About Us
Learn more about Missing Bean’s story, our core values and the people who make up our team.
Timeline
Our Story
2009
Opened Turl Street
Machine: La Marzoco Linea 3-group
2010
First University College Ball
2012
Opened Missing Bean @ St Cross inside the Univeristy Law Faculty
2014
500,000th Coffee Served
2014
Opened the Roastery
Roaster: Coffee-Tech Ghibli 15kg
2014
First Wholesale Customer
2014
First Cupping Night
2017
1,000,000th Coffee Served
2018
Turl St New Espresso Machine: Faema E71
2019
Roastery new Roaster: Giesen 15kg
2019
Launched Online Shop
2020
Turl St New Espresso Machine: La Marzocco KB90 3-group
2020
1,500,000th Coffee Served
2021
Opened in Abingdon
2021
Opened in Banbury
2021
Opened in Botley
2021
Roastery Cafe Refurb & Creation of Warehouse and Office Space
2022
Turl St Cafe Refurb
About Us
Meet the team
Ori Halup – Founder & Managing Director
Ori is one half of Missing Beans founding members. He first got into coffee while studying film in Sydney. Australia was at the forefront of third wave coffee culture and utterly transformed everything he knew about coffee.
Moving to the UK and missing that good coffee and cafe hit, he would fantasise about opening a little coffee shop and letting it run itself, whilst he worked on his film career. Little did he know how profoundly the coffee bug had got him.
11 years later, sourcing, roasting and serving the best coffee he can lay his mitts on is still worth getting out of bed for.
He's created and nurtured an ever growing Missing Bean family. The focus is very much on developing mutually beneficial relationships. Be that Direct Trade with far flung farms or more immediate member's of the team. Provenance and fair treatment are paramount. Along with a good laugh. There have been some rough moments along the way but he wouldn't change it for the world!
In his spare time he represents Oxford and England in the ancient sport of Tambuerello (google it, it's a real thing). He's a keen cook and has a genuine flair for food, drink and conviviality.
Vicky Troth – Founder & Artistic Director
Vicky is the other half of the founding members of Missing Bean. Her view of coffee was transformed after arriving in Sydney for her studies.
She was used to well intentioned but poorly made cafetieres, and had assumed she just didn't like the taste of coffee. That all changed when she sampled her first flat white in Oz. Returning to the UK it was hard to find good coffee outside of London.
Setting up a coffee business in her home town of Oxford felt like the right move whilst embarking on a film career. Hoping it would provide an income (and tasty coffee) before there was much film work!
Fast forward 11 years and she now works full time in film and does much of the graphic design for the Bean. She's rightly proud of the business she's helped to shape and grow. It's definitely a real community which is what was intended first and foremost.
In her spare time she's a ceramicist and painter. And man can she throw some shapes - ceramicist chat for being Ace.
Silviu Rad - Head of Coffee & Business Development
IG: @silviurad
Silv is our head of sourcing. He began roasting coffee just after turning 18. It was his first job and he loved it! Quickly learning about complex flavour compounds and aromatics of coffee (more than in wine, can you believe). He found he was hooked on coaxing new profiles out of the beans. He still gets a buzz at the prospect of a fresh harvest arriving.
Coming to join The Missing Bean was an opportunity to put into practice everything learned at the previous roastery and cafe. Head of sourcing is a dynamic role that keeps Silv focused and motivated. It has allowed him to expand his network across every sector, from farmers and baristas to coffee drinkers the world over.
He loves nothing more than a chat with like minded enthusiasts, be it coffee or his other obsession - cycling. Just beware challenging him to a game of table tennis - he will slay you. You've been warned!
Olly Wilkins - Roastery Manager & Head of Marketing
IG: @ollywilkins
Missing Bean wouldn't be the same without Olly, he's the heart and soul of the roastery.
Here's what he has to say: 'Missing Bean is a part of the fabric of Oxford and it’s a privilege to be a member of the team. I’ve always loved the friendly, local nature of things while also thinking of the bigger picture and our impact on things on a national and global scale.
'We’re constantly learning, adapting and evolving and that makes working for MB so interesting and exciting. I feel proud to have been a part of things the last few years and can’t wait to see where we go!'
He's a keen sportsman and in his free time you can find him playing football, cricket or golf.
Ben Sankey - Cafe Operations Manager
Ben found his way to us after he enrolled on a furniture making course here in Oxford. One cold winter morning, on the hunt for a cup of 'the good stuff' before a lecture, with virtually no knowledge of his new surroundings, he and a new buddy went on an adventure. Soon happening upon 'the Missing Bean'. Little did he know, it would become an important part of his life, not only as a coffee drinker, but also a place of work, family and fun.
