SCHOOL friends from Worcester have turned their passion and frustration into a new coffee subscription business.

Limited Coffee is the brainchild of best friends Paul Azzopardi and Dave Clee, who formed the business in October 2023.

The idea was to offer people a simpler way of discovering new great coffee, a frustration that the pair has long held and wanted to address themselves.

"I guess the trigger point was that some companies do not offer a great service when it comes to buying coffee," said Mr Azzopardi.

"Some have a low web presence or a have a shipping cost on top, which we don't like. 

"We soon thought that there may be a business here. There are other companies on the market but, depending on the value for money, you don't know what you're going to get.

"That's why we wanted to make it simple."

Mr Azzopardi and Mr Clee's initial business plan came to life last summer after rekindling their friendship that goes back to their school days at Nunnery Wood High School. 

Both agree that the "sky is the limit" regarding how far they can take the business.

"We want to be a place in the UK that gives authentic and trustworthy advice," they said. "We stand behind what we offer.

"Having a long-term relationship with customers is important. We have relationships with roasters and we will carry on doing that.

"It's about growing a business and generating income but we want to be good people and invest in those relationships.

"We want to build trust and credibility. Success will come over time but it's about sticking to our brand."

Behind the concept of simplifying the choice of coffee available to customers was to boil it down into five easy ways to present a coffee. 

These range from a fancy one, a natural, a decaf, a washed and one perfect for espresso.

Limited Coffee is currently an online subscription service but the pair have ambitions to grow it further. 

"It's been a steady start," said Mr Clee.

"We've not been rushed off our feet but that's given us more time to iron out the greases and sort everything as we go along.

"You can buy a subscription and we send you great coffee every month. It's not necessarily exclusive but it's a different offering to what they sell in the stores."