Matthew Algie is a company selling coffee, coffee-making machines, tea, and other products such as hot chocolate[1] primarily in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. It was founded in Glasgow in 1864[2] by Matthew Algie (born 1810 in Greenock, Scotland, date of death missing),[3] and since then has continued as a family-run business.[4] The company now claim to be the UK's "leading independent coffee roaster",[5] with clients including Glasgow City Council,[6] the House of Commons[4] and the Scottish Parliament,[4] and its products are sold in Marks and Spencer, Sainsbury's[4] and Pret a Manger[7] among others. The company is also involved with fair trade,[8][9] and is working with Oxfam.[10]
The Matthew Algie company has even asked university students to sample its coffee in the past in a series of tests,[11] and brands its products in a way that might appeal to young people, even going as far as to state that "coffee is cool".[12] The company's managing director, David Williamson, a descendent of Matthew Algie, died in 2008 at the age of 42.[13]