Union Hand-Roasted Coffee facts for kids
 |
|
| Private | |
| Industry | Coffee roasting |
| Predecessor | Torz & Macatonia |
| Founded | Star Lane in East London, (14 June 2001) --> Present |
| Founder | Jeremy Torz Steven Macatonia |
| Headquarters |
Star Lane, East London
,
UK
|
|
Area served
|
United Kingdom |
| Products | Speciality Coffee, Single Origin Coffee, Microlot Coffee, Coffee Blends |
| Services | Coffee, Coffee Roasting, Wholesale Supplier |
|
Number of employees
|
50+ |
Union Hand-Roasted Coffee is a British company. It is based in East London, United Kingdom. This company specializes in roasting coffee by hand. Jeremy Torz and Steven Macatonia started the business in 2001.
The company is known for its "craft principles." This means they focus on making high-quality coffee. They sell their products in supermarkets and to other businesses. Hand-roasted coffee is made in small amounts. A master coffee roaster carefully watches each batch. This ensures the coffee is roasted perfectly.
Contents
How Union Coffee Started
Early Days in San Francisco
Jeremy Torz and Steven Macatonia are from the UK. In the early 1990s, they worked in San Francisco, USA. They worked at a coffee company called Peet's Coffee & Tea. This experience made them very interested in coffee. At that time, the UK did not have many coffee shops. San Francisco, however, had a very lively coffee scene.
Steven was an immunologist, and Jeremy was an optometrist. They had planned to visit San Francisco for only six months. But they loved the coffee world so much that they stayed for four years! During this time, they learned a lot about growing and roasting coffee.
Starting Their Own Business
In 1994, Jeremy and Steven returned to the UK. They decided to leave their old jobs. They started a small coffee roasting business. It was called Torz and Macatonia. They did not have experience selling directly to customers. So, they started by selling coffee to other businesses. This is called wholesale.
In 1995, their company became the main supplier for the Seattle Coffee Company. This was the first big coffee shop chain in the UK. Torz and Macatonia later joined with the Seattle Coffee Company in 1997. Then, Starbucks bought the Seattle Coffee Company in 1998.
Founding Union Hand-Roasted Coffee
Jeremy and Steven left the company in 2000. In 2001, they started a new private company. They called it Union Coffee Roasters. In 2007, the company changed its name. It became Union Hand-Roasted Coffee.
By 2005, Union was making 11 different types of coffee. Four of these were special editions. Seven types were sold in major supermarkets. These included Sainsbury's, Asda, the Co-op, and Somerfield.
In 2015, Union updated its brand. They wanted to "share the joy of good coffee." They created a new company logo. They also updated their coffee range for Waitrose and Ocado. They launched a new coffee subscription service too. It is called CoffeeClub.
Where to Find Union Coffee
Union Hand-Roasted Coffee supplies coffee to many places. They provide wholesale specialty coffee to businesses. They also offer barista training. Some places they supply include Gail's Artisan Bakery, Brasserie Blanc, and Peach Pubs.
