Martin Carwardine & Co.

What Martin Carwardine & Co. does

Martin Carwardine & Co. is a fifth-generation family-owned coffee roaster and tea merchant established in 1861 and headquartered in Upper Langford, Bristol, United Kingdom. The company operates as both a direct-to-consumer e-commerce retailer and a B2B wholesale supplier, marketing under the brand name 'Carwardine Coffee' with the website lovecoffee.co.uk. Its product portfolio comprises 43 hand-roasted coffee varieties (single origins, house blends, espresso blends, and decaffeinated options sourced from origins across Latin America, Africa, and Asia) and 13 loose-leaf teas and tea bags, with selected lines carrying Fairtrade and Soil Association organic certifications; in 2014 the Versante Fairtrade Organic blend received a Taste of the West Silver award.

The core technology is manual coffee roasting on a single Probat roaster named 'Bertha', operated by fifth-generation roaster Martin Carwardine using a six-sense methodology (sight, sound, smell, touch, taste, and intuition) in small batches. The e-commerce storefront is hosted on Shopify with payment integrations including Shop Pay, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and major card networks; fulfillment is via Royal Mail Tracked 48hr with free delivery on orders over £30 across England, Scotland, and Wales. Revenue is generated through three streams: retail coffee and tea sales at unit pricing ranging from £5.50 to £31.45 (coffee) and £3.50 to £58.50 (tea); wholesale supply to hospitality businesses; and equipment sales and rental through the sister company Love Coffee Machines, which supplies refurbished CMA Astoria espresso machines alongside barista training and bespoke POS materials. The customer base spans individual UK consumers and B2B hospitality accounts, with bespoke multi-year contract pricing for wholesale customers.

Name

Martin Carwardine & Co.

Legal name

Martin Carwardine & Co.

Website

https://lovecoffee.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1861

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Martin Carwardine & Co. is a fifth-generation family coffee roaster and tea merchant in Bristol, UK, selling hand-roasted specialty coffee and loose-leaf teas via DTC e-commerce to UK consumers and B2B wholesale to hospitality businesses, with equipment supply through sister company Love Coffee Machines.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Specialty Coffee Roasting & Tea Merchant

NAICS

Coffee and Tea Manufacturing (311920), Coffee and Tea Manufacturing (31192), Other Specialty Food Retailers (44529)

SIC

Beverages (2080)

akta.pro primary industry

Specialty Coffee & Tea (Single-Origin, Micro-lot, Premium) Processing (AFAFADAJ)

akta.pro secondary industry

Specialty Coffee & Tea Retail (Beans, Leaves, Accessories) (CRAHAGAI)

Keywords

• Specialty coffee roasting
• Loose leaf tea merchant
• Wholesale coffee supply
• Espresso machine rental
• Barista training services

Headquarters

HQ city

Upper Heyford

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Retail Coffee & Tea Sales: Direct-to-consumer sales of freshly hand-roasted coffee beans and loose leaf teas through the lovecoffee.co.uk e-commerce platform. Products are sold in various pack sizes (200g, 350g, 1Kg) with pricing ranging from £5.50 to £31.45 for coffee and £3.50 to £58.50 for tea. Revenue is transaction-based with customers purchasing individual products.
2. Wholesale Trade: B2B wholesale supply of coffee blends and single-origin coffees to hospitality businesses including coffee shops, cafes, and offices. Beyond coffee supply, the company offers complete solutions including espresso machine rental packages, equipment sales through sister company Love Coffee Machines, barista training, and ongoing support services.
3. Equipment Sales & Rental: Through their sister company Love Coffee Machines, the company sells fully refurbished CMA Astoria espresso machines at fraction of new prices. Rental packages for espresso machines, bean-to-cups, and filter machines are also offered, tailored to business needs with flexibility to change equipment as businesses evolve.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Martin Carwardine & Co. is a fifth-generation family coffee roaster and tea merchant that hand-roasts specialty coffee in small batches on a manual Probat roaster and supplies loose leaf teas. The company sells its roasted coffee (40+ varieties) and teas (13 varieties) direct to UK consumers via its Shopify e-commerce site lovecoffee.co.uk, and provides a wholesale solution to coffee shops, cafes, and offices covering coffee supply, espresso machine rental/purchase, and barista training.

