Get To Know EH9 Espresso

EH9 Espresso in Scotland is a colourful specialty coffee bar, serving up delicious treats and coffee with a huge smile - always. They've recently 're-launched' their brand with fabulous new custom-branded Hot Cups. 

We spoke to Fraser about what inspired him to start EH9, and their uber-cool custom Hot Cups.

Can you please tell us a bit about EH9 Espresso and what inspired you to start? 

It all started as a coffee blog on my Instagram. I was a student at Edinburgh at the time and working in a coffee shop part time. It was always my dream to open a coffee shop and this was a way of doing some research. I saw a real gap in the market for specialty coffee in Dundee and so decided to just go for it.

Here at EH9 Espresso, we have a focus on speciality coffee, serve cold foods, and really just want it to feel relaxed and informal when you come in - kind of like a common room that’s super friendly and where you can talk to anyone. We’ve set it up to feel like a vibrant space and it’s just a half mile away from the art school so we get a lot of students coming through, which we love.

We love that you use decent packaging, what’s your favourite thing about working with decent packaging? 

We have used decent packaging since we opened and it has really been one of the key things to our success. Having bright coloured cups and originally just our logo stamped on them, got people taking pictures of our cups and sharing on Instagram stories which was a great way to spread our name by word-of-mouth. decent packaging has such a great range that really helps our brand to stand out, and that’s why we love them! 

Why did you decide to create custom Hot Cups and how was the process with decent? 

We have worked with Darren Shaddick for a while, who designed our iconic stamp and t-shirts (@darren.shaddick!). We love the design so much and knew it would look great on our Hot Cups and so we approached decent to help us bring this idea to life. They made the process super simple for us and we are so grateful for their help - we are really stoked with how they have turned out. 

What do you think is key for creating a loyal customer base and a great neighbourhood local cafe? 

A massive part of it is how you treat people - both your staff and your customers. Sometimes you need to drop certain facades of customer service and rather than being too uptight or professional just being laid back, actually asking people how they are and really listening to people. We created this bright, vibrant space because we want people to leave in a better mood and we believe that’s what gets people coming back again and again. 

Favourite things to do in your area?

The V&A Museum (Scotland’s design museum) often has great exhibitions, and I love going to the beach on my days off - being by the ocean always relaxes me. 

Do you have anything else in the pipeline for EH9 Espresso? 

Later down the track, we’re looking to start a second store (!) but before that, hopefully do some pop-ups. Watch this space!

Find EH9 Espresso on Instagram here.