Matthew Algie

Matthew Algie
Founded1864
FounderMatthew Algie
Headquarters16 Lawmoor Road,
Glasgow
,
Scotland
ProductsCoffee supply, Coffee & hot beverage machine rental, SCA accredited training campuses, tea and barista equipment
Websitehttp://www.matthewalgie.com/

Matthew Algie is a coffee roaster, owned by Tchibo Coffee, with registered offices at 16 Lawmoor Road, Glasgow, United Kingdom. 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 brand 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 certified sources. 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 and is thought to be one of the few coffee roasters to use cryogenics to produce its ground coffee. Matthew Algie sells both filter and espresso coffees, including a triple certified espresso coffee (Fairtrade, Rainforest Alliance and Organic).

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 and Sir Henry brand), hot chocolate (Chocolate Abyss), syrups (Da Vinci), biscuits and cookies (including The Fine Cookie Co) alongside a wide range of barista equipment and coffee bar hardware.

History

Matthew Algie (born 1814 in Greenock, Scotland, died 1906) was a grocer who sold tea that had been imported to Scotland on the Clyde Clippers. He established Matthew Algie the tea 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 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 machine to its range. In 1995, Managing Director, David Williamson, a descendant of Matthew Algie, visited Portland Oregon and returned to refocus 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 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 2016 Matthew Algie was sold to Tchibo with the intention to retain the brand and possibly expand it into existing Tchibo markets in central Europe.[1] In 2024 Tchibo UK and Irish group companies merged under Matthew Algie, while in 2025 the brand repositioned with a new website as a 'commercial' roaster focusing on segments such as the convenience sector in petrol stations, workplaces and hospitals[2].

References

  1. ^ "Glasgow coffee supplier Matthew Algie sold to Tchibo". BBC News. 15 August 2016. Retrieved 16 August 2016.
  2. ^ "UK's Matthew Algie appoints new UK & Ireland Managing Director". World Coffee Portal. 31 March 2025. Retrieved 16 March 2026.
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