Saturday, 17 October 2026

Costa Coffee founded 1971: quiz reveals London origin

A weekend quiz by a major publication nudges readers to a familiar café chain’s surprising birthplace and year.

Costa Coffee founded 1971
Photo: Peter Broster from Wales / CC BY 2.0 (modified)

The short version

  • A Guardian Saturday quiz includes a question about where a popular coffee chain started and when.
  • The answer identifies Costa Coffee as founded in London in 1971.
  • The quiz covers a mix of geography, history, pop culture and literature to engage readers.
Quick read · 1 min

The Guardian’s Saturday quiz includes a tasty hint about a coffee chain that started in London in 1971. The answer? Costa Coffee. The quiz moves through politics, music and geography, offering a quick, fun challenge to test what you remember. If you want a fast win, try recalling the dates you see and the places that come up. Next time you swing by a coffee shop, you’ll have a fresh bit of trivia ready to drop into conversation.

Try the quiz yourself on a Saturday morning for a light stretching of the brain and a few easy wins to share with friends.

The Guardian’s Saturday quiz pops up with a neat historical nugget about a familiar coffee chain: Costa Coffee began in London in 1971. If you’ve grabbed a latte on your commute, you’ve unknowingly walked past a piece of this trivia, which turns out to be older than many people realize.

Quizzes like this aren’t just about bragging rights. They’re a quick reminder that brands often have origins worth knowing beyond their current menus. The Guardian’s questions roam from politics and literature to music and geography, offering a light, enjoyable way to test what sticks in our memories.

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What makes this quiz different

Rather than focusing on one topic, the Saturday quiz blends history, culture and current events. It invites readers to recall dates, names and places, then ties them back to everyday everyday life, like the next time you order a coffee. That mix is why readers often share their results and compare notes in chat groups and social feeds.

Costa Coffee
Photo: Maksym Kozlenko / CC BY-SA 4.0 (modified)
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Which coffee chain has London roots dating to 1971?

The answer is Costa Coffee. The question sits near the end of the set and offers a neat reminder that the brands we see everywhere can begin in a single city, long before they become a global presence. If you’ve walked by a Costa while rushing to work, you’ve passed through a piece of this backstory you might not have known.

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Why this matters to everyday readers

Knowing a brand’s origin can be a fun bit of conversation at a coffee shop or dinner party. It also shows how brands expand, evolve and become part of daily life long after their first shop opens. In Costa’s case, a London start in 1971 grew into a name many people recognize across multiple countries today.

Cozy coffee shop interior with warm lighting and customers
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What happens next

If you want a quick brain workout, try the Guardian Saturday quiz yourself and see which questions you get right or wrong. It’s a lightweight way to jog memory and maybe learn a new tidbit to drop in a conversation.

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Quick answers

Which coffee chain was founded in London in 1971?

Costa Coffee.

Why do readers enjoy quizzes like this?

They mix memory with culture, delivering bite-sized facts you can share with friends and family.

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