Fortnum & Mason Piccadilly Blend review: a smart house-blend tin at a premium price

This Fortnum & Mason Piccadilly Blend review covers the whole-bean version of Fortnum’s house coffee, sold in a 250g tin. It’s the blend Fortnum’s says it serves in its own restaurants, and it’s the sort of thing you’d pick up as a present as often as for yourself. I haven’t tested this in person. My verdict is based on Fortnum’s own listing, a dated UK price and what I could (and couldn’t) find in owner reviews and published tests, with links below. I’ll warn you now: that last part is thin.

Fortnum & Mason Piccadilly Blend review: the short answer

Buy the Piccadilly Blend if you want a smart gift for a coffee drinker, or you fancy a treat tin of an easy, chocolatey house blend and you’re happy to pay for the name. It’s £15.95 at Fortnum & Mason, price at time of research (28 Sep 2026), and the tin looks the part on a shelf or in a hamper.

Who it isn’t for: anyone who gets through a lot of coffee. At about £6.38 per 100g it’s a special-occasion bag rather than a daily staple, and it isn’t sold anywhere else, so you can’t shop around.

Skip it if you like to see independent reviews before you spend. I couldn’t find a single owner rating or published test of this blend, so you’re relying on Fortnum’s description alone.

Who it isn’t for: people who want a certified sourcing mark. Fortnum’s talks about responsible sourcing, but I couldn’t see a Fairtrade or Rainforest Alliance logo on the listing. If that matters to you, the Fairtrade M&S Colombian beans are worth a look.

What it costs right now

• Fortnum & Mason Piccadilly Blend Whole Bean Coffee Tin, 250g: £15.95 at Fortnum & Mason, price at time of research (28 Sep 2026). It was shown in stock, with no was-price or offer, so there’s no sale caveat to add. See it at Fortnum & Mason
• Per 100g: that works out at about £6.38.
• Other shops: I couldn’t find it at any other UK retailer. It seems to be sold only in Fortnum’s own shops and online.
• Delivery: I couldn’t confirm the delivery charge for a single tin, so check it at the checkout. It can make a real difference on one small order.

Fortnum’s also sells a ground Piccadilly Blend tin, so if you don’t own a grinder, that’s the one to look at instead.

What’s in the tin: beans, flavour and spec

Fortnum’s lists this as a whole-bean blend of coffee from Brazil, Colombia and India. The tasting notes it gives are chocolate, hazelnut and toffee, with a creamy feel, and the ground version of the same blend mentions dark chocolate. Put simply, it’s pitched as a comfortable, rounded coffee rather than a bright or fruity one, which is what you’d expect from a house blend designed to please a restaurant full of people.

A few things I couldn’t pin down. I couldn’t confirm a roast level for the bean tin, because its spec panel didn’t load in the copy of the page my research relied on, so I won’t state one. I also couldn’t confirm whether the tin carries a roast date, which is worth knowing with any beans. If freshness matters to you, check the tin when it arrives.

The tin itself is a big part of the appeal. The blend also appears in Fortnum’s hampers, which tells you how the shop sees it: as a gift as much as a pantry item.

Who it isn’t for: anyone after a light, fruity or single-country coffee. The listed notes point firmly towards chocolate and nuts.

Cost per cup and how to brew it

Fortnum’s doesn’t list a cost per cup, so here’s some rough maths. Fortnum’s page for the ground version suggests about 15g of coffee per 250ml, brewed with water at 92–94°C. At that dose, a 250g tin gives you about 16 cups, which is roughly £1 a cup at the £15.95 price at time of research (28 Sep 2026). That’s a treat price rather than an everyday one.

Because these are whole beans, you’ll need a grinder. The upside is that you can grind finer for espresso or coarser for a cafetière or filter, so the one tin works with most brewers. If you haven’t got a grinder yet, my guide to the best burr grinders under £100 is a good starting point, and a set of coffee scales makes the 15g dose easy to hit.

Who it isn’t for: anyone without a grinder who doesn’t want to buy one. The ground tin is the simpler choice.

What reviewers and owners say

This is where the Piccadilly Blend falls short, and it’s no fault of the coffee. The research turned up no owner rating on Fortnum’s product page, and no other UK retailer with reviews sells it. I also found no write-up of this blend from Which?, BBC Good Food, the Guardian’s Filter, the Independent or Good Housekeeping.

There is an old user review of an earlier Piccadilly Blend on a tea and coffee forum, but it dates from 2013, the range has been relaunched since, and it isn’t clear which version it covers, so I’ve left it out. I also came across praise for a different Fortnum’s coffee, which doesn’t tell us anything about this one.

So I can’t point you to evidence that it tastes better than cheaper beans. What you’re paying for is Fortnum’s house style, the tin and the name.

Who it isn’t for: anyone who wants a well-reviewed bean. If that’s you, look at more widely sold beans, such as the ones in my Lavazza Qualità Oro and illy Classico reviews.

Piccadilly Blend vs M&S Colombian beans

These are the two department-store bean packs I’ve covered, and they suit quite different shoppers.

• Price: the Piccadilly Blend is £15.95 for 250g at Fortnum & Mason, price at time of research (28 Sep 2026). I couldn’t confirm a live price for the M&S beans, so check current price at Ocado or in store.
• Beans: Fortnum’s blends coffee from three countries; M&S’s pack is all Colombian.
• Certification: the M&S beans carry a Fairtrade mark, according to M&S’s listing. I saw no certification on Fortnum’s listing.
• Where to buy: Fortnum’s sells its tin only through its own shops and site; the M&S beans are sold in M&S stores and through Ocado.

If it’s a gift, the Fortnum’s tin wins on presentation. If it’s for your own everyday brewing, the M&S beans are likely to be the more sensible buy, though it’s worth checking the price first. My M&S Colombian beans review has the details.

Who it isn’t for: anyone who wants the cheaper, Fairtrade option for daily drinking. That’s the M&S pack.

Downsides

• Premium price. About £6.38 per 100g, based on £15.95 at Fortnum & Mason, price at time of research (28 Sep 2026).
• No independent evidence. I found no owner reviews and no published tests.
• No sourcing mark shown. There’s a responsible-sourcing claim, but no Fairtrade or Rainforest Alliance logo.
• One seller. Only Fortnum’s sells it, so there’s no price competition, and delivery on a single tin is an unknown.
• Missing details. I couldn’t confirm the roast level for the bean tin or whether it has a roast date.

Where to go next

If you’d like fresh beans delivered regularly, my best coffee subscriptions guide compares the options. To get more out of whole beans, see my best burr grinders under £100, and if you’re choosing a machine to go with them, try my best espresso machine under £300 or bean-to-cup machines under £500 guides.

FAQ

How much is Fortnum & Mason Piccadilly Blend? The 250g whole-bean tin was £15.95 at Fortnum & Mason, price at time of research (28 Sep 2026), which is about £6.38 per 100g. Check the page before you buy, as prices change.

What does Piccadilly Blend taste like? Fortnum’s lists chocolate, hazelnut and toffee notes, with a creamy feel. That’s the shop’s own description, and I haven’t found an independent one to set against it.

Can I buy Piccadilly Blend anywhere other than Fortnum’s? I couldn’t find it at any other UK retailer. It seems to be sold only in Fortnum’s shops and on its website.

Is Piccadilly Blend Fairtrade? I couldn’t see a Fairtrade or Rainforest Alliance mark on the listing. Fortnum’s mentions responsible sourcing but doesn’t show a third-party certification.

Do I need a grinder for it? Yes, this tin is whole beans. If you don’t have a grinder, Fortnum’s also sells a ground Piccadilly Blend.