a juicy acidity that held its shape through the pour-over. It's listed as "Vibrant & Bright" on the site, and for once, that descriptor isn't wishful thinking. As an espresso, the fruit notes compressed into something closer to dark cherry, with a clean finish that lingered without bitterness.

The Costa Rica Aquiares Field Blend sat at the mellower end. Soft caramel sweetness, gentle nuttiness, a cup you could drink three of without thinking. Dependable rather than thrilling.

The Craft Instant Coffee at £11.00 surprised the whole panel. It won't rival a fresh V60, but the flavour was rounded and smooth, with none of the metallic harshness that plagues most instants. A serious travel option.

What We Liked

Sustainability you can actually verify. Carbon-negative certification from an independent Swiss non-profit, organic accreditation from the Soil Association, Fairtrade, Rainforest Alliance, and Bird Friendly labels. This isn't greenwashing. The certifications are third-party, audited, and current.

Championship-level roasting. Having UK Barista Champions running the roastery translates directly into the cup. The George Street Blend in particular shows careful roast profiling, extracting sweetness without tipping into bitterness or char.

Genuine origin relationships. Paying double Fairtrade minimums and visiting farms annually isn't standard practice. Most roasters this size can't make that claim. Kiss the Hippo can, and the bean quality reflects it.

What Could Be Better

The range feels limited for a roaster of this calibre. At the time of testing, there were only a handful of single origins rotating through the site, and no permanent espresso blend beyond George Street. If you want variety, you're largely at the mercy of whatever's currently in stock. Compared to roasters like Rave Coffee, which maintain a deep bench of origins and blends year-round, the selection can feel thin.

The website navigation also caused some friction during ordering. Finding specific grind options and subscription details required more clicks than it should have. It's a small thing, but when you're competing with brands that make reordering effortless, the checkout experience matters.

Value for Money

The George Street Blend sits at £12.00 for 250g, which works out to roughly £0.80 per cup, competitive for certified organic speciality coffee. The 1kg bags offer savings, and subscriptions bring the price down further with up to 20% off. Single origins range from £13.00 to £15.50 for 250g, with the rare Geisha lot at £35.00 for 150g for those chasing something exceptional.

Compared to Balance Coffee at £14.99 for 250g, Kiss the Hippo's flagship actually comes in slightly cheaper. Factor in the stack of sustainability certifications and you're getting considerable value. It's not budget coffee, but for what you receive in the cup and on the conscience, the pricing feels fair.

The Verdict

Kiss the Hippo does something rare. It carries the strongest sustainability credentials of any speciality roaster we've tested and still delivers coffee that competes purely on flavour. The George Street Blend is a beautiful daily drinker. The single origins, when available, show real range and skill.

The limited selection and slightly clunky online experience hold it back from the very top tier. But if you care about where your coffee comes from, how it's grown, and what footprint it leaves behind, Kiss the Hippo is one of the most credible choices in the UK right now. The coffee in the cup is the proof. All those certifications would mean nothing if it didn't taste this good.

Shop Kiss the Hippo →

FAQs

Is Kiss the Hippo coffee organic? Yes. Their roastery is certified organic by the Soil Association, and their flagship George Street Blend carries full organic certification alongside Fairtrade, Rainforest Alliance, and Smithsonian Bird Friendly accreditation.

What does "carbon negative" actually mean? It means Kiss the Hippo removes more carbon from the atmosphere than its entire operation produces. This is independently verified by On A Mission, a Swiss non-profit that audits the full supply chain from farm to cup.

How much does Kiss the Hippo coffee cost? The George Street Blend starts at £12.00 for 250g. Single origins range from £13.00 to £17.00 for 250g, with rare lots like the Costa Rica Geisha at £35.00 for 150g. Subscriptions offer up to 20% off, and delivery is free and letterbox-friendly across the UK.

Is the George Street Blend good for espresso? Yes. It's designed to shine through milk, making it excellent for flat whites and lattes. We tested it on a Sage Barista Pro and it pulled a thick, sweet shot with good crema. Kiss the Hippo themselves recommend it as a flat white.

How does Kiss the Hippo compare to other UK speciality roasters? It sits comfortably among the best. In our best coffee roasters in the UK guide, it ranked fifth overall and first for sustainability. The flavour competes with top roasters, while the environmental credentials are unmatched in the UK speciality market.