The Meinl story begins in 1862 when Julius Meinl I. opened his first grocery store, selling spices and green coffee in the center of Vienna. He created coffee blends and was the first to offer them freshly roasted for sale. Julius Meinl had found a new market as his innovation saved customers the challenge of roasting the green coffee beans on their kitchen stoves. Selling coffee roasted maintained a constant, reliable quality coffee blend. This innovation was accepted by the Viennese with enthusiasm and brought the young boy great success. In 1891 Julius Meinl opened a modern roasting plant on the very site where the retreating Ottoman army had left the green coffee beans 200 years earlier.