Blue Bottle Coffee facts for kids
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Blue Bottle's facility in Oakland
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| Private | |
| Industry | Coffee industry |
| Founded | 2002 |
| Founder | W. James Freeman |
| Headquarters | , |
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Area served
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United States |
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Key people
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W. James Freeman, Founder Karl Strovink, CEO |
| Owner | Nestlé (68%) |
Blue Bottle Coffee, Inc. is a company that roasts (prepares) coffee beans and sells coffee drinks. It started in Oakland, California, in the United States. In 2017, a big food and drink company called Nestlé bought most of Blue Bottle Coffee (68% of it).
Blue Bottle Coffee is known for being part of the "third wave of coffee." This means they really care about where their coffee comes from and how it tastes. They often use "single-origin" beans, which means all the coffee in your cup comes from one specific farm or region. This helps them offer unique and special flavors.
Where Can You Find Blue Bottle Coffee?
Blue Bottle Coffee started in Oakland, California. Soon, it grew and opened more coffee shops in other places. They first expanded to different spots around San Francisco, like the famous Ferry Building.
As of June 2021, Blue Bottle Coffee has 99 stores. You can find them in many cities across the United States, including California, New York, Washington, D.C., Boston, and Chicago. They also have stores in other countries like Seoul and Jeju in South Korea, and in several cities in Japan, such as Kyoto, Kobe, Tokyo, Osaka, and Yokohama. More recently, they have opened shops in Hong Kong and Shanghai.
The Story of Blue Bottle Coffee
A person named W. James Freeman started Blue Bottle Coffee in the early 2000s. He began in a neighborhood called Temescal in Oakland, California. James Freeman got the name "Blue Bottle" from one of the very first coffee houses in Europe, which was also called The Blue Bottle Coffee House.
At first, James Freeman wanted to roast coffee in small amounts. He planned to sell it to people's homes within 24 hours of roasting. This way, the coffee would always be super fresh! But soon, he stopped the home deliveries and opened a regular coffee shop instead.
Blue Bottle opened more locations in San Francisco and other parts of the San Francisco Bay Area. In 2010, they opened their first store in New York City in a neighborhood called Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Their coffee shops sometimes sell special drinks that aren't on the regular menu, like a "Gibraltar" (which is a type of cortado coffee).
Over the years, Blue Bottle Coffee received money from investors to help them grow.
- In 2012, they received $20 million to help expand their business.
- In 2014, they got another $25.75 million.
- In 2015, they raised $70 million from investors, led by a company called Fidelity.
By 2017, the company had raised a total of $120 million from different investors. This money helped them open more stores and grow their brand.
- In February 2015, Blue Bottle Coffee opened its first store in Tokyo, Japan. This was a big step for the company to expand internationally.
- In September 2017, Nestle S.A., a very large food and drinks company, bought most of Blue Bottle Coffee. This meant Nestlé became the main owner.
- In May 2019, Blue Bottle Coffee opened its first store in Seoul, South Korea.
- In December 2019, Blue Bottle Coffee announced they would try to stop using disposable cups in some of their shops. Their goal was to create zero waste within one year to help the environment.
- In April 2020, Blue Bottle Coffee opened its first store in Central, Hong Kong. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the café was only open for takeaway orders.
- In February 2022, Blue Bottle Coffee opened its first store in mainland China. This store, called Yutong Cafe, is in a historic building in downtown Shanghai.
See also
- Counter Culture Coffee
- Intelligentsia Coffee & Tea
- La Colombe Coffee Roasters
- List of coffeehouse chains
- List of coffee companies
