New England Coffee Turns 100!

New England Coffee 100 Anniversary, New England Coffee, Coffee HistoryThe story of New England Coffee begins in the Old World, with a Greek family living in Greece. From there, in 1910, Menelaos Kaloyanides, with his brother, came to the United States. By 1916, Menelaos was running a successful restaurant in Boston, but he wanted to start his own business. So he, along with his brother George Kaloyanides and his cousin Megaklis Papadopoulos, founded the New England Tea & Coffee Company. From their location at Milk and Broad Streets in Boston, they delivered coffee to restaurants all over the city.

Slowly but surely, the company gained a reputation for consistently good coffee. As its reputation grew, so grew the reach of the company’s deliveries and the size of its accounts. While many things have changed over the decades, the commitment to quality has never wavered.

Today after 100 years in business, New England Coffee operates out of their five building campus in Malden, MA, where time-honored traditions are led by second generation family member and current Coffee Consultant, Steve Kaloyanides Sr.

At New England Coffee, many people are passionate about quality. But no one has been as passionate about it for as long as Steve Kaloyanides has. For decades Steve Sr. helped run New England Coffee, directing operations, coffee purchasing, and quality control. These days, he monitors coffee supply and demand and inventory.

After 70 years, Steve Sr. speaks with authority on what sets New England Coffee apart. “Our biggest strength is our people. We tell our employees to have their brother or sister or husband or wife come work with us. We want that. We’ve done a great job of honoring the people who’ve been here a long time and their experience and all the things they are teaching the next generation. We’re unique because we care so deeply about each other. You can’t replicate that. It’s what keeps us thinking and acting like a small company, no matter how big we get.”

In 100 years, New England Coffee’s passion for quality has never wavered, says Steve Sr. “The way we care about the coffee, our methods of quality, they haven’t changed. And there’s no other way that we know how to do it than the way we’ve learned over the last century.”

Steve Sr. shares his two keys to success, “The first is to keep making and selling the best quality coffee to our customers. We’re proud of our coffee. The second is to hire and keep good people. We’re so fortunate to have wonderful people working at our company. I’m very proud of them. We all work well together, and that’s what counts.”

Want to carry New England Coffee in your business? Contact us and we can help you out! Cheers to another 100 years!