IF you’ve been smelling something good in Rhayader this month, it’s probably been the town’s newest addition to the high street, a coffee shop.

Narrative Coffee opened on West Street at the beginning of July, taking over a premises previously occupied by Powys solicitors firm Milwyn, Jenkins & Jenkins, which now operates elsewhere int he town.

The name Narrative derives from manager Sam Lunn being an avid reader, as well as the fact that in owning a town centre business you hear so many stories from customers on a regular basis.

Sam, who grew up in Powys in the 1990s, says he also picked Rhayader because of its great high street atmosphere.

Sam has been working in Specialty Coffee Association style coffee for more than 10 years. Having been trained by US coffee master Yuko Inoue, he has since helped café owners in London, as well as Northamptonshire and Oxfordshire; he’s even been to Albania's capital Tirana to teach people about SCA style coffee.

Narrative Coffee opened on West Street at the beginning of July.Narrative Coffee opened on West Street at the beginning of July. (Image: Narrative Coffee)

“It's always been my dream to open my own (shop) in this vein one day,” said Sam, 33.

“It made sense to me to bring it back to family in Powys, and Rhayader has such a great high street.

“The community have been so welcoming. We got invited around the Rhayader Museum and Rosemary at Quillies has ensured we've settled in nicely. So far, word of mouth has kept us pretty busy.

“We're also working pretty closely with the Lost Arc Cafe and Venue here too, doing a staff share for workers and generally looking after one another.

“We absolutely love what they're doing for the creative scene here and they've been incredibly supportive throughout our opening.”

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Sam’s family moved back to Powys 10 years ago from Yorkshire. He had been brought up in the region and attended Presteigne Primary School as a child. His grandfather used to work at the town’s post office and still lives locally, as do other family members.

“Working in coffee shops has meant I've met and spoken with a lot of people in my life, and everyone has a story,” added Sam, who is also a musician and trained as an actor as a teenager.

“With my focus being on a community responsive coffee shop, I've always encouraged my staff to get to know their customers, not something that always happens in city shops, so the name Narrative sat really well with me as you hear so many stories in a day.

“It also appealed to our creative side; my partner and I are avid readers and story makers.

“Yuko had a massive impact on me and my concept of what a coffee shop was.

(Image: Narrative Coffee)

“I've been making and advising on these spaces for years, trying to encourage people to focus on the purpose their shop serves in the community they sit in, rather than getting caught up in gross sales and profits.

“I've always found it makes a better working lifestyle for the staff and creates much better longevity for the shop.

“When it comes to coffee, if people enjoy being in your space, the numbers look after themselves.”

Sam went on to say: “We sell specifically, speciality grade coffee, which needs to score over 80 out of 100 points from a panel of SCA judges in order to count.

“And with an array of different beans, processes and roasts to try, I hope to show that there's a lot more that goes into coffee than meets the eye.

“We periodically rotate our house blend to ensure people are always trying something new and tasty. We also sell teas, milkshakes, iced and syruped coffees, pastries, brownies and light bites.”

Visit Narrative Coffee on Rhayader’s West Street or call 07786 621314, visit narrativecoffee.co.uk or email  hello@narrativecoffee.co.uk.