Matt Cowie is a familiar voice and face within the UK coffee scene. Based in Glasgow, he has spent the last decade moving between bar shifts, wholesale roles, events, and now ownership, driven less by titles and more by people. Coffee, for Matt, has always been a social language first.
Today, his work spans several corners of the industry. He co-owns Amulet, a coffee shop and florist, which he runs with his wife Isobelle, where hospitality is direct, loud, and deliberately personal. Alongside this, he leads wholesale relationships at Dark Arts Coffee and steps onto the stage each year as the emcee of Coffee Masters at the London Coffee Festival, connecting competitors, judges, and audiences with equal parts clarity and humour.
Matt represents a generation of coffee professionals shaped by community rather than credentials. He speaks openly about pricing, labour, and the realities of running an independent business, while advocating for a better understanding of where coffee comes from and who it affects. His perspective is grounded, opinionated, and rooted in care, for the craft, for people, and for the spaces that bring them together!
Matt, what is your first memory with coffee?
My first memory with coffee is hating the taste! My mum drinks 8 cups of instant black sludge a day, and I used to think how the f*ck could she drink that! Look at me now… She eventually took me for a cappuccino absolutely COVERED in chocolate, and this was my gateway drug. My first experience of specialty coffee was from Extract Coffee Roasters out of Bristol.
What inspired you to pursue a career in the coffee industry, and how did you get started? What did you do before coffee?
The people. The people in the coffee industry are the friendliest, most welcoming and community-driven people I have ever met. I don’t know if it was even my choice; the industry took me in, and I’ve been falling upwards ever since, haha. I can be completely myself in this industry.
My first steps as a barista were in a shop called Icafe in Glasgow. Couldn’t be further from specialty. Lots of whipped cream, syrups and extra large extra hot mochas with honey on the rocks. I fell in love with latte art here, that’s what got me hooked. It was fun to practice and learn new shapes and patterns. I took a short break from coffee after this and worked in the Glasgow Libraries, doing odd coffee shifts here and there over the years.
I got back into it when I found out my son was on the way when I was 23. I went back to uni and got a part-time job at a great speciality coffee shop in Dumbarton called Common Ground, rest in peace. From there, I quickly moved to working at Space Coffee House in Glasgow, where I learned a lot from the owner and now friend Connie Dai. Here, I participated in lots of local events and coffee-focused competitions and started to build my profile in the industry.
I finished up uni and messaged Cairngorm Coffee asking if they needed a hand in the roastery. Turns out they did! I did an amazing year and a half as their wholesale manager, learning the ropes before finding my dream job at Dark Arts Coffee, and the rest is history! Thank you, Jamie (now Head of Coffee at Caravan) and Brad (owner of Dark Arts), for taking a chance on me.
Tell us a bit about your place and the projects you are involved in. What are your roles there?
I recently opened a shop with my wife, Isobelle (whom I met at Cairngorm Coffee). The shop is called Amulet. There’s really nothing else like it. We do amazing bespoke floral arrangements, incredible coffee and in-house bakes. It’s a lifestyle business; we are owner-operators.
I also run the wholesale program for Dark Arts Coffee! I’ve worked entirely remotely for them for 3 years, firstly building their wholesale presence in Scotland and the North and then later running the team! There’s three of us now in the sales and account management team. Shout out to Alice and Tim. Dark Arts has brought so much to my life. I wouldn’t be doing anything that I’m doing now if not for them. I’ve met so many amazing people and made incredible connections off the back of this job. Eternally Grateful.
Lastly, I also do a lot of industry event hosting and man with a microphone type stuff! Apparently, I was attention-starved as a child, so I’m making up for lost time now. My good friend James Wise got me involved with Coffee Masters, which is now the highlight of my year. I’m the emcee of the best coffee competition in the world! What a privilege. This means I get to make silly jokes and drink coffee made by the best baristas in the world once a year. If you haven’t checked out Coffee Masters, make sure you do.
What kind of experience do you want your customers to have when they visit your place?
We want people to drink something interesting, brewed masterfully, whilst surrounded by flowers. Everyone who has visited Amulet will tell you how welcoming and warm it is. Every single customer is greeted at the door and escorted through the journey.
The shop is quite a bewildering space to come into for the first time, but with absolutely zero exceptions, we guide you through it. We have a large central island where we encourage people to sit and make friends with the person next to them. I know lots of places say they do this, but we force it, haha. You WILL leave Amulet with new friends, like it or not. We want people to leave Amulet thinking two things:
1. That was the best coffee I’ve ever had.
2. Those people were so friendly. That’s it. That’s the mission.
What is your favourite part of the day at Amulet, and why?
