There are certain moments in your journey that feel like a turning point, the kind of milestone you dream about long before you are ready for it. For us at Ground Coffee Society, The Open was always that moment.
From the early days of working with Absolute Taste, we knew this event sat at the very top of the mountain. A legendary fixture on the sporting calendar, The Open is more than just a golf tournament. It is an operation of extraordinary scale, precision, and expectation. And when it comes to coffee, it is a beast.
The numbers are staggering. Over the course of the week, The Open sees more than two tonnes of coffee brewed and served across the site. That means over sixty machines installed, a mix of traditional espresso setups for hospitality and sponsors, and automatic bean to cup systems for the public and corporate areas. Our roastery in Oxfordshire becomes mission control, with two Arctic lorries packed to the brim, leaving for the course loaded with gear, product, and a whole lot of caffeine.
But it was not always like this.
When we first partnered with Absolute Taste, we were a small but determined team with big ambitions. In those early years, we supported The Open in pockets, covering smaller areas of the site with modest setups, learning as we went. We knew we were not ready to take on the full scale, and we were not in a rush. We believed in growing the right way, by building trust, nailing the details, and letting our coffee speak for itself.
Every year, our footprint grew. We added more machines, more baristas, and more responsibility. We brought consistency, personality, and a genuine care for the quality of what we do. Slowly, those pockets became a presence.
None of it would have been possible without the people around us. Events like this are not delivered by one company alone. We are lucky to collaborate with like minded partners who share our commitment to doing things properly. Gavin and the team at Liquidline have been instrumental in helping us deliver the self serve side of the event, with their bean to cup systems humming quietly in the background, keeping the crowds fuelled and the flow seamless. We focus on the traditional machines, the baristas, the training, the logistics, and the coffee itself — and together, we make it work.
For The Open, we also developed a fully custom, Fairtrade certified coffee blend, roasted exclusively for this event. It was served across the entire site, and gifted to every single golfer taking part — a gesture we were proud to make, and one that reflected both the scale of the event and the care we bring to everything we do.
We are incredibly grateful to Absolute Taste for trusting us, backing us, and giving us the opportunity to grow into this role. Their belief in what we do has been instrumental in helping us take on an event of this size, and we are proud to be part of their wider team.
In 2024, at Royal Troon, we took on the entire site.
It was a moment we will never forget. Not just because of the scale, but because of what it meant. It was the result of years of graft, learning, and belief. It proved that a small team with big ideas and a clear focus on quality could stand shoulder to shoulder with some of the biggest names in the events world, and deliver something genuinely special.
We are proud — proud of our team, proud of the coffee we serve, and proud of what we have built.
And we are only just getting started.
