about us

Grind is a coffee company that lives in London. 

We’re on a mission to change the way we drink coffee for the better. Because with the amount of coffee we consume, we realised it would be nice to drink it with a clear conscience. And there’s nothing about our home-compostable pods that we feel guilty about.

David Abrahamovitch, Founder & CEO.

David is the founder & CEO of Grind. In 2011, alongside his friend Kaz James, he turned his father’s old mobile phone store in Shoreditch into a coffee shop called Shoreditch Grind. As it evolved, Shoreditch Grind became a “café by day and cocktail bar by night” and the first location became an East London institution.

Over the last decade, Grind has grown to become the breakout coffee challenger brand in the UK, with fourteen locations across London, a thriving online business serving hundreds of thousands of customers around the world, and Grind coffee beans, coffee cans and coffee pods are available in most major UK grocers. Grind is also the global coffee supplier to Soho House, and is partnered with other best-in-class brands like Oatly and Brewdog.

David’s vision is to grow Grind into the world's leading challenger coffee brand, encouraging people around the world to enjoy speciality coffee, sustainably.

@davidabrahamovitch

David is the founder & CEO of Grind. In 2011, alongside his friend Kaz James, he turned his father’s old mobile phone store in Shoreditch into a coffee shop called Shoreditch Grind. As it evolved, Shoreditch Grind became a “café by day and cocktail bar by night” and the first location became an East London institution.

Over the last decade, Grind has grown to become the breakout coffee challenger brand in the UK, with fourteen locations across London, a thriving online business serving hundreds of thousands of customers around the world, and Grind coffee beans, coffee cans and coffee pods are available in most major UK grocers. Grind is also the global coffee supplier to Soho House, and is partnered with other best-in-class brands like Oatly and Brewdog.

David’s vision is to grow Grind into the world's leading challenger coffee brand, encouraging people around the world to enjoy speciality coffee, sustainably.

@davidabrahamovitch

Howard Gill, Head of Coffee.

Howard Gill is the Head of Coffee for cult London coffee brand Grind. Howey has worked in coffee for nearly 20 years and is a qualified Q grader. He joined the Grind team in 2016 when the company decided to set up their own roastery in London. Now, the roastery team has grown to include over 20 people, roasting hundreds of tonnes of coffee a year.

Howey's coffee philosophy is based around inclusivity: he wants everyone to be drinking high quality, sustainable coffee. He designs Grind's blends to appeal to everyone, no matter how they like to drink their coffee.

@coffeewithhowey

Howard Gill is the Head of Coffee for cult London coffee brand Grind. Howey has worked in coffee for nearly 20 years and is a qualified Q grader. He joined the Grind team in 2016 when the company decided to set up their own roastery in London. Now, the roastery team has grown to include over 20 people, roasting hundreds of tonnes of coffee a year.

Howey's coffee philosophy is based around inclusivity: he wants everyone to be drinking high quality, sustainable coffee. He designs Grind's blends to appeal to everyone, no matter how they like to drink their coffee.

@coffeewithhowey

This Is Better Coffee.

Better Than What?

Better than the mainstream coffee industry, which has become a major contributor to water pollution, deforestation, and exploitation (amongst other bad things that, unsurprisingly, we want absolutely no part of).

Better For People & Planet.

Our solution is to ethically source from small-scale producers who farm sustainably and pay their workers fairly. We make compostable coffee pods, we don’t use single-use plastic, and all our packaging is fully recyclable.

Better Taste.

Grind coffee also tastes really, really good. It’s speciality-grade and roasted by us in London, and we have a team of experts trying and testing every batch. Our pods have an oxygen barrier that keeps your coffee fresh for months, without losing its flavour.

Better (the best) Coffee Pods.

We created the UK’s first home-compostable coffee pod. This was (and still is) a big deal. Unlike so many aluminium and plastic pods that dominate the market, ours are made from plants. Theirs stick around for centuries; ours disappear in weeks.

How We Got Here.

Like all the best things in life, we began in Shoreditch. That was back in 2011 when our founder, David, turned his father’s mobile phone store into the first Grind café—but think “coffee shop by day, cocktail bar by night” (primarily a homage to the holy grail of cocktails: the Espresso Martini). Now, we’re all over London with 14 sites and our very own roastery, and we put a decade’s worth of coffee knowledge into home-compostable pods.

A Decade(+) of Great Coffee Doing Good:

Click to find out more about us

The Birth of Grind:

The Birth of Grind:

The first ever Grind opens in Shoreditch, East London.

The first ever Grind opens in Shoreditch, East London.

