Maru takes its name from the Korean San Ma Ru, “mountaintop”, its symbol of quality, since the beans it looks for grow at high altitude. The company is “born from a love of process and everyday quality”, inspired by all things analogue and the simplicity of good coffee, and holds that quality does not have to be austere and that tradition can be respected and re-imagined at the same time.

All of Maru’s coffee is roasted at its roastery in Glassell Park, Los Angeles, where most of the production happens, from receiving the selected lots to defining the tasting notes for each one. The range runs to seasonal single-origin releases, the newest a Panama Elida Estate, alongside Ethiopian, Kenyan, Colombian and Costa Rican lots and three blends, Sanmi, Santo and Kemi.

The cafés are in Los Feliz, the Arts District and Beverly Hills, with a fourth in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Beans are sold online and by subscription, and Maru also supplies coffee partners.

Coffee on the shelf

Photograph: Maru Coffee