Costa Coffee arrives in Cyprus

Costa Coffee officially arrives in Nicosia on Saturday when the outlet on Griva Digeni at the site of the old Il Giardino Restaurant opens its doors to the public.

The Costa Coffee brand took its first steps in 1971 when Sergio and Bruno Costa arrived in London in 1971 and started what is now an internationally renowned business.

Costa’s Mocha Italia is made to a secret blend, characteristic of northern Italy where the Costa brothers came from.

Unlike other coffee companies Costa slow roast their coffee for 18-22 minutes.

The first coffee shop was opened in 1978 and in October 1995, Costa Coffee Bros Ltd was acquired by Whitbread plc giving it the backing of the UK’s leading leisure company.

The UK Coffee Shop market has doubled in the last 10 years and the market continues to grow at 12.7%.

Costa serves 3 million customers each week and can boast that according to research 88.2% of customers state they are very satisfied with Costa stores, ahead of chief rivals Starbucks and Cafe Nero.

Costa brand has 48% UK market awareness and the quality of Costa Coffee was rated above Starbucks in the 2004 industry survey by Allegra.

Costa Coffee’s next expansion plans include India, Spain and China.