The Costa Coffee story began in 1971 when two Italian brothers, Sergio and Bruno Costa, arrived in London. Disappointed by the quality of coffee they were greeted with, they decided to roast their own.
So, they set up a small coffee roastery on Fenchurch Street, in the heart of London. It was here that they began to create London's finest coffee.
The brothers experimented with 112 different blends until they discovered the perfect one – the Costa Coffee Signature blend.
They sold their coffee to London's most prestigious hotels and restaurants, including The Dorchester and The Ritz. They impressed The Ritz by fulfilling an urgent order and delivering the coffee in an iconic London black cab borrowed from a friend.
In 1979, the Costa brothers opened their first Costa Coffee "boutique" on Vauxhall Bridge Road in London, introducing their great coffee to a wider audience. This was the first coffee shop in London to use the classic white porcelain cups that Costa Coffee still uses in its establishments today.
The Costa brothers' mission to save the world from mediocre coffee lives on today. Their iconic blend is loved worldwide, and their pursuit of quality is still at the heart of everything Costa Coffee does.
All whole bean coffee is slow-roasted to preserve its natural oils, resulting in a richer, fuller flavor. This process is overseen by Costa Coffee's Master Barista, Gennaro Pelliccia, who was trained by the Costa brothers themselves.
Costa Coffee Today
Fast forward fifty years. Success brings more success, and Costa Coffee continued to grow across London and eventually worldwide, and we needed to find another new home to meet the increased demand.
In early 2017, after a two-year construction period, we opened the doors to a brand new and ultra-modern roastery in Basildon, Essex.
Our roastery is one of the largest in Europe, allowing us to produce 45,000 tonnes of coffee annually. But we are not content with just being one of the largest; our roastery is also one of the most sustainably built buildings in the world, with care for people and the planet. We responsibly source all our raw coffee beans only from farms certified by Rainforest Alliance™.
