A Cardiff Coffee Passport will go on sale this autumn, offering holders six coffee redemptions across six independent city centre venues over a six-week period.
The pilot is supported through FOR Cardiff’s City Ambition Fund, which funds projects designed to bring new ideas, experiences and activity into Cardiff city centre.
The first line-up is Donald’s on Quay Street, Hard Lines at Cardiff Market, Society Café on St Mary Street, Pettigrew Bakeries in Castle Arcade, Corner Coffee in High Street Arcade, and Brodies on Castle Street. Passport holders can choose one of two coffee options at each venue.
Participating businesses were chosen based on criteria including offering at least two different brewing methods, showcasing independent and speciality roasters, offering customers the chance to explore coffee beyond a standard espresso-based menu, and bringing something distinctive to Cardiff’s coffee culture.
The passport goes on sale on Friday 23 October, priced at £19, with a first run of 300 physical passports. The six-week redemption period starts on Friday 30 October.
Passport holders must drink in if there is space, or bring their own reusable cup for each redemption.
The scheme was created by Cardiff-based communications consultant Jane Cook, who also founded the Cardiff Wine Passport in 2022. That scheme has generated more than £80,000 in direct revenue for the independent Cardiff bars and restaurants involved.
Jane Cook said: “The Cardiff Wine Passport started out as a simple idea: give people a reason to try independent venues they might otherwise walk straight past and make discovering the city part of the fun. Watching that project grow over the last four years made me wonder whether the same model could work for Cardiff’s independent coffee scene.”
“It’s not a generic coffee discount / loyalty card. The six businesses in this first pilot have been chosen because they genuinely care about coffee – from the equipment and brewing methods they use to the roasters and different origins they showcase. Collectively, I think they tell an exciting story about the quality of coffee available in Cardiff right now.”
“I’m also really pleased we’ve been able to build re-use into the scheme from the beginning; if you want your passport coffee – you bring your reusable cup. It makes sustainable behaviour part of the experience rather than something we simply talk about as a nice to have.”
Carolyn Brownell, Executive Director at FOR Cardiff, said: “FOR Cardiff’s City Ambition Fund is about helping great ideas get off the ground and creating new reasons for people to spend time in the city centre. We saw with the Cardiff Wine Passport how a relatively simple idea could generate meaningful footfall and direct spend for independent businesses, so it’s exciting to help develop that model in a completely new way. Cardiff has a fantastic independent coffee scene, and the Cardiff Coffee Passport gives people another reason to explore it while also embedding reuse into the customer experience.”
Gareth Owens, founder of Donald’s, said: “It’s great to see Cardiff’s coffee scene going from strength to strength. The Passport gives people a reason to explore different venues, brewing methods and coffees from independent roasters, and hopefully become a bit more curious about what’s in their cup and where it comes from. If it gets more people walking into independent businesses, asking questions or trying a different brew for the first time, that’s a huge win for Cardiff and the wider coffee community.”
More than 600 people have already signed up to the mailing list for priority access before the general sale.
