AN entrepreneur is happily grinding out a living after setting up a coffee roasting business in Neilston.

Raymond Kerr first fell in love with the popular brew when he spent three months visiting his half-sister in Australia in 2012/13.

However, it was during a nightshift in his role in the security department at Silverburn shopping centre in May 2020 that he started to think about how he could get into the coffee industry.

Raymond, 31, decided to give roasting a go, eventually setting up Rambeans, which sells freshly-roasted and bagged-to-order micro-batch coffee.

He told the Barrhead News: “I was in Melbourne for three months and it’s a really big coffee culture there and I fell in love with it.

“My dream is to have my own coffee shop but, due to finances and other things, that’s not happened yet, so I thought I’d try coffee roasting.

“I did a bit of reading about it and watched some videos and then started roasting in the house, trying it myself and giving it to friends and family.

“It was a learning curve, a totally new skill and, at that point, just a hobby but then people said I should try selling it.”

Raymond, who has three young sons, uses the kitchen at his parents’ home in Neilston to roast the beans.

Equipment there includes a drum roaster, with mum Michelle and dad Raymond senior happy to support his enterprise.

The most popular product is his taster selection pack, which contains beans from different origins.

Last year, Raymond fulfilled orders from as far afield as the Shetland Islands and London.

Rambeans coffee has also been enjoyed by singer Callum Beattie and 2021 World’s Strongest Man Tom Stoltman, who likes to kick off his day with a cup of joe, along with eight eggs, toast and veg.

Musician and actor Tom Urie also featured Raymond’s product at the beginning of the video for his rendition of Electric Light Orchestra hit Mr Blue Sky as part of his lockdown sessions.

“I never expected it to be what it is now,” said Raymond, who lives in Cardonald. “My friend from Barrhead, Marc Jones, has been a great help. He organised the website for my 30th birthday.

“I still hope to have a coffee shop one day but Marc and I have purchased a horse box and we are in the middle of converting that. We will hopefully get that up this year so we can have our own coffee business as a joint venture.

“We hope to get an East Renfrewshire trader licence so we can do it in the Neilston and Barrhead area and be reactive to any events we want to attend.

“My parents have a summer house in their back garden, so I’m hoping to set that up as a dedicated roastery.”

To find out more, visit rambeans.co.uk. There are also giveaways available on facebook.com/RamBeansCoffee.