Origin Coffee

What is Origin Coffee?

Origin is a speciality coffee roaster based at The Roastery on Treysa Place in Porthleven, Cornwall. Tom Sobey founded it in 2004, which makes it one of the longest-standing speciality roasters in the United Kingdom, and it now runs seven coffee shops alongside the roastery and the online shop.

It is the first UK roaster on this site. That matters less for the coffee than for the logistics: almost everything else we have reviewed is roasted in the United States and priced in dollars, and a reader in Britain has had no realistic way to buy any of it without paying more in shipping than for the coffee.

What Origin roasts

Light, in the Nordic-influenced speciality tradition, with the roasting overseen by Q Graders and a sensory programme Origin describes in detail on its own site. It sells whole bean and ground, single origins and blends, capsules, cold brew concentrate and a subscription, and it publishes a decaf.

We have not reviewed an individual Origin bag yet. Every coffee on this site is scored on its own taste, freshness, sourcing and price per kilo, so a range is never scored as one thing, and this page will fill up as the bags are reviewed rather than being filled in advance.

What it costs to get it

This is the part worth reading before you shop, and it is why the shipping panel above exists. Within the UK, orders under £35 pay £2.95 on Royal Mail Tracked 48 or £3.95 for Tracked 24; at £35 and over, Tracked 48 is free and Tracked 24 costs £1.95. Subscriptions ship free. Anything over 2kg goes by DPD next day at no charge.

Outside the UK it is a flat rate by zone: £14.95 to North America and £19.95 to the rest of the world. The EU is the exception: Origin says recent legislative changes have stopped it shipping there for now, and expects to resume next year. Subscriptions are UK only.

Two things stop an order that nobody mentions until checkout. Origin does not ship more than 1.75kg outside the UK at all, so a bulk order has to be quoted by email. And import duty and local taxes are the buyer's responsibility, which on a coffee order into the US can be the difference between a sensible purchase and a silly one.

Buying from Origin outside the UK

At £14.95 to North America, a single 250g bag is not the way to do it: the shipping would cost more than the coffee. The flat rate is the argument for ordering several bags at once, right up to the 1.75kg ceiling, which is roughly six 250g bags.

For a British buyer none of that applies, and free delivery over £35 with next-working-day despatch is as good as this site has recorded from anybody.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Origin Coffee based?

The Roastery, 1 Treysa Place, Porthleven, Cornwall. It has been there since Tom Sobey founded the company in 2004, and it runs seven coffee shops besides.

Does Origin Coffee ship to the United States?

Yes, at a flat £14.95 to North America, with a 1.75kg limit on any order leaving the UK. Import duty and any local tax are yours to pay, and Origin states that plainly rather than leaving it to the courier to explain.

Is UK delivery free?

On orders of £35 and over, by Royal Mail Tracked 48. Below that it is £2.95, or £3.95 for Tracked 24. Subscription orders ship free, and anything over 2kg goes DPD next day at no extra cost.

How fresh is the coffee?

Origin roasts and despatches the next working day on orders placed before 23:59, and says it aims to roast to order, with the caveat that mainstay coffees are sometimes rested first. One or two 250g bags go in a letterbox-friendly parcel.

What is the largest order Origin will ship abroad?

1.75kg. Above that Origin asks you to email for a quote rather than publishing a rate, so a wholesale-sized order is a conversation and not a checkout.