Monmouth Coffee Company is a coffee roaster, retailer and wholesaler in London, which was founded in 1978. It played an important role in regenerating

Neal's Yard Neal's Yard is a small alley in London's Covent Garden between Shorts Gardens and Monmouth Street which opens into a courtyard. It is named after the 17th century developer, Thomas Neale. In 1976, alternative activist and entrepreneur Nicholas ...

and

Borough Market Borough Market is a wholesale and retail market hall in Southwark, London, England. It is one of the largest and oldest food markets in London, with a market on the site dating back to at least the 12th century. The present buildings were b ...

. It has remained focused on roasting and selling coffee beans and was one of the foundations for the

third wave of coffee Third-wave coffee is a movement in coffee marketing emphasizing high quality. Beans are typically sourced from individual farms and are roasted more lightly to bring out their distinctive flavors. Though the term was coined in 1999, the approach o ...

in London after the year 2000.

History

Monmouth Coffee was founded in 1978 by Nick Saunders and Anita Le Roy. Le Roy later took over the business. Together with

Neal's Yard Dairy Neal's Yard Dairy is a London artisanal cheese retailer, wholesaler and (formerly) cheesemaker in London, which was founded in 1979. It has been described as "London's foremost cheese store." History Neal's Yard Dairy was founded in 1979 by ...

and Saunders' other businesses, Monmouth Coffee transformed the run down area around

Covent Garden Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist si ...

, central London. The original shop is at 27 Monmouth Street (), a grade II listed 18th-century terraced house. The basement was used to roast coffee and the ground floor as a tasting room. In its early years, the shop sold three or four kinds of green or roast coffee beans in sacks containing one, three, seven or ten pounds. Le Roy wanted to buy coffee from individual farmers, but that was not possible until 1996, when a new coffee importer, Mercanta, opened. Monmouth Coffee was one of their early customers. Monmouth Coffee and Mercanta were a foundation for the third wave of artisan coffee shops in London after 2000 and several Monmouth Coffee baristas went on to found their own coffee businesses. Monmouth Coffee has expanded gradually, while remaining focused on roasting and selling coffee beans. A coffee stall was opened in

in 1999, followed by a second shop in a former fruit and vegetable warehouse in the market () in 2001. Along with Brindisa and Neal's Yard Dairy, Monmouth Coffee played an important role in the revival of Borough as a retail food market. In 2007 the roastery was moved to three railway arches in Maltby Street,

Bermondsey Bermondsey () is a district in southeast London, part of the London Borough of Southwark, England, southeast of Charing Cross. To the west of Bermondsey lies Southwark, to the east Rotherhithe and Deptford, to the south Walworth and Peckham, a ...

. In 2009 an arch was opened to sell coffee on Saturdays and other local traders followed suit, forming Maltby Street Market. In 2018 the company headquarters moved into five railway arches () at

Spa Terminus Spa Road railway station in Bermondsey, south-east London, was the original terminus of the capital's first railway, the London and Greenwich Railway (L&GR). It was also the first railway terminus in what is now Greater London. First opened in ...

in Bermondsey, where Monmouth Coffee, Neal's Yard Dairy and a property company had taken a lease on a stretch of railway arches around the former Spa Road railway station to provide accommodation for food manufacturers and wholesalers.

Activities

Monmouth Coffee sources coffee beans from individual farms and roasts them in its roastery in Bermondsey. Its staff visit producers to find new suppliers, then the company signs long term contracts to secure its supply of high-quality coffee. It sells coffee beans direct via its website, and via its two retail shops, which also serve coffee to drink. The roastery also opens as a retail shop on Saturdays.

References

External links

* {{authority control Shops in London Buildings and structures in the London Borough of Camden Buildings and structures in the London Borough of Southwark Coffee companies of the United Kingdom Tourist attractions in the London Borough of Camden Tourist attractions in the London Borough of Southwark British companies established in 1978 Food and drink companies established in 1978 Drink companies based in London