Potted history

- Published: 18 April, 2008

Page 18

Bruno and Sergio Costa set up their first coffee roastery in Lambeth, London, in 1971, supplying local caterers and Italian coffee shops with coffee, slow roasted the Italian way.

In 1978, the brothers opened their first Costa espresso bar in Vauxhall Bridge Road, London, using the same blend of six Arabica beans to one Robusta that they do today. The company now has 650 stores in the UK and operates in 21 other countries around the world.

In 2006, the company set up the Costa Foundation to help the communities in the countries from which it sources its coffee beans.