160 years of Matthew Algie & Company

Our History

For around 80 years, Matthew Algie was all about tea. In the 1950s, we started selling coffee to post-war Glasgow, and the rest is history! 160 years later, we’re still here in Glasgow, going from strength to strength.

Our founder, Matthew Algie, was born in 1814 in Greenock, a major port for goods entering and leaving the industrial powerhouse of Glasgow. Matthew was a grocer by trade. He sold tea that arrived on the famous Clyde Clippers. In 1864, he decided to specialise and set up his own tea blending and wholesale business. Matthew’s customers were the thousands of retailers in the Glasgow area. Maybe it was something in the leaves; Matthew lived to the ripe old age of 92. 

Matthew Algie and colleagues

Matthew Algie through the years

Grab a coffee as we whizz through the last 160 years of Matthew Algie’s history.