Product overview

Martin Carwardine & Co. is a family coffee roaster and tea merchant established in 1861, now in its fifth generation of family ownership. The company operates as both a direct-to-consumer e-commerce business and a B2B wholesale supplier. Its core product offerings consist of: (1) Freshly Hand Roasted Coffee—a portfolio of 40+ coffee varieties including exclusive house blends (e.g., Luxury Espresso, Classico, Connoisseur, Continental), single origins (Colombian, Ethiopian, Kenyan, Brazilian, Guatemalan, Indonesian, Honduran, Indian), espresso blends, and decaffeinated options using mountain water process; (2) Loose Leaf Tea & Exclusive Tea Bags—a collection of 13 teas sourced from China, India, Kenya, Malawi, and Sri Lanka including Assam, Earl Grey, Darjeeling, Keemun, Jasmine, Gunpowder, and specialty blends; and (3) Wholesale Coffee & Tea Supply—B2B services including bespoke equipment rental packages, equipment sales (through sister company Love Coffee Machines), and barista training. All products are roasted or blended and packed at the company's facility in the Mendip foothills near Bristol. The company emphasises traceable, sustainable sourcing and has earned awards including Taste of the West Silver (2014) for its Versante Fairtrade Organic blend.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Freshly Hand Roasted Coffee

Quantifiable outcome

• 5 generations of continuous family business operation since 1861

Named customers4 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration11 records

Feature1 record

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Love Coffee MachinescoreOthersSister company specializing in the supply of fully refurbished CMA Astoria espresso machines at a fraction of new prices. Also offers espresso grinders, hot water boilers, and accessories. Works in conjunction with Martin Carwardine & Co. to provide complete hospitality solutions including equipment and coffee supply.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Origin Coffee: Cornish specialty coffee roaster with both DTC and wholesale (including cafe operations). Comparable craft-roasting heritage and fair-trade/traceable sourcing positioning.
• Extract Coffee Roasters: Bristol-based specialty coffee roaster with DTC and B2B wholesale offering. Notably similar geographic footprint to Martin Carwardine in the Bristol/Somerset area, creating direct local competition.
• Union Hand-Roasted Coffee: UK specialty coffee roaster offering direct-to-consumer e-commerce and wholesale supply with strong ethical sourcing credentials. Direct competitor with overlapping DTC + B2B model and small-batch artisanal positioning.
• Rave Coffee: UK specialty coffee roaster offering single-origin and blended coffees via DTC and wholesale. Comparable scale and Bristol-adjacent origins.
• Pact Coffee: UK specialty coffee company with strong DTC subscription model and B2B office/hospitality supply. Closer to digital-native scale; competes on DTC digital experience and subscription retention.
• Hasbean Coffee: UK specialty coffee roaster founded by Jon Thornes, selling single-origin and blended coffees via DTC and wholesale. Comparable small-batch specialty positioning with strong brand recognition in UK third-wave coffee scene.
• Square Mile Coffee Roasters: London-based specialty coffee roaster serving both DTC customers and London wholesale accounts. Comparable craft roasting ethos and B2B focus on hospitality/business customers.
• Monmouth Coffee: Long-established London specialty roaster and cafe operator with heritage since 1978. Comparable traditional craft-roasting approach with both retail and wholesale channels.
• Cornish Coffee: UK specialty coffee roaster with heritage dating back to 2010, offering DTC and wholesale artisan coffee. Comparable artisanal positioning and B2B cafe supply model.

Broad incumbents

• Lavazza: Italian global coffee company with massive coffee roasting and retail operations. Comparable at the roasting/retail level but operates at vastly greater scale and broader geographic footprint, competing in the UK specialty and premium segments.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/carwardinecoffee
• Instagraminstagram.com/carwardinecoffee
• Xx.com/Carwardines

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Martin Carwardine & Co.