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In 1971, Italian brothers Sergio and Bruno Costa opened Costa Coffee, bringing espresso culture to a city hungry for something different.
This is their story.
In 1971, Britain was going through some hard times.
The nation had lost its colonies, while factory strikes halted production and oil shortages doubled energy costs.
Yet on London's streets, young people with spiked hair and torn clothes played three-chord punk songs, while boutiques still sold the bright fashions popularized in the 1960s.
In this London landscape, Sergio and Bruno Costa brought their coffee roaster.
The brothers thought they could come up with something better compared to their competitors.
Lyons supplied tea and coffee to thousands of corner shops, while Kenco's instant coffee filled supermarket shelves.
Most Londoners drank either instant coffee or tea steeped in brown ceramic pots.
The Costa brothers saw an opportunity.
While other suppliers sold pre-ground coffee in paper bags, they roasted Italian coffee beans daily in their small Lambeth factory.
They sold these fresh-roasted beans to London's hotels and restaurants, teaching chefs how to brew espresso in copper machines imported from Milan.
Their coffee's rich aroma and dark crema were super different compared to the weak, bitter brews common in British cups.
This focus on fresh beans and Italian methods helped Costa grow beyond its warehouse beginnings.
The brothers taught Britain to appreciate the difference between stale pre-ground coffee and beans roasted that morning.
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In 1970s Britain, tea was still king.
While Lyons and Kenco sold mild, tea-drinker-friendly blends in grocery stores, Sergio and Bruno Costa saw a gap in the market.
The Italian-born brothers knew coffee as their morning ritual—not the watered-down British version, but the kind that filled Rome's cafes with rich aromas at dawn.
They spent months testing different formulations in their roastery.
Each batch they brewed was looking for a blend that captured the intensity of Italian espresso while remaining smooth enough for British customers.
After experimenting with 112 distinct combinations of beans and roasting techniques, they created Mocha Italia.
The blend delivered coffee that cut through milk without turning bitter, that left a caramel sweetness on the tongue, that stayed rich to the last sip.
While their competitors chased mildness, the Costa brothers chose boldness.
In 1977, London's cafés served instant coffee in white mugs on formica tables.
Metal chairs scraped against linoleum floors.
Fluorescent tubes buzzed overhead.
Customers lined up at counters to order tea and pre-made sandwiches wrapped in wax paper.
The Costa brothers opened their first shop on Vauxhall Bridge Road in 1978 with something very different in mind.
Through plate glass windows, passersby glimpsed Italian marble counters that stretched 20 feet along the back wall.
Three brass chandeliers hung from the ceiling, each with 12 crystal drops that scattered light across leather banquettes.
At the center stood a chrome Gaggia espresso machine, its copper pipes gleaming.
The barista pulled shots of espresso into white ceramic cups with saucers—no paper cups in sight!
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In 1980s Britain, most people drank tea from bone china cups with saucers.
Coffee, particularly Italian-style espresso and cappuccino were almost unheard of.
The few cafes serving these drinks used thick ceramic mugs meant for filter coffee and tea.
These cups dulled the coffee's temperature and trapped its aroma—ruing the espresso experience.
Costa Coffee changed this pattern in 1989 by introducing white porcelain cups designed specifically for espresso and cappuccino.
These cups, with their thin walls and flared rims, preserved the coffee's heat and released its aroma properly.
The smooth porcelain enhanced the feel of drinking, much like the tea cups British people already valued.
In 1985, Sergio and Bruno Costa faced a turning point in their coffee business.
After building Costa Coffee from a small roastery into a recognized London coffee brand, the brothers split paths.
The company had grown from roasting beans in the back of a shop to supplying coffee to multiple venues across London.
This expansion brought specific challenges:
Sergio wanted sole control of Costa Coffee's operations.
He saw opportunities to expand the retail presence beyond their wholesale business, starting with their first coffee shop.
So, Bruno sold his share of the business to Sergio.
Bruno was content to retire from the coffee business entirely.
This clean break allowed Sergio to implement his vision for Costa's retail expansion.
In the 1990s, British streets transformed as coffee shops multiplied on every corner.
Starbucks brought its green-and-white logo from Seattle, setting up shops with leather armchairs and jazz music.
Caffè Nero crafted its identity with dark wood interiors and classical music, drawing customers who lingered over Italian-style espressos.
London's financial district filled with Pret A Manger's red-starred shops, where bankers and office workers grabbed lattes with their sandwiches.
Coffee Republic dotted high streets with modern chrome-and-glass storefronts, serving cappuccinos topped with chocolate powder designs.
Costa Coffee, backed by hospitality giant Whitbread, made the boldest moves.
They placed red-signed shops in prime locations—train stations, shopping centers, and busy intersections.
Their baristas wore crisp black aprons, serving consistently strong coffee in distinctive white cups with burgundy branding.
By 2000, Costa's red signs dominated British high streets.
Their shop count reached 500, double their nearest competitor.
By 2018, Costa Coffee operated 3,800 stores across 32 countries, serving 500 million cups of coffee annually.
When Coca-Cola bought Costa for £3.9 billion in 2018—the cola giant now had the perfect vehicle to compete against Starbucks.
Coca-Cola had watched its carbonated drink sales decline as consumers switched to coffee, tea, and other alternatives.
By acquiring Costa, Coca-Cola added espresso machines, trained baristas, and direct relationships with coffee farmers to its existing distribution network of trucks and bottling plants.
The purchase gave Coca-Cola specific advantages: Costa's coffee roasting facility in London could produce 45,000 tons of coffee annually, its presence in airports and train stations reached travelers, and its coffee vending machines operated in offices and stores across Europe and Asia.
Costa brought technical coffee expertise in knowledge of bean sourcing, roasting temperatures, and brewing methods.
It was Coca-Cola's largest purchase in its 132-year history.
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In the 1990s, the company looked beyond Britain for much needed international growth.
Dubai became Costa's first major overseas market.
The company opened cafés in Dubai's shopping malls and business districts.
In 2006, Costa entered China, opening its first store in Shanghai.
The company adapted its menu, creating drinks like red bean lattes and green tea frappés to appeal to Chinese customers.
By 2018, Costa operated 460 stores across 60 Chinese cities.
Costa's Indian expansion began in 2005 in Delhi.
The company targeted urban professionals, setting up shops in office complexes and shopping centers.
Their stores offered masala chai and cardamom-spiced coffee alongside traditional espresso drinks.
In Eastern Europe, Costa established itself between 2008 and 2015.
The company opened 150 stores across Poland, focusing on major cities like Warsaw and Krakow.
Czech and Hungarian locations followed, with Costa positioning itself as a premium alternative to local cafés.
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