Our History
For around 80 years, Matthew Algie was all about tea. In the 1950s, we started selling coffee to post-war Glasgow, and the rest is history! 160 years later, we’re still here in Glasgow, going from strength to strength.
Our founder, Matthew Algie, was born in 1814 in Greenock, a major port for goods entering and leaving the industrial powerhouse of Glasgow. Matthew was a grocer by trade. He sold tea that arrived on the famous Clyde Clippers. In 1864, he decided to specialise and set up his own tea blending and wholesale business. Matthew’s customers were the thousands of retailers in the Glasgow area. Maybe it was something in the leaves; Matthew lived to the ripe old age of 92.
Matthew Algie through the years
Grab a coffee as we whizz through the last 160 years of Matthew Algie’s history.
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1864
In the early days, Matthew Algie setup his own tea blending and wholesale business, right here in Glasgow.
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1950
Following the second world war, Glasgow started to develop a taste for coffee, so it was added to the Matthew Algie repertoire, sold under the brand Algie’s, alongside tea and vending services. A decision which would eventually transform the company.
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1964
Matthew Algie moved to Lawmoor Road, where we are today, and roasted our first batch of coffee at the roastery.
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1974
By the 70s, Algie’s were selling coffee machines to offices, restaurants and hotels. This was revolutionary stuff as people moved away from instant, and towards quality, freshly-ground coffee.
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1983
The business went through a rapid expansion, selling our coffee right across the UK and adding bulk brew filter coffee machines for the catering sector.
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1989
We introduced our first ever espresso machine range!
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1995
In 1995, Matthew Algie’s Managing Director visited Portland, Oregon and saw the thriving coffee scene. On his return, he vowed to start the espresso revolution in the UK.
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1997
In 1997, we created Espresso Warehouse to sell “everything but the coffee” to the growing number of independent coffee bars, and we introduced the UK’s first ever Fairtrade espresso bean.
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2004
Matthew Algie launched the UK’s (and probably the world’s) first Triple Certified espresso: that’s Fairtrade, organic and Rainforest Alliance Certified. And we didn’t stop there. Now over 90% of Matthew Algie coffee sales carry the Fairtrade logo.
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2010
We went through a major re-brand, bringing the coffee front and centre to our identity.
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2016
We were acquired by Tchibo, one of the largest coffee roasters in the world.
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2018
Tchibo acquired Capitol Foods, creating the Coffee Service Group. This further strengthened our proposition and infrastructure within the Ireland market.
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2018
Tchibo launches Smokin’ Bean into the coffee-to-go market in the UK. Smokin’ Bean now supplies some of the biggest names in the convenience, forecourt, hospitality and education sectors with a coffee-to-go solution for their customers, staff and visitors.
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2020
Ten years on from the previous re-brand, we launched a new, modern identity. Our new icon gives a nod to the coffee mountains we rely on and the Clyde estuary where it all began.
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2022
Peak and Wild brand is launched! A freshly roasted coffee committed to saving Scotland’s rainforest. For more information about Peak and Wild, go to
We also launched our Net Zero by 2040 commitment
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2023
Multi-million pound investment at our Glasgow roastery brings a new green bean handling and blending system, upgraded automation, new conveying systems, and state of the art packaging lines, allowing us to roast over 2,500 tonnes of coffee each year.
The Italian coffee blend, Piacetto, which has been available in the UK for several years under Tchibo Coffee, is now part of the Matthew Algie family and was relaunched at the annual Caffè Culture event in London.
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2024
Capitol Foods, Tchibo Coffee Service and Matthew Algie merge to form Matthew Algie and Company Limited, serving the UK and Ireland with everything you need to run a successful coffee business.
