Espresso House was founded by the couple Elisabet and Charles Asker with the coffee bar Café Java in Gothenburg.

The first café bearing the name Espresso House opened on street Kyrkogatan in Lund 1996.

In September 2012, the chain was acquired by the Norwegian private equity firm Herkules Capital that later sold it again in 2015 to the German family business JAB Holding Company.

[8] As of April 2023, there were 510 stores in the following countries:[9] Espresso House has been compared to Starbucks in North America in regards to its ubiquity and spread.

[10][11][12][13] In January 2022 the Finnish investigative journalism show M.O.T reported multiple occasions of mismanagement, hygiene related issues and employees having monthly working hours exceeding lawful limits.