East Indies’ Coffee, Tea, & Unrivaled Service are Steeped in History
Discover How We Got Our Start and How Our Founder’s Values Live On
East Indies Coffee & Tea began its history in the grand old City of Philadelphia back in 1976. The founder, Walter Progner, sold high-quality meats, cheeses, and other specialty items to local businesses and quickly built up a strong customer following.
On the heels of this early success, Walter launched the East Indies Coffee and Old Philadelphia Coffee Roasters brands, and the current company was on its way to being realized.
With more and more concentration on coffee, the founder shed many of the other products to focus on being the best roaster in the region. The company grew and began selling tea to supplement the coffee business. When Walter met Mim Enck, a devoted tea lover, the business was moved from Philadelphia to its current location in Lebanon County, PA.
With this new space, the company grew, and its tea offering became extensive, gaining customers from all over North America. Meanwhile, coffee distribution expanded to the Central Pennsylvania region while keeping its foothold in the Philadelphia area.
The pair continued to focus on coffee and tea, bringing creative new products to market and becoming globally recognized experts in their fields. They traveled the world to learn about their products and build strong industry alliances.
Walter and Mim are no longer with us, but their values of high dedication to customer service, world-class quality, and innovative products persist today. The new generation of coffee and tea experts at East Indies, many of whom learned their craft directly from the founders, strive to expand on the core values and bring fresh perspectives, ideas, and energy to the tea and coffee markets.
The company is now a Certified Veteran-Owned business focused on serving its customers, its community, and its employees in a way that honors its heritage and core values of trust, integrity, respect, and commitment to excellence. With exciting new offerings, innovative services, and a sense of gratitude, the East Indies Coffee and Tea team looks forward to serving you and partnering in your success!