MAME, named after the Japanese word for beans, was born in Zurich in 2016 from a shared passion for coffee championships. Its founders are Emi Fukahori, born in Japan, and Mathieu Theis, born in France, both Swiss Barista Champions who went on to place fourth and eighth at the World Barista Championship. Competition remains part of the business: MAME baristas have finished second and third at the World Barista Championship and second at the World Brewers Cup, and Emi Fukahori coaches championship contenders. Its motto, “The best coffee is the coffee you like”, is lettered on its café windows.

MAME began roasting its own coffees in 2019, in a warehouse in Zurich that also houses its sourcing and its training area and is not open to the public. Mathieu Theis searches out the green coffee it roasts. The range is split into Daily Coffee and Competition Coffee, with a subscription for each.

The first café, MAME Josef, opened in October 2016 in a former laundry in Zurich’s Kreis 5. MAME Seefeld followed in 2018 by Lake Zurich and is the largest, then MAME Thalwil in 2024 and MAME Gertrud in 2026. In Geneva, MAME Plainpalais opened in September 2023 and MAME Saint-Gervais in December 2023. KURO MAME in Tokyo, opened in June 2025, is a coffee tasting room without a menu: the baristas choose coffees for each guest after a conversation, and reservations are recommended. A second Tokyo café, MAME Tokyo Sendagaya, opened in August 2026.

Coffee on the shelf

Photograph: MAME Specialty Coffee