BLACKBURN Cathedral, having successfully dabbled in marketing a spirit, is now moving on to coffee and tea.

Lancashire’s premier Anglican church launched the first ever cathedral branded gin, Cathedra, in 2018

The project was the brainchild of the Dean of Blackburn, the Very Rev Peter Howell Jones.

Now he has come up with a new non-alcoholic refreshment idea with the launch of a new Cathedra coffee blend christened ‘ The Dean’s Beans’.

And he hopes to follow it up with a complementary tea brand.

The Dean's Beans, blended by a local Lancashire company Exchange Coffee, can be purchased from Checks and Greys Café in Blackburn Cathedral.

There are plans for it to find its way into local supermarkets too selling for £5 a 225g bag for both ground and beans.

The Very Rev Howells said: “This is cathedrals doing business in the 21st century.

“Creating a gin, a coffee, or a tea here at Blackburn Cathedral to sell in the commercial world helps us develop our reach beyond Lancashire.

“It reflects a well-established tradition of monastic and religious communities brewing, fermenting and distilling, that pre-date the medieval period.

“And by doing so, we are helping to reflect something of the entrepreneurism and creativity, which is the spirit of England’s cathedrals.

“We want to put Blackburn Cathedral firmly on the map for everything it has to offer including its hospitality, its worship, its music, its gin and its coffee”

The Dean hopes to create a Cathedra Tea blend to join the brand later this year.

Cathedra Gin saw its first two batches sell-out in less than a week in 2018. It was stocked by supermarket Booths and independent stories include Warley Wines last year making a profit for the cathedral.

Sales of the spirit, which retails at £39, are now nearing 2,000 bottles. The Dean borrowed £12,000 from the Cathedral’s funds to see the gin developed which has been repaid. All profits go towards supporting Blackburn Cathedral’s education and music outreach programme.

The gin, made by The Brindle Distillery, is available for sale in a number of Church of England cathedral shops and online.

The Dean's Beans has been developed through investment by the Exchange Coffee.