The Oldest Coffee Company In The US Has Been Fueling Americans For Nearly 2 Centuries

If you love your morning cup of coffee, you're not alone. Chances are, quite a few of your friends, family members, and coworkers are also starting their days off with a cup of joe, given that 66% of Americans in January 2025 reported themselves as daily coffee drinkers (per the National Coffee Association). But coffee consumption certainly isn't a modern trend or even one that started in the past century. In fact, Gillies Coffee, the United States' oldest continuously operating coffee company, has been in business since 1840, predating the American Civil War by decades.

Gillies Coffee began as a small business in New York, New York. The company founder, Wright Gillies, left his small hometown of Newburgh, New York, in search of economic opportunities and started work in a NYC tea shop as a teenager in 1838. After learning the basics of the business, he struck out on his own and started a tea and coffee company in 1840. The business was a fast-growing success, and by the time famous coffee-loving President Theodore Roosevelt was elected, Gillies Coffee had expanded across the nation and acquired patents on the company's unique coffee roasting methods. Today, Gillies Coffee is still thriving and produces many blends, single-origin coffees, and flavored coffees.

If you're looking to try a taste of America's coffee history, you might be tempted to head down to your local supermarket to pick up a bag of Gillies Coffee — save yourself the trip. Gillies Coffee isn't sold in grocery aisles. Today, Gillies Coffee operates chiefly as a wholesaler on the bulk coffee market. It also sells green coffee, which are coffee beans that haven't been roasted yet, for businesses that prefer to roast in-house.

You can still try a sip of Gillies Coffee, though, and there's more than one way to get your hands on a cup. First, you can check if restaurants or coffee shops in your area stock Gillies. This may be especially likely if you live near New York City, where Gillies Coffee is still based – the company has even held a pop-up shop in collaboration with Willett's Cafe Spinone.

However, if you're not near anywhere that serves Gillies Coffee, you can order the coffee online through the Gillies Coffee website, where ground and whole coffee beans are available for purchase in 5-pound bags, 20-pound boxes, and sets of six 10-ounce bags. Just remember that unopened coffee doesn't stay fresh forever. Keep the coffee protected from oxygen and light exposure, and never store coffee beans in the fridge.