Little’s journey started over 25 years ago in Finland where husband and wife team Henry and Leila Little first conceived the idea of making American style flavoured coffee.
Finland? American style coffee? Yes, Leila is a Finnish national, and Henry an American student who was studying in Scandinavia when the two met. During their travels to California, the pair had been inspired by speciality coffee roasters who were adding natural extracts to their coffee beans. Inspired by this alternative to the usual cup of joe the couple returned to Finland, packed in their day jobs and started roasting their own beans infusing them with flavour extracts from their favourite ingredients. Little did they know that they were on their way to becoming committed flavour enthusiasts.
Although small at first, their plan started to gather momentum, and by the early nineties they were standing toe to toe with some of Scandinavia’s most prolific coffee roasters; somewhat of a David and Goliath scenario, you could say. By 1995 the pair decided that it was time to broaden their horizons and take their idea to greener pastures, and so in August 1995 Henry and Leila, along with their two children moved to England.
