Glasgow has Scotland’s oldest coffee roaster and some of its newest, and in 2026 they are closer than ever: Thomson’s, founded in 1841, opened a café in the Merchant City in September, and the city’s roasters now stretch from Bridgeton in the East End to the railway arches of Finnieston and the West End. The Glasgow Coffee Festival, run by one of those roasters, has given the scene a centre since 2014.

This guide is organised by roaster, and the list is not ranked.

Thomson’s Coffee, Merchant City, the East End and Giffnock

David Thomson, a 24-year-old tea and coffee merchant from Edinburgh, founded the company in 1841, and the Jenkins family who took it over in 2011 are only its third owners. The roasting happens daily at a purpose-built roastery in Thornliebank on the Southside, where Scotland’s first Loring Kestrel S35 works alongside a vintage Whitmee, and in April 2026 the Glasgow Coffee Festival named Thomson’s Best Roaster UK, with Jonathan Martinez as head roaster. The newest café opened on 15 September 2026 in the Merchant City, on the corner of the former Commercial Bank, with coffee and pastries now and evening drinks to follow. A second café sits next to the Barrowland in the East End, and the flagship in Giffnock is a short walk from the roastery.

Papercup Coffee, West End

Customers at tables inside Papercup’s West End café, seen past a vase of flowers

Established in 2013, Papercup calls itself one of the pioneers of specialty coffee in Scotland and roasts on Mondays and Wednesdays in a railway arch in Finnieston, open to visitors on weekday mornings. The West End café has a food menu alongside the coffee, and there are smaller cafés in Clarkston and Motherwell. Papercup looks for coffee that is shade grown and naturally dried, roasts a University of Glasgow blend, and runs a coffee club subscription.

Dear Green Coffee Roasters, Bridgeton

Dear Green began in Glasgow in 2011 with, in its own words, just one woman and one trusty roaster, and has grown into a B Corp roastery in Bridgeton with a showroom, training space and monthly roastery tours. It established the Glasgow Coffee Festival in 2014 and still organises it, gives 2% of the business to social and climate causes, and in September 2026 was named Sustainable Business of the Year at the Scotland Food & Drink Excellence Awards. There is no café, but SCA barista and sensory courses run on site.

Spitfire, Merchant City and West End

The glass-fronted corner café of Spitfire in the Merchant City, with its round logo in the window and bench seating outside

Spitfire roasts at a roastery in the city centre, open to the public on weekday mornings, and its house blend is 70% Brazilian coffee from the carbon-neutral Vila Boa farm and 30% Colombian from traceable cooperatives. The Spitfire Cafe is a glass corner in the Merchant City; a second café is in the West End.

Black Pine Coffee Co., West End

Black-and-white photograph of the Black Pine window lettering with plants and a cactus behind the glass

Black Pine has run in the West End for nearly a decade and started roasting its own coffee in 2023 on a small near-infrared electric roaster. Everything else is made in-house too: bagels, cakes, traybakes and cookies, with vegan and vegetarian options, and the bakery supplies other shops around the city. Espresso drinks, batch and hand-pour filter, and a £12 house coffee subscription.

kaf, Partick

kaf is an independent specialty coffee shop and bakery with two sites: kaf coffee in Partick and kaf goods, a deli, in Bearsden. Sourdough, pastries and a glazed vanilla twisty doughnut come out of the bakery, and the shop sells beans.

Gordon St Coffee, Central Station

Gordon St Coffee opened its first roastery and coffee shop beside Central Station in 2014, hand-roasting by sight and sound on a Diedrich named Deirdre. The Glasgow shop has been temporarily closed since the Union Street fire in March 2026, with roasting moved to the company’s Edinburgh site and a weekend pop-up at The Barras Market in its place. Three of its coffees, the Glasgow Roast, House Blend and Edinburgh Roast, carry Great Taste 2026 awards.

What you need to know about Glasgow specialty coffee

Which Glasgow roasters have their own cafés? Thomson’s, Papercup, Spitfire and Black Pine. Dear Green roasts for the trade and runs tours.

Which areas have specialty coffee? The city centre has Spitfire and Thomson’s in the Merchant City, and Thomson’s again next to the Barrowland. The West End has Papercup, Black Pine, Spitfire and kaf. The East End has Dear Green’s roastery in Bridgeton, and the Southside has Thomson’s in Giffnock.

What is the oldest café in Glasgow? Not a café, but Thomson’s is Scotland’s oldest coffee roaster, at 185 years.

Photo credits

Photographs belong to the businesses and are reproduced from their official websites with attribution.