Jeremy Torz, an optician, and Steven Macatonia, an immunologist, learned about specialty coffee at Peet's in San Francisco in the early 1990s. They started roasting in Steven's parents' garden as Torz & Macatonia. The Revelation blend dates to 1994, developed in Steven's mother's kitchen.
In 1995 they became the main supplier for Seattle Coffee Company. After Starbucks acquired it in 1998, they founded Union Coffee Roasters in East London in 2001. A San Franciscan roaster arrived in August, a Probat from Memphis in October. They won the Queen's Award for Sustainable Enterprise in 2017 and 2022 for their Union Direct Trade model. They still work with their first farmer partner, Maraba from Rwanda.