Costa Coffee's Basildon roastery celebrates fifth anniversary

In March 2017, after two years of construction, Costa Coffee opened the doors to its state-of-the-art facility in Christopher Martin Road. And in the years since it has roasted around 10 billion tonnes of coffee!

The site cost a whopping £38million to build, with the location chosen for its proximity to Tilbury Docks, which is only 14 miles away and is where the firm’s raw coffee beans are imported to from across the globe.

At full capacity the site is capable of producing enough powder to produce 2.1 billion cups of coffee per year. And there is provision in place to expand the capacity by another third in the future, to potentially roast 60,000 tonnes a year.

And the beans are all certified with the Rainforest Alliance seal, a quality stamp which shows the company and its partners adhere to strict rules on sustainability, climate change and human rights.

Giant vats - The production process is complex. Pic Costa Coffee

A Costa spokesman said: “Green coffee beans from Rainforest Alliance certified growers are shipped in from coffee producing countries across the globe.

“When they arrive, and before they become the beloved caffeinated drink we all rely upon in the mornings, the beans are hard and a whitish green colour.

“Before they are ready for roasting, the beans must pass through several stages at the facility.

“First, they are emptied straight from the bag into a big vat, before a huge silver pipe sucks them up to be cleaned for a second time for any impurities – they are cleaned when harvested at source, but the process needs to be repeated.

Under construction - The facility took two years to complete. Pic Costa Coffee

“From here, they are delicately roasted and slowly turn into the brownish colour we associate with coffee.

“Finally they are transported via conveyor belts, bucket elevators and slides, then shipped out to stores across the world.”

The new facility came as Costa trebled its value in less than a decade, going from £425million in 2010/11 to £1.34billion by 2019/20, and becoming the second largest coffeehouse chain in the world as well as the largest in the UK.

The Basildon roastery was built to accommodate that rising demand, as the company now runs almost 2,500 branches across the UK, with approximately a further 1,400 stores in 32 countries worldwide.

84,000 square feet - A look inside the roastery. Pic Costa Coffee

Before the Basildon site was built Costa’s roasting hub was in Lambeth, but the move to south Essex saw the company quadruple its annual capacity.

A spokesman said: “The facility supports more than 40 jobs, ranging from the senior management team to employees in the technical departments, and runs five days a week from 6.30am to 8.30pm.

“The coffee arrives in huge sacks ready to go through the roasting process and can then be exported to other markets with quick links to London via the A127.

Coffee mad - The roastery is open on weekdays. Pic Costa Coffee

“With Costa experiencing massive growth in the 2010s, the industry giant knew it needed to act decisively to keep up with the continued expansion across London, the UK and worldwide.”