Established in 1837 as “The Grasshopper Tea Warehouse”, Atkinsons is now one of the oldest speciality coffee roasters and tea merchants in the country. Though times have changed, one thing remains the same at Atkinsons, a passion for great coffee and tea. As a family business our mentality is to take the long view, building long-lasting relationships with those along the value chain. That means working with our producers at origin, paying a premium and buying from them year after year and providing the training and support needed to those serving Atkinsons coffee.
Our Story
After careers in TV production and Textile design, we were seeking a new challenge in a different industry, centred around the best part of our day, our morning coffee! One day in 2004, on a trip back to our hometown of Lancaster we made an impromptu visit to Atkinsons. We were amazed to see that it was practically unchanged since all those years ago. We thought it would be remiss of us not to at least ask. “Is it a complaint?” he said. “No,” we said, “If you were ever thinking of selling we would be interested in buying”. As fate would have it, Mr. Thornton did not have a succession plan and 6 months later we became the proud now custodians of Atkinsons.
We relocated, downsized and put everything into our new venture, nurturing the charm of this local institution. Over the years, we grew organically, supplying more like-minded wholesale partners and even opening cafes of our own. When we took over the business there were just three members of staff at Atkinsons. Fast forward to today and there are now 42 members of staff across 4 locations.
Sustainability
Now a certified B-Corp, we’re committed to doing business in a way that benefits all stakeholders, accounting for our triple bottom line on a equal footing; people, profit and planet. Being a B-Corp means reaching a high social and environmental performance, scoring 80+ (out of 120) in an Impact Assessment, publishing an annual Impact Report and making legal pledge to social and environmental deicison making in our Articles of Association.
Roastery
Between two historic buildings, our original shop and The Hall cafe, sits our roastery. Here, all our coffee is roasted on our Loring Smartroast which is 80% more energy efficient compared to conventional roasters. Each coffee is roasted to its own repeatable profile to bring out the best in each coffee and ensure consistency. We then bag coffee into recyclable valve bags to keep it as fresh as possible for as long as possible.
