Origin Coffee was founded in 2004 by Tom Sobey and is one of the longest-standing specialty roasters in the UK. It roasts at The Roastery in Porthleven, Cornwall, the heartbeat of its operations, with a sit-in coffee shop, quality control and training rooms on site. There are seven coffee shops across Cornwall, Bristol, London and Edinburgh. Its principles are to roast lightly and to source, support and champion farmers through a triple-bottom-line approach, and it discloses the FOB price paid, the margin over the Fairtrade minimum and a cup score for most of its coffees. Origin is a certified B Corp, holds a Queen’s Award, and its accolades include UK Barista Championship wins in 2016 and 2018, the UK Cup Tasters title in 2020 and World Coffee in Good Spirits wins in 2018 and 2019.

In London, Origin runs three cafés. The Shoreditch flagship, in the centre of East London, hosts the full range of monthly feature coffees around a brew bar, with an illustrative mural, and is where the company holds cuppings and events. The Southwark café sits beneath the railway arches and serves coffee, pastries, cakes and espresso soft serve to sit in or take away. The third is inside the British Library, a partnership Origin is proud of because education sits at the heart of what it does. The online shop also sells coffee tasting experiences and roasting workshops in London.

The range splits into Mainstay single origins such as Los Altos from Nicaragua and Beija Flor from Brazil, monthly Feature coffees, the Stronghold and Resolute blends, the sugarcane-processed Atlas Decaf, and Caxambu, a Brazilian coffee that crossed the Atlantic by sailing ship; Origin shipped its first container by sail in 2024. The current retail range is listed below with the roaster’s own tasting notes.

Coffee on the shelf

Photograph: Origin Coffee