Enjoy Ethical Coffee at The Canal Lounge & Bar

Looking for great food? Served with great coffee? You’ve found it at The Canal Lounge & Bar.

Coffee by the canal

When we turned down onto the road towards Clifton Wharf, we wondered, “hmmm, are we in the right place? This looks rather like a shipyard…” But peek a little deeper and you’ll find The Canal Lounge tucked in beside the quiet Oxford canal.

The Canal Bar & Lounge is located at Bridge 66 in Clifton upon Dunsmore, Rugby. Whether you’re enjoying a canal boat cruise or just stopping off in the Warwickshire countryside, this is the place to be for home-style food with creative flair. You’ll find a wide array of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks (like our single origin coffee!) alongside a food menu that includes everything from bakery-standard scones to hearty Sunday lunches.

We need coffee!

The Canal Lounge were looking for a coffee wholesale supplier who would set up their espresso machine, supply an awesome new coffee and offer ongoing support. Not a problem! We’re a friendly team of coffee enthusiasts providing hospitality businesses with a full barista kit and installation service, as well as free training at your premises. We sent Kelly and The Canal Lounge team some samples of our single origin coffee, tea and premium hot chocolate flakes, and it was thumbs up all around. Then, it was straight to work arranging site visits and helping Kelly to decide which coffee would work best for her customers. Trust us, when they all taste so good, it’s a hard decision…

Nothing but the best

Traceability is important to Kelly. Like us, Kelly only wants the best, ethically sourced beans. This made Two Chimps a natural choice; we source all our single origin speciality beans as directly as possible through an ethical importer and maintain full traceability on all our coffees. We only use the highest grade of Arabica beans, too, and roast multiple times each week to make sure we’re always delivering the freshest coffee to your cup. A medium roast was Kelly’s coffee of choice. It works beautifully in all espresso-based drinks and gives a cup that’s balanced between sweetness and acidity.

We sent a chimp down to Rugby to meet the team and smooth out every coffee-related detail. As well as installing Kelly’s espresso machine, we programmed the grinder to the selected grind size – a key part in the process. We also supported the staff through our free barista training to make sure they were fully equipped with all the skills to pour top-grade coffee again and again. From steaming latte milk to caring for the machine, we explained it all in jargon-free language everyone could understand. And enjoy, too; we see a smile as a key part of our tool kit!

We’re open!

We’re proud to be working alongside Kelly and her team as they reopen their doors. We love The Canal Lounge for its inventive all-day dining and cosy interior. It was a pleasure to support another local business as they get back on their feet after the Covid lockdown. We also learnt a lot, too! Fun fact courtesy of Kelly: They’re not barges, they’re narrowboats, and they are designed to fit the narrow locks in the UK. Every day’s a school day, so they say!

Fancy enjoying some Two Chimps coffee at home? Browse the full range in our online shop!

See the full range