About us
Two people, one drum roaster, and a lot of Tuesdays
Ember & Oak started in 2014 with a 1 kg roaster in a garage in Portland, Maine. Today we roast in a former net loft by the harbour, still one day a week, still tasting every batch.
Our story
Written by Mara Lindgren and Tomás Ruiz, who started the roastery.
We met behind the bar of a café in Boston, arguing about why the same coffee tasted so different from one week to the next. The answer, we eventually worked out, was mostly time. Coffee changes fast after roasting: it is muted for the first few days, sweet and expressive for a few weeks, and flat after a couple of months. Most of what people buy has been on a shelf for far too long.
So in 2014 we bought a secondhand 1 kg roaster, put it in Mara's garage, and started roasting once a week for friends. The rule was simple: roast on Tuesday, deliver by the weekend. Within a year the friends had friends, and the garage was full of burlap sacks.
“We roast less than we could, on purpose. One day a week means every bag you get is from this week's roast.”
We still work to that rule. Everything is roasted on Tuesday on a 12 kg drum, rested overnight, and shipped on Wednesday. We keep the list short, five coffees and a kit, so we can buy each one in quantity from the same producers year after year, and roast each one well.
Tomás buys all our green coffee, and spends a few weeks each year visiting the farms and washing stations we work with in Ethiopia, Kenya, Colombia and Brazil. Mara writes