There are a lot of coffee brands in the UK. You have the big household names on supermarket shelves, the supermarkets' own labels, and hundreds of independent roasters, most of them selling online. If you are trying to work out who is who, this is a straight guide to UK coffee brands from a roaster that has been in the trade since 1978. If you want to see what we roast while you read, our best coffee beans UK page is the place to start.
We have not ranked anyone. Every brand here does something well, and the right one for you depends on how you make your coffee and what you want from it. We have stuck to facts we could check, and everything below was checked in October 2026.
The big household names
These are British coffee brands you are likely to see in supermarkets. A few started as small UK firms and are now part of larger groups, and we have said so where it applies.
Taylors of Harrogate
A family-owned Yorkshire business that has been blending tea and coffee since 1886. It is part of Bettys & Taylors, the same company that makes Yorkshire Tea.
Union Hand-Roasted Coffee
Started in 2001 by Jeremy Torz and Steven Macatonia, and still roasting in East London. Union is known for its sourcing model, which it calls Union Direct Trade, and it is a certified B Corp.
Grind
Grind opened its first cafe in Shoreditch, East London, in 2011 and now roasts its own coffee in London. It says it made the UK's first home-compostable coffee pod. Its beans, ground coffee and pods are sold in supermarkets including Tesco, Waitrose and Co-op.
Percol
Percol has been going since 1987 and is known for Fairtrade coffee and home-compostable packs. Since 2023 it has been owned by CCL Products, an Indian coffee company.
Cafédirect
Set up in 1991 by Oxfam, Traidcraft, Equal Exchange and Twin Trading after coffee prices crashed. In 1994 it became the first coffee brand to carry the UK Fairtrade Mark. In 2023 it bought Bewley's UK and the Grumpy Mule brand.
Clipper
Clipper is best known for tea, but it also makes coffee, and all of its coffees are Fairtrade and organic. Its products are blended and packed in Beaminster, Dorset. The brand started in 1984 and is now owned by Ecotone, a French food group.
You will also see international names such as Nescafé, which belongs to Nestlé of Switzerland, and Lavazza, which comes from Turin in Italy. Kenco and Costa Coffee both started in London, in 1923 and 1971, but have since been bought by large international companies. We have left them out because this is a guide to UK brands.
Well-known UK roasters selling online
These roasters sell most of their coffee online and to cafes rather than through supermarkets. Many of them offer subscriptions.
Origin Coffee
A Cornish roaster started in Helston by Tom Sobey. It now roasts in Porthleven, has coffee shops in Cornwall and London, and is a certified B Corp.
Rave Coffee
Rave started in 2011 and roasts at its HQ in Cirencester, Gloucestershire, which also has a cafe. It buys from more than 50 farms across 19 origins and sells beans, coffee bags and pods.
Pact Coffee
Pact started in London in 2012 and is best known for its coffee subscription, which you can pause, skip or cancel. It says its beans are roasted days before delivery. It is also a certified B Corp.
Square Mile Coffee Roasters
Founded in 2008 by Anette Moldvaer and James Hoffmann, who won the World Barista Championship in 2007 and is now well known on YouTube. Square Mile roasts in East London and supplies cafes as well as home customers.
Extract Coffee Roasters
A Bristol roaster that started in 2007. It is known for bringing old coffee roasting machines back to life, and it became a certified B Corp in 2025.
Volcano Coffee Works
Founded in 2010 by Kurt Stewart, who started out with an espresso cart in West Dulwich. It roasts in South London, has its HQ and cafe in Brixton, and sells subscriptions and coffee pods.
If you are looking for Hasbean, the Stafford business that was one of the UK's early independent roasters, it now trades as Ozone Coffee. The name changed in 2024 and the roasting still happens in Stafford.
Regional and independent roasters
Away from the big names, most counties in the UK have at least one independent roaster. Many are small. They roast through the week and sell direct to local cafes, farm shops, offices and home customers.
Buying from a roaster near you is often the freshest option. The coffee has not sat in a warehouse or on a shelf, and it has not had far to travel. You can usually speak to the person who roasted it, too.
We are the Devon example. Hawkins Coffee was founded in 1978 by Richard Hawkins in Kingsbridge, and the Tait family have run it since 2001. We now roast in Exton, near Exeter. Every bag is roasted to order and has the roast date printed on it. Order by 12:00 and it goes out the same day. If you want to try us, our best coffee beans UK page is a good place to start, and the full coffee range has everything else.
How to choose a coffee brand
The name on the bag matters less than a few practical things. These are the ones that make the real difference to what ends up in your cup.
Look for a roast date
Coffee is at its best in the weeks after roasting. A roast date on the bag tells you how fresh it is. Some bags only carry a best before date, which tells you much less. If freshness matters to you, buy from someone who prints the roast date. You can read more about how we handle this on our freshly roasted coffee beans page.
Whole bean or ground
Whole beans hold their flavour for longer once the bag is open, but you need a grinder. Ground coffee is easier. If you buy ground, get it ground for the way you brew. A cafetiere needs a coarse grind and an espresso machine needs a fine one. Many roasters, us included, will grind to order. Our ground coffee is ground and packed on the same day.
Match it to what you brew with
Some coffees are blended for espresso and milk drinks. Others are better in a cafetiere or a filter machine. Most brands say on the bag or the product page what a coffee is meant for, so check before you buy. If you are not sure where to start, we have pages for espresso coffee beans and cafetiere coffee.
Work out the price per kilo
Bag sizes vary from brand to brand, so the price per bag can be misleading. Divide the price by the weight and compare per kilo instead. Bigger bags usually work out cheaper. Our Milan, for example, is £8.95 for 250g or £19.95 for 1kg. That is £35.80 a kilo for the small bag and £19.95 a kilo for the big one. If you get through a lot of coffee, have a look at our 1kg coffee beans.
Fairtrade and organic, if they matter to you
If certification is important to you, look for the Fairtrade Mark or an organic logo, such as the Soil Association symbol, on the bag. Cafédirect and Clipper both sell Fairtrade coffee. Our Cafe Selva is Fairtrade and Soil Association Organic, and sits in our organic and Fairtrade coffee range. Several of the roasters above are also certified B Corps. That certification looks at how a company is run as a whole, not at how one particular coffee was bought.
Common questions
What is the best coffee brand in the UK?
There is no single answer. The best one for you is the one that suits the way you make coffee and turns up fresh. Try a couple of 250g bags from different brands before you commit to a 1kg bag.
What is the difference between supermarket coffee and coffee from a roaster?
Mostly freshness and choice. A roaster can roast and grind to order and post it straight to you. Supermarket coffee goes through a warehouse and onto a shelf before you buy it, so it is usually older by the time it reaches you. Plenty of people are happy with supermarket coffee, and that is fine.
How do I find a coffee roaster near me?
Search for "coffee roaster" and the name of your town or county. Ask your favourite local cafe who supplies their beans. Farm shops and delis often stock a local roaster as well. If you are in Devon, or anywhere else in the UK, we roast in Exton near Exeter and UK delivery is free on orders over £50. If you have a question about any of this, get in touch and David will help.