2011

The Birth of Grind:

The Birth of Grind:

Grind Takes on Soho.

Grind Takes on Soho.

Our Soho café opens it's doors.

Our Soho café opens it's doors.

2014

Grind Takes on Soho.

Grind Takes on Soho.

Coffee AND Food.

Coffee AND Food.

Grind opens in London Bridge and starts serving food, too.

Grind doesn't just open in London Bridge, we start serving food there, too.

2015

Coffee AND Food.

Coffee AND Food.

Crowdfunding, Round One.

Crowdfunding, Round One.

Our first round of crowdfunding raises £1.3m.

Our first round of crowdfunding raises £1.3m.

2015

Crowdfunding, Round One.

Crowdfunding, Round One.

The First Roastery.

The First Roastery.

We hire our first roasters to work in our very own roastery.

We open our first roastery and hire our first roasters, including our very own Head of Coffee.

2016

The First Roastery.

The First Roastery.

The First Bottomless.

The First Bottomless.

An unknowing customer buys our first ever Bottomless Brunch.

An unknowing customer buys our first ever Bottomless Brunch.

2016

The First Bottomless.

The First Bottomless.

Crowdfunding, Round Two.

Crowdfunding, Round Two.

Our second round of crowdfunding raises £2.1m.

Our second round of crowdfunding raises £2.1m.

2017

Crowdfunding, Round Two.

Crowdfunding, Round Two.

Hello, Grind-at-home.

Hello, Grind-at-home.

Our home range is launched; our coffee pods coffee pods start being delivered.

Our at-home range is launched; our compostable coffee pods start being delivered.

2018

Hello, Grind-at-home.

Hello, Grind-at-home.

Next Roastery, Please.

Next Roastery, Please.

The first roastery becomes too small, so we open our second one.

The first roastery becomes too small, so we open our second one.

2019

Next Roastery, Please.

Next Roastery, Please.

Crowdfunding, Round Three.

Crowdfunding, Round Three.

Another round of crowdfunding raises £3.4m.

You guessed it: it's another round of crowdfunding. This time raising £3.4m.

2019

Crowdfunding, Round Three.

Crowdfunding, Round Three.

From High Street to Home.

From High Street to Home.

Not a good time to be on the high street—all Grind sites close.

Not a good time to be on the high street. All Grind locations close; all staff are furloughed.

2020

From High Street to Home.

From High Street to Home.

Grind One Machine.

Grind One Machine.

Good time to be drinking coffee at home: our Grind One launches.

But, at least, a good time to start drinking better coffee at home: our Grind One Coffee Pod Machine launches.

2020

Grind One Machine.

Grind One Machine.

More Crowdfunding!

More Crowdfunding!

Great crowd. We're very lucky. This round rases £3.4m.

Great crowd. We're very lucky. This round rases £3.4m.

2021

More Crowdfunding!

More Crowdfunding!

Grind x Soho House.

Grind x Soho House.

We become the exclusive coffee supplier to Soho House & Co.

Grind becomes the exclusive global coffee supplier to international hotel group and private members club, Soho House & Co. And another year, another roastery.

2021

Grind x Soho House.

Grind x Soho House.

Home-Compostable Pods.

Home-Compostable Pods.

Ours become the UK's first certified home-compostable coffee pods.

Our coffee pods are the first in the UK to become certified home-compostable. That's big stuff for a small pod. We also launch our first Grind Tin collaboration.

2022

Home-Compostable Pods.

Home-Compostable Pods.

Grind Gets Cooler.

Grind Gets Cooler.

Grind acquires Bottleshot Coffee, and our iced coffee cans arrive.

Grind acquires Bottleshot Coffee, and so our range of ready-to-drink iced coffees arrives.

2023

Grind Gets Cooler.

Grind Gets Cooler.

Grind Meets Waitrose.

Grind Meets Waitrose.

Our coffee lands on shelves in Waitrose.

Our coffee lands on shelves in Waitrose. It likes it there.

2023

Grind Meets Waitrose.

Grind Meets Waitrose.

Grind Gets Better.

Grind Gets Better.

We launch our charitable foundation: The Better Coffee Foundation®.

We launch our very own charitable foundation, The Better Coffee Foundation®, as a commitment to undoing the damage of the global coffee industry.

2023

Grind Gets Better.

Grind Gets Better.

B Corp, Baby.

B Corp, Baby.

Grind becomes B Corp certified, officially joining a global movement of companies using business as a force for good.

Grind becomes B Corp certified (at long last).

2024

B Corp, Baby.

B Corp, Baby.

We'll Come To You.

Get started