Trampoline

JUMPING TO THE GOOD WITH TRAMPOLINE AND ANTONIO

By Andreas Christou

Camden Passage in Islington Angel, London, has been at the centre of the speciality coffee scene in this area for quite some time now.

I’ve witnessed first-hand how Coffee Works Project transformed this cobbled road from a row of antique shops to a highly sought-after hospitality hot spot, with the likes of Fredericks, The Breakfast Club and Brother Marcus, to name a few of its residents.

The already spoilt for choice locals and visitors to the area have just gained a wonderful new speciality coffee shop with a highly regarded coffee professional Antonio Orria at its helm, in the form of the new social enterprise Trampoline.

In a bright orange skin and with its playful brand identity, Trampoline stands out as the new kid on the Camden Passage block, sitting on the corner of Carlton Place across the road from The Breakfast Club - it can’t be missed. But don’t be fooled by the fun exterior, this project is a serious social mission and is just what our overstretched and sometimes less than inclusive industry desperately requires. A project that promises to also change the lives for the better of some of our community’s most helpless individuals.

Antonio speaks enthusiastically and passionately speaks about the task ahead and how the idea is that of his partner Pranav, and that he gives him all the credit for this. I quickly recognise that Antonio is a humble man; he underplays how important he is to this project and his influence in the industry, and I’m sure Pranav agrees.

His foundation started when moving to London from Italy approximately a

decade ago now; he soon found himself in the hospitality world where he discovered the value that the UK put on training and structure in the workplace.

After the shock of being told by his first boss, “Tomorrow you’re going on a course, they are going to teach you how to make coffee,” he found himself at the Monmouth Roastery where his first experience in speciality coffee was born. Being a student of philosophy, he found it fascinating how this coffee world existed outside of the small espresso shops in downtown Napoli in his beloved Italy and his intrigue was sparked.

This passion for speciality coffee was cemented in 2013 when he visited Ethiopia. The realisation that there were other countries that had as much passion for coffee as the Italians had was ‘life changing’, in his own words. These cultures had coffee embedded in their lives, they loved coffee, they knew coffee, the only difference was how they prepared it and served it.

On his return Antonio quickly enrolled in SCA (Speciality Coffee Association) courses to further and better his knowledge and understanding of this new world he had discovered and, in 2015, he took up the opportunity to join the Taylor Street Baristas, his first true and full speciality coffee role. He speaks highly of Andrew Tolley, one of the founders of Taylor Street and Harris + Hoole. Again, he openly describes how important Andrew was and is for him with his continuous support and mentoring, to this day.

Once he had established himself in the coffee world, in 2017 Origin Roasters came knocking and offered Antonio his first managerial position, engaging him to manage the British Library operation. This was a focal point in his career when he realised that speciality coffee is an ideal, but how you integrate this ideal in a city like London where many consumers do not understand or embrace the complexities of high-quality coffee was a reality that struck him hard. His philosophy background would have him questioning how he could bring speciality coffee to the masses and the true coffee experience through to the general public.

Antonio would take things even further and his hunger to understand and manage people’s expectations in this field would lead him to explore neuroscience and test some of his concepts within this space.

Step in Henry (the hugger) Ayers, one of the founders of The Gentlemen Baristas, who made Antonio his head of coffee in 2019, for which Antonio is very grateful, describing Henry as someone who brings fun and humility to any situation no matter how serious it is. This opportunity allowed Antonio to further his knowledge of the supply chain and build relationships with farmers and producers. Antonio describes this as ‘opening Pandora’s box’; he respects and feels the farmers’ and producers’ struggles much more now and is grateful to the companies that are truly going down the sustainability route.

All these roles and coffee journeys prepared and led Antonio to Pranav from Nevi Teas in 2022 when the two

of them opened Trampoline. A social enterprise in which they ‘do their bit’ by training and employing refugees who have recently been given status here in the UK. Once trained and ‘ready to fly’ Trampoline, who work with other employment projects, will support them on their journey to a rewarding career.

This concept and his willingness to get involved was a simple choice for Antonio, as he felt that the opportunity to support and aid refugees in the task of settling in our society was too rewarding to reject. With a fear of not wanting to label their staff as ‘refugees’ and have them judged only by this label, the pair decided not to speak too loudly about the project until now. After being pleasantly surprised to find that the majority of people care enough to ask the right questions, they have decided now is the right time to bring the aim of their project to the fore and make more people aware.

Their challenge is to find a balance between being known as a social enterprise and making consistently good coffee prepared by highly skilled baristas who happen to have started their lives here as refugees. Having a great story and supporting people in need is a great start, but people still want good coffee and good food: I can personally vouch that they are great at doing both and I regularly pop in for a coffee and a catch up with Antonio.

So, you’ll understand from this why I fully support Trampoline and their cause; recent times have proven and are still proving that the speciality coffee industry needs to broaden its reach and with a shortage of good baristas, roasters, front of house etc, projects like this should be welcomed and supported by all. And at the same time, they’re helping people who may otherwise struggle to find rewarding careers here. Speciality coffee is not just for the more fortunate, good coffee must be enjoyed by all.

Projects like Second Shot Coffee, Redemption Roasters and now Trampoline are doing a fantastic job in making our beloved industry more accessible to all and proving that kindness and compassion do still exist.

Trampoline plans and needs to grow by opening more locations as this is the best way to make a bigger impact and help more and more people, so feel free to reach out and see how you can help: Antonio will be happy to explain more.

Thank you, Antonio - you have been and continue to be the inspiration to whom many young baristas gravitate early in their careers: your energy and love for our industry is contagious and we need more Antonios in our lives. Andy x