Kissick also won the 2023 UK Barista Championship and the 2024 and 2025 Irish titles, and placed sixth at the 2024 World Barista Championship. Formative began roasting at Plot in South London in 2022, with Nicholas Pastellopoulos as head roaster.
The café fills a flatiron corner building on Butler Place, clad in black diamond mesh that tapers to a point. Inside, one open room sits under a rust-orange ceiling, with a black terrazzo-look counter curving to match the building.