I like the 11:30 lunch rush. There’s no better feeling than being locked in with your coworker. You’re firing through 7 hand brews of 7 different coffees with 7 different recipes, and they are on the other side of the island slamming through incredible espresso like it’s nothing. We have a quiet morning service and a slow taper off at the end of the day, but the rush is where it’s at. 1 grouphead, 1 grinder, no mercy.
What kind of community do you hope to build around your cafe, and how do you plan to foster that sense of community?
We want to build a community of people who fuck with what we do. Amulet is unapologetically us. We haven’t compromised on anything. It’s not a cafe. It’s a canvas for me and Isobelle’s unfiltered imagination. Our community is one of like-minded, creative people who just want to spend what little time they have to themselves somewhere that they feel welcome. Somewhere, they can have a laugh. It feels like a real third space. It’s not really about the coffee or the flowers. It’s about bringing genuinely nice and compassionate people together and actively opposing anyone who tries to disturb that peace.
How do you stay motivated and inspired to keep improving your coffee-making skills?
Coffee has been my special interest for the last 10 years. I’m as obsessed now as I was on day one. My entire life is consumed by coffee content, recipe tampering and community engagement. The proximity to Coffee Masters certainly helps this, too! My finger is always on the pulse.
What are some common misconceptions about our industry that you’ve encountered, and how do you address them?
Something I see a lot lately is complaining from the general public about the price of a flat white or a latte, and that cafes are making lots of money, haha! Your coffee should cost MORE!!!!!! We are very transparent about how much we pay for coffee, our cost of goods for every item sold, and how many different people have their hands in our pockets now that we are running a business, hahaha! It’s tough out there for independent cafes, and if your local is trying to survive by making a flat white £,4 it’s not because they hate you, it’s because they want to pay the rent.
What are the current trends in cafes in your region? Are there any trends you promote yourself and would like to see more often in other places?
Scotland and the UK as a whole are dominated by matcha and signature drinks right now. In fact, I think that’s why Amulet has been so successful. We don’t do anything like that. Just great coffee. It’s a complete drink on its own. We promote really modern, bright & juicy espresso alongside super high clarity hand brew filter.
Another thing I’m seeing is 500 grinders in a shop! We single-dose everything through the same grinder, and so do all of our favourite cafes. Shout out to Effy, MOD, Sibling, Last Light, etc.! I would love to see cafes doing more with less equipment. Minimal setup, maximum creativity!
If there were one piece of knowledge about coffee you’d like everyone to know, what would that be?
I wish everyone knew about the historical exploitation and colonial aspects of the industry. Beans don’t fall out of thin air and appear in your cup. We’ve come a long way in the last 15-20 years, but there is still a long way to go to do right by the farmers.
How does it feel to be the emcee of the London Coffee Festival´s Coffee Masters?
Honestly, it is very surreal. I feel so lucky. Who do I think I am? Thanks so much to my friend James Wise for putting me forward for it. Coffee Masters is my absolute favourite time of year. The judges and other staff feel like my family now. Every year, I make friends for life with the contestants. I even have the joy of working with Ryohji, 2024 champion, at Dark Arts now, as he is heading up our green buying and quality control program.
What are your passions and hobbies apart from coffee?
I’m a proud father. I love music, fashion, tattoos, hiking, drums and callisthenics! ADHD kid, if you can’t tell already.
Where in Glasgow do you find your best inspiration?
My biggest inspiration in Glasgow is my good friend Grant Agnew. Grant owns and operates an independent menswear store called Orzel in the West End. I would never have opened my own shop if I weren’t pushed into it by him. His shop is so authentically him. Every excuse I had as to why I didn’t have my own shop yet was swatted away by him. He inspired me to take control of my own fate and go headfirst into Amulet and being a business owner. Haven’t looked back since.
What coffee challenges are you looking forward to? Any new projects or collaborations?
In terms of my freelance career, I’m working on a REALLY cool project with one of my absolute favourite coffee products…. People who know me will probably be able to guess based on that alone. I don’t want to say anything else haha! Pay attention to my IG for more to be revealed. For Amulet, now I’m looking forward to scaling up the floral and lifestyle side of our business. Expect truly unhinged merchandise, social media posts and events from us in 2026!
Quick Fire Questions for Matt Cowie:
Filter coffee or espresso-based?
BOTH. Modern, juicy spro wins it for me right now.
Milk coffee or black coffee?
Black.
The most underrated coffee drink?
Espresso.
The most underrated coffee brewer?
Melitta Aromaboy.
Favourite piece of barista equipment?
Orea v2 (The small metal one).
How do you make coffee at home?
People have time to make coffee at home?! People have time to BE at home?!
No.1 café in Europe that every coffee geek should visit?
What’s your favourite city to have a specialty coffee tour outside of “your city”, why?
Praha. Good coffee everywhere, and if you can’t find it, you aren’t looking hard enough.
