Coffee stories
Caffè Vergnano since 1882: a family coffee story
From a grocer’s shop in Chieri, near Turin, to a café network in more than 45 countries — and why Crema Aroma buys direct from the family.
Caffè Vergnano began in 1882, when Domenico Vergnano opened a grocery in Chieri, a small town outside Turin, and started roasting coffee for his customers. It is still run by the Vergnano family today, four generations on — one of the oldest coffee roasters in Italy.
Turin, and the espresso bar
Turin is a city of coffee bars, and Vergnano grew up with them. The blends were made for the bar counter: a short espresso, served quickly, the same every time. That is still what the 1 kg bar blends are for, and it is why the range runs as a ladder of body and intensity rather than as a set of single origins.
Where Vergnano is today
The Caffè Vergnano 1882 café network now has more than 200 locations in over 45 countries, and the coffee is served in bars, restaurants and homes well beyond them — upwards of 25 million espressos a year. The roastery is still in Piedmont, and the company is still run by the family.
Why we buy direct
Crema Aroma has been an authorised UK distributor of Caffè Vergnano 1882 since 2018. We buy direct from the roastery, on a monthly cycle, which is why we can offer the whole catalogue rather than the handful of lines a distributor happens to hold, and why we can order in a product that is not on the website. It also means our stock turns over quickly. The catalogue runs from the 1 kg bar blends and the 2.5 kg Original and Strong to the 250 g tins, the Nespresso-compatible and FAP capsules and the Decaffeinato in three formats; a Vergnano product that is not on the website can be ordered in specially on the same monthly cycle, paid in advance.
Where to start
If you have not tried Vergnano, start with the coffee your machine suits: the Coffee Finder will point you to it, and the whole range is under Caffè Vergnano 1882. The other makers we stock are on our Brands page. For cafés, restaurants and workplaces, the Coffee for Business page explains how a trade account works and what we can do around the coffee — from the first sample to the branded cups.
Reviewed 8 September 2026.
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