Matthew Algie
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Matthew Algie is an
coffee Coffee is a beverage brewed from roasted, ground coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content, but decaffeinated coffee is also commercially a ...
roaster, owned by
Tchibo Tchibo is a German chain of coffee retailers and cafés known for its range of non-coffee products that change weekly. The latter includes: clothing, furniture, household items, electronics and electrical appliances. In Germany, Tchibo's slogan ...
Coffee, with registered offices at 16 Lawmoor Road,
Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...
,
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
. The company sells its coffee to coffee shops, bars, restaurants, hotels and businesses across the UK & Ireland and also offers coffee machines for hire - supported by a network of field engineers as well as a range of coffee-related equipment and complementary products through its sister-company Espresso Warehouse. Additionally, Matthew Algie also provide SCA accredited barista training courses, taught via their training campuses based in London, Glasgow & Dublin.


Coffee

Around 90% of Matthew Algie’s green coffee comes from Fairtrade co-operatives. The company has contributed over $3miilion (US) to community and farm projects through Fairtrade levies to date. The remainder of its green coffee comes from independent coffee farmers, with whom the company has direct trading relationships. Matthew Algie uses traditional Probat drum roasting with advanced software and is thought to be the only coffee roaster to use cryogenics to produce its ground coffee. Matthew Algie sells both filter and espresso coffees, including three triple certified espresso coffees ( Fairtrade,
Rainforest Alliance The Rainforest Alliance is an international non-governmental organization (NGO) with staff in more than 20 countries and operations in more than 70 countries. It was founded in 1987 by Daniel Katz, an American environmental activist, who serve ...
and Organic) and the Freshly Roasted espresso range, with the promise of being delivered to customers within 7 days of roasting.


Everything but the Coffee

In 1997 Matthew Algie launched Espresso Warehouse (with the strapline ‘Everything but the Coffee’) to support the growing wave of independent coffee bars. Espresso Warehouse products are sold to coffee retailers in the UK and Ireland as well as through distributors in Europe. Products include tea (Suki tea, loose leaf tea and Pavilion Garden), hot chocolate (Chocolate Abyss), syrups (Da Vinci) biscuits and cookies (Wooden Spoon and The Fine Cookie Co) and a wide range of barista equipment and coffee bar hardware.


History

Matthew Algie (born 1814 in
Greenock Greenock (; ; , ) is a town in Inverclyde, Scotland, located in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. The town is the administrative centre of Inverclyde Council. It is a former burgh within the historic county of Renfrewshire, and forms ...
,
Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
, died 1906) was a grocer who sold tea that had been imported to Scotland on the Clyde Clippers. He established Matthew Algie the
tea Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured or fresh leaves of '' Camellia sinensis'', an evergreen shrub native to East Asia which probably originated in the borderlands of south-western China and nor ...
blending and wholesaling business in 1864. For around 80 years, and through two World Wars, the business sold tea and spices to retailers in the
Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...
area. In 1950 the company, then known as Algie’s, started selling coffee to post-war Glasgow, along with vending services. In 1974 “Algie’s” began selling coffee machines for offices, restaurants and hotels, replacing instant coffee with roast and ground coffee. In the 1980s the business went through a period of rapid expansion, going UK-wide and adding bulk-brew coffee machines for the catering sector to their portfolio. In 1989 the company introduced the first
espresso Espresso (, ) is a concentrated form of coffee produced by forcing hot water under high pressure through finely ground coffee beans. Originating in Italy, espresso has become one of the most popular coffee-brewing methods worldwide. It is cha ...
machine to its range. In 1995, Managing Director, David Williamson, a descendant of Matthew Algie, visited Portland Oregon and returned to restructure the company with a view to driving the espresso revolution in the UK. In 1997 Matthew Algie introduced the UK’s first Fairtrade espresso beans, followed in 2004 by the world’s first triple-certified espresso ( Fairtrade,
Rainforest Alliance The Rainforest Alliance is an international non-governmental organization (NGO) with staff in more than 20 countries and operations in more than 70 countries. It was founded in 1987 by Daniel Katz, an American environmental activist, who serve ...
and Organic). In 2008, David Williamson died unexpectedly at the age of 42. The David Williamson Rwanda Foundation was set up in David’s memory. In 2010 the company underwent its biggest rebranding exercise to date. In 2016 it was sold to
Tchibo Tchibo is a German chain of coffee retailers and cafés known for its range of non-coffee products that change weekly. The latter includes: clothing, furniture, household items, electronics and electrical appliances. In Germany, Tchibo's slogan ...
with the intention to retain the brand and possibly expand it into Tchibo's existing markets in central Europe.


References

{{reflist *HeraldScotland: http://www.heraldscotland.com/business_hq/16956693.glasgow-coffee-roaster-matthew-algie-raises-profits-as-strong-consumer-demand-boosts-turnover/ *CoffeeBusinessWorld: http://coffeebusinessworld.com/latest-news/tips-for-social-media-success-07-08-2018/ *Scotsman: http://www.scotsman.com/business/food-drink-agriculture/matthew-algie-is-all-perked-up-1-3121535 *BBC: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-business-24357203 *Twin Adapt Now Initiative: https://web.archive.org/web/20131112170355/http://www.twin.org.uk/news/press-release-twin-launches-climate-change-initiative-adapt-now-first-project-funded-ms-and *Education Scotland: https://web.archive.org/web/20131003213543/http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/video/s/video_tcm4580627.asp *The Grocer: http://www.thegrocer.co.uk/topics/technology-and-supply-chain/matthew-algie-starts-solar-roastery/230261.article *Scotland on Screen: https://archive.today/20131112164800/http://scotlandonscreen.org.uk/database/record.php?usi=007-000-002-395-C *David Williamson Rwanda Foundation: http://www.rwandafoundation.org/ *Coffee Kids: https://web.archive.org/web/20131112172120/http://www.coffeekids.org/matthew-algie-at-the-forefront-in-supporting-coffee-growing-families/


External links


Official Matthew Algie websiteOfficial Espresso Warehouse websiteOfficial Matthew Algie Instagram pageOfficial Matthew Algie Facebook pageOfficial Matthew Algie Twitter page
Coffee brands Tea brands in the United Kingdom Food and drink companies based in Glasgow