The Popular Chain Behind Buc-Ee's Espresso Machines

If you've ever planned a road trip rest stop around the nearest Buc-ee's rather than the gas gauge, you're not alone. It's hard to ignore this beaver-adorned travel center, where you can stop to fuel up, eat, or grab a coffee. At some locations, you may even be able to spot a self-serve espresso machine from British chain Costa Coffee at the coffee bar. Here, you can pick up drinks for the next stretch of your trip.

Buc-ee's has been around since 1982, and its selection of food and drinks has made it much more than a place to fill your gas tank. Costa's history goes back a little further; brothers Sergio and Bruno Costa started a coffee roastery in London in 1971, then opened their first coffee shop in 1981.

Coca-Cola bought Costa in 2019 and was promoting its automated coffee equipment to U.S. convenience stores by 2023. Buc-ee's has a long-standing beverage deal with Coca-Cola, but neither company has confirmed whether this led to the coffee partnership. The arrangement allows Buc-ee's to offer specialty drinks without requiring a staffed espresso counter, putting Costa coffee in the cups of road trippers already stopping there.

The machines at Buc-ee's are customized versions of Costa's Pacto X2, a compact model made for self-service. A customer selects a drink on the touchscreen, and the machine grinds the coffee beans and froths real milk, preparing the drink in about 90 seconds. Costa machines use the Mocha Italia blend, the same coffee served in its shops. The standard Pacto X2 also has three ingredient hoppers, allowing it to craft both coffee and non-coffee drinks.

Buc-ee's already gives shoppers plenty of coffee choices, from choosing a roast to browsing the Phillips syrups at its DIY coffee bar. Costa's machines add even more choices to the menu, including lattes, cappuccinos, mochas, and even hot chocolate. Costa also lists espresso, americano, flat white, and cortado as options for the standard Pacto X2, but be aware that not every drink is available on every machine.

A March 2026 report from The Street described a Costa machine rollout at Buc-ee's locations across the U.S., but it did not state that every store would get one or that every machine would offer the same drinks. Costa's store locator currently only lists a Buc-ee's location in New Braunfels, Texas, though shoppers have noted sightings of the self-serve machine at multiple other locations. Your next Buc-ee's stop could feature a Costa beverage; but, if you have a particular drink in mind, check whether your planned stop has a machine before counting on it to caffeinate you to your destination.