First Colony Coffee & Tea Company History

What makes First Colony so distinctive? The answer is our history. We have been roasting coffee since the turn of the century with the single-minded devotion to provide our customers with the finest gourmet coffees and teas anywhere. This century of experience and resolve pours itself into every cup of First Colony coffee and tea.

Originally founded as the James G. Gill Company, in Norfolk, Virginia, First Colony Coffee & Tea Company has been roasting and blending coffees and teas since 1902. Recently celebrating its 100-year anniversary, First Colony continues to honor the same dedication to producing gourmet coffees as the original founder, James G. Gill. The daily operations of selecting only the finest 100% Arabica beans and cupping the coffees to create the blends has changed very little since 1902. The manner in which the beans are handled and roasted continues to rely on tradition. We still honor the three S’s—sight, smell and sound—when roasting our coffees. Applying this technique through small batch roasting provides infinite control over the roast.

First Colony saw expansion during the specialty coffee industry’s growth spurt of the 1970s and led the industry in quality standardization and flavoring of coffees. The First Colony name was adopted to reflect the company’s history and commitment to premium coffees.

In 1995, First Colony began a unique business relationship with the Federación Nacional de Cafeteros de Colombia – Comité Departamental de Cafeteros de Antioquia, Colombia’s largest coffee producing cooperative. First Colony is an industry leader in third-party certified organic and shade-grown coffees. First Colony contributes to several agencies and efforts which develop infrastructure in coffee-growing regions to improve healthcare and educational opportunities for coffee growers.