A Perth businesswoman has described a “surreal” visit to 10 Downing Street which ended with her coffee being kept for the next cabinet meeting.
Mhor Coffee was one of nine female-run producers from across the UK selected to showcase their products at the event.
Owner Tricia Fox and general manager Jennifer Poutney handed out samples of their artisan blends to attendees, which included Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his wife Akshata Murthy.
PM thanks to Mhor Coffee
Tricia said she was shocked her small business received the invite to No 10.
“The invite seemed to be completely out of the blue,” she said.
“To be honest I was fully prepared to be turned away at the doors of No 10. It was surreal.
“The Prime Minister came over and spoke to Jennifer – I was too busy preparing samples at the time. She gave him some coffee which he thanked her for.
“Apparently he’s not a coffee drinker – but his wife Akshata is. She also come over and spoke to me at length.
“It was an incredible honour, and a fantastic opportunity to showcase the Mhor Coffee artisan blend of coffees to an entirely new audience.”
The event was held to mark International Women’s Day.
Coffee kept by Downing Street
And that audience will soon include members of the Prime Minister’s cabinet.
The Perth pair were left with around 10 sample bags at the end of the event when an aide asked if they could be kept.
“We were happy to leave the coffee,” Tricia adds.
“The aide said they’d like to serve it at the next cabinet meeting.”
Mhor Coffee was started by Tricia and her husband Ian Christie in 2020 in response to growing demand for exotic blends.
Tricia said the coffee business was enjoying rapid growth after a setback of closing its Perth café last year.
Subscriptions for bags of roasted beans have proved popular. It is now stocked in 20 farm stores and delis.
Tricia adds: “We had a good Christmas period. It’s starting to take shape as an e-commerce business but we’re still very much a start-up.”
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