After a stint in Plymouth doing a furniture making degree, working summers for us, he joined Missing Bean full time as Manager of our Turl street cafe.
Seek out a cup of his favourite Ethiopian batch brew and stay for a natter.
Emilie Lambert - Project Manager & Production Roaster
Emilie is a familiar face in the Missing Bean family. Having previously worked across our cafes, Emilie has now evolved into a vital member of our back office team but still finds the time to roast a batch or two of coffee as part of our Roast Team. Without Emilie we’d be in organisational chaos and her strategic and logical mindset is perfect for us to maintain our service as well as building for the future. Emilie comes as a two-for-one deal with the loyal Roastery doggo Phrod taking residence at our HQ and keeping guard of our warehouse - her bark is far worse than her bite!
Ross Armson - Head Roaster
Ross joined us in 2021 and has brought with him a wealth of coffee knowledge and experience. Having previously worked at the likes of Campbell & Syme and Redemption Roasters, Ross truly knows what he’s talking about when it comes to coffee beans green and brown! He’s the lead in our Roast Team and designs all the roasting profiles, keeps tabs on quality control and ensures theres a continual flow of beans for ourselves, our wholesale customers and our online shop. He loves a new tattoo and is starting to run out of space to put more - he makes a pretty cool hand model too for any latte art pics!
Brian Gray - Head Barista & Production Roaster
Instagram: @Brian_gray21
Brian found his way to coffee through books. Once upon a time, he spent all his free time in bookshops (living the dream, Brian) after which he would peruse his purchases in a coffee shop. One thing led to another and Brian ended up working in a bookshop cafe. Which in his own words 'was wonderful'.
After stumbling upon a speciality coffee publication, he became instantly captivated by the art, science and dedication involved in crafting the perfect cup. Brian loves Missing Bean for its fine balance of hitting the sweet spot between informal and professional.
'You are celebrated for your individuality and are pushed to thrive.' Our favourite bookworm makes you feel right at home, whether you're grabbing a take away or staying a while to lose yourself in a good book.
Victoria Lipscombe - Roastery Cafe Manager
Vicky came to Missing Bean again via academia, studying International Relations and Business Management at Oxford Brookes.
She joined us back in 2018. Initially starting at Turl Street and rapidly developing a love and appreciation for good coffee and the cafe culture surrounding it. She went on to become Assistant Manager at our Turl street cafe.
Nowadays you can find her dividing her time between our two sites. Her coffee of choice is an Oat milk flat white.
Molly Claire McGunnigle - Botley Cafe Manager
Instagram: @mcm_mua/
Molly began working for Missing bean part time and discovered she enjoyed learning about coffee and all the myriad intricacies involved in making a lovely cup and responding to the cafes day to day needs. There's nothing she doesn't know about the working of our Turl street cafe. Pop in and say hi when you're in town.
When she's not knocking out exceptional espressos she's working on her A-game, as a talented and prolific artist, specialising in prosthetic make up, drawing and design. You can check out her work via her IG. We think she's awesome and adore the creative vibe she brings.
Tom Partington-Smyth - Abingdon Cafe Manager
Tom will be a familiar face to our Turl St Cafe go-ers, but after a brief break away from the Bean he has returned to take the reins at our new Abingdon Cafe. Tom loves all things coffee, loves all things Spanish, loves all things sport and most importantly loves a good chat! He and his Abingdon team are super friendly and have created such a welcoming space for us over there. Tom is a devoted husband to the lovely Hattie and is a soon-to-be Dad - he’ll be needing even more coffee to get him through those early starts!
Catalin Rusu - Banbury Cafe Manager
Cat is a real pro and keeps things in check for us over at our new Banbury Cafe. He has great experience ranging from Michelin Star restaurants to Artisan Bakeries, and now has turned his skills to the coffee world. As well as making a great coffee with sharp latte art, Cat loves his food so is in charge of the menu and offering in Banbury which is full of interesting treats! His real passion though is for fishing and is our go-to chef for staff BBQ’s - the two go perfectly hand in hand!
Laila Pipara - Banbury Cafe Assistant Manager
The lovely Laila has made our new Banbury Cafe a warm, welcoming space and her smile is the perfect accompaniment to your morning coffee. Being a Banbury resident she knows the town and our regulars well and keeps both us and the area on its toes! She’s a keen photographer and takes awesome snaps for our social media channels which is ideal for grabbing those moments when the latte art is looking just right!
Alex Chesters - Turl St Cafe Manager
The amazing Alex is pretty new to the Missing Bean team but she's taken our original home of Turl St under their wings and is managing in style!
Alex is one of the loveliest, friendliest and most enthusiastic Beanie who is just as happy to have a chat with the first coffee of the day at 8am, and the last at 5pm. Next time you're in give her a warm Oxford welcome!