August 2026

The UK's Oldest Coffee Roasters

Most businesses, let alone coffee roasters, would consider ten years trading a milestone worth celebrating. A handful of UK roasters have been at it for considerably longer — through two world wars, the instant coffee revolution, and multiple waves of coffee culture that most businesses couldn't have predicted, let alone survived. Here are six of the oldest, in order of founding.

Pumphreys Coffee, Newcastle — Est. 1750

The business which later became known as Pumphreys was started by Leigh Smith in the Flesh Market, opposite the Bigg Market in Newcastle in the year 1750. It was then subsequently handed down various generations to where it gets to Thomas Pumphrey and George Richardson Pumphrey — hence where Pumphrey's gets its name from. It's not well documented what the business was doing before the Pumphreys took over but it's regarded as being the UK's oldest supplier of coffee.

It's insane to think that this predates American independence and even the French Revolution. This makes Pumphreys not just one of the oldest coffee roasters in the UK, but one of the oldest continuously trading businesses in the country in any category.

They roast to order in the traditional way with flames, using roasting drums dating back over 80 years. Since 1983 they've been based in Blaydon, and they remain an iconic name in Newcastle's coffee scene. Not many places around today can claim almost 275 years of trading history. Just incredible.

Farrer's of Kendal — Est. 1819

Farrer's of Kendal has been roasting since 1819, making it one of the UK's oldest and continuous coffee roasters. That is not a marketing claim built on loose archival records. It has a proven, documented lineage that stretches across two centuries of British commercial history, through wars, economic collapses, and countless coffee trends that most companies will never witness.

Still small batch roasting in the Lake District today, still winning awards. Over 200 years of accumulated knowledge shows in the cup.

Atkinsons Coffee Roasters, Lancaster — Est. 1837

Atkinsons Coffee Roasters was founded in 1837 by Thomas Atkinson as 'The Grasshopper Tea Warehouse' for the sale of tea, coffee, spices, chocolate and refined sugars. Thomas named the company J. Atkinson & Co. after his wife Jane. The business has occupied its premises on China Street since 1901.

What's unique and remarkable about Atkinsons is how they've completely reinvented themselves while keeping the heritage intact. Today they're a certified B Corp, running two award-winning cafés in Lancaster and sourcing directly from farmers. Nearly 190 years from a Quaker's tea warehouse to one of the most progressive roasters in the North of England.

Thomson's Coffee, Glasgow — Est. 1841

One of Scotland's oldest roasters, Thomson's have been part of the Glasgow coffee scene since 1841 — long before Glasgow became the city it is today. They won the UK's Best Roaster competition at the Glasgow Coffee Festival 2026 in April, taking home the public choice award too. Crazy to think that nearly 185 years in they are still competing at the highest level and showing the UK who's boss.

John Watt and Son, Carlisle — Est. 1865

John Watt & Son is an independent coffee roaster and tea blender, established in 1865 and based in the heart of Carlisle, founded upon closely guarded recipes that have been handed down over the past 150 years.

Cumberland's original coffee roasters — a claim that's hard to argue with when you've been at it since the year the American Civil War ended. The kind of deep local trust built across generations.

H.R. Higgins, Mayfair — Est. 1942

H.R. Higgins is one of the oldest independent coffee roasters in Britain, founded by Harold Rees Higgins on 1 April 1942. Mayfair, London. The Second World War was still two years from ending. That Higgins survived both the war years and the subsequent decades of instant coffee's dominance speaks to the quality of what they were doing.

They remain family-run to this day, operating from their original Duke Street location. The kind of place that has royal warrant holders as customers and doesn't need to talk about it.

The UK has been having a conversation about speciality coffee for about twenty years. These roasters have been having it in their own way, on their own terms, for considerably longer. The next time someone tells you the UK coffee scene is a recent phenomenon, send them here.