About Colonna
In Melbourne, they discovered an underground movement called Third Wave coffee. Captivated by the flavour and provenance-driven approach to coffee, they dove in head-first and learned everything possible about this enigmatic drink. Maxwell and Lesley were driven by the opportunity to learn and innovate at a time when people were beginning to think differently about what coffee could be.
In 2009, they opened the destination coffee shop Colonna & Small’s in Bath, UK. The shop was dedicated to showcasing the most exceptional coffees in a space built to engage a conversation around coffee. Colonna & Small’s soon became internationally recognised and was awarded the ‘Best Coffee Shop in Europe’ title in 2016.
Colonna & Small's quickly became a hub for innovation. Maxwell and Lesley built a team and grew a customer base, who all shared their passion for great coffee. The company became part of the international coffee circuit, seeing Maxwell taking part in coffee competitions, collaborating with industry experts, scientists and inventors from many different fields.
Together they were trying to answer the unanswered and surprisingly complex questions in coffee, which all centred around the pursuit of flavour and understanding what actually makes coffee great.
Our founder Maxwell won the UK barista championship in 2012, 2014 & 2015. This connected us with a global network of fellow coffee enthusiasts and allowed us to collaborate further and wider in the pursuit of exceptional coffee.