Thomsons Coffee

Thomsons is Scotland's oldest coffee roaster, founded in Edinburgh in 1841 by David Thomson before relocating to Glasgow's St Vincent Street. In its early decades the company supplied Glasgow's coffee houses and manufactured the Naperian vacuum coffee pot, an early syphon brewer that shipped worldwide.

The business has stayed on Glasgow's Southside ever since, and in 2011 the Jenkins family became only the third owners in its history. In 2015 Thomsons installed Scotland's first Loring Kestrel S35, which still runs alongside a vintage Whitmee.

Coffee is sourced directly from farmers and through trusted importers, with a stated commitment to fair wages and environmentally friendly farming. The company is a Real Living Wage employer and delivers locally in reusable buckets, which it says removes over 10,000 bags a year from circulation.

Beyond the roastery, Thomsons runs its own shops in Giffnock, Ayr, Edinburgh and Troon, plus the 1841 cafe, and currently flags itself as Best Roaster UK 2026.