About Costa

Costa is Britain's largest coffee chain, and it began as a roaster, not a cafe. Brothers Sergio and Bruno Costa started roasting in London in 1971, supplying caterers with their slow-roasted Mocha Italia blend before opening their own stores. That blend, roasted more slowly than the industrial norm to drive off the sharp notes and leave a rounder body, is still the backbone of the cup. The chain became the dominant force in British coffee retail and was acquired by The Coca-Cola Company in 2019, which put its name on supermarket shelves at serious scale.

The at-home range covers the cafe formats people order by reflex, cappuccino, latte, flat white, mocha and the flavoured sachets, plus straight roast and ground. Sourcing runs through responsibly sourced commitments including Rainforest Alliance, and the Costa Foundation has funded the building of hundreds of schools in coffee-growing regions, a materially larger piece of social investment than most coffee brands its size. For our shelf Costa is the brand to reach for when a customer wants the familiar British high-street cup at home without an espresso machine. The sachets are genuinely convenient, the flavour tracks the cafe rather than disappointing against it, and the Mocha Italia character gives them fuller body than most instant-format rivals. It is comfort coffee, engineered and consistent, and the at-home range tastes like the brand people already chose rather than a budget echo of it.

Key facts

• Founded by the Costa Brothers Bruno and Sergio Costa emigrated from Parma in Italy and opened a coffee roastery in Lambeth in 1971, supplying Italian cafes across London before opening their first retail coffee bar in 1978.
• Mocha Italia Signature Blend Costa's flagship blend has been the same recipe since the 1970s: 50% Robusta + 50% Arabica beans, slow-roasted in small batches at the original London roastery. The blend defines the Costa cafe cup.
• Britain's Largest Coffee Chain With over 2,400 UK stores and 1,000 international, Costa is the largest coffee shop chain in Britain and the second-largest globally outside the United States. The retail range puts the cafe cup on the home kitchen shelf.
• Coca-Cola Owned Since 2019 Acquired by The Coca-Cola Company in 2019 for £3.9 billion; Costa now operates as a Coca-Cola subsidiary while retaining its UK-roasted coffee identity and the original Costa brothers' Mocha Italia blend recipe.

The founders

Brand timeline

1. 1971 Costa brothers open Lambeth roastery

   Bruno and Sergio Costa emigrate from Parma, Italy and open a small coffee roastery in Lambeth, south London, supplying Italian cafes and restaurants across the city with the Mocha Italia blend, a 50/50 mix of Robusta and Arabica beans that remains the signature recipe today.

2. 1978 First retail coffee bar opens

   The first Costa coffee bar opens on Vauxhall Bridge Road, bringing the Mocha Italia blend to British consumers directly for the first time. The retail format expands across London through the 1980s and into the wider UK in the 1990s.

3. 2008 Rainforest Alliance certification

   Costa commits to 100% Rainforest Alliance certified coffee across the cafe and retail range, becoming one of the early major UK chains to commit to certified sustainable sourcing at scale. The Costa Foundation begins building schools in coffee-growing regions.

4. 2019 Acquired by The Coca-Cola Company

   Costa is acquired by The Coca-Cola Company for £3.9 billion, becoming the largest coffee acquisition in UK history. Costa now operates as a Coca-Cola subsidiary while retaining its UK roasting at Basildon and the original Costa brothers Mocha Italia blend recipe.

5. Today Britain's biggest coffee chain

   Over 2,400 UK stores and 1,000 international, the largest coffee chain in Britain. At-home retail range covers ground coffee, instant, latte sachets, hot chocolate and pods, all using the Mocha Italia signature blend.

6. 2026 Stocked at Teas.co.uk

   Hand-picked into the curator selection for the at-home Costa range at Teas.co.uk: Smooth Medium Roast and Intense Dark Roast instant, Medium Roast No.3 ground, Creamy Cappuccino, Salted Caramel Latte, Maple Hazel Latte, Millionaires Mocha and Hot Chocolate Powder.

Sustainability

Costa operates within the sustainability framework of a large multinational beverage group, with both the credentials and the limitations that come with that scale. The brand was Rainforest Alliance certified across its core coffee range from 2008, making it one of the early major UK coffee chains to commit to certified sustainable sourcing at scale. Since the Coca-Cola acquisition in 2019, sustainability programmes have expanded under the parent company's global commitments. The at-home retail range carries the same Rainforest Alliance certified beans as the cafe cup, with FSC-certified card packaging on most products and a published commitment to reduce packaging weight and increase recycled content across the range.

• Rainforest Alliance Certified 100% of Costa's coffee beans across the retail and cafe ranges are Rainforest Alliance certified, supporting growers in protected biodiversity zones and committed to fair labour practices.
• FSC Card Packaging The outer carton packaging on instant coffee, ground coffee and latte sachets is FSC-certified card from responsibly managed forests and fully kerbside recyclable across the UK.
• Costa Foundation A portion of every purchase funds the Costa Foundation, an educational charity that has built or refurbished over 100 schools in coffee-growing communities around the world since 2007.
• UK Roasted Coffee Costa coffee is roasted in the UK at the Basildon roastery, reducing the transport footprint compared to coffee finished abroad and supporting British manufacturing jobs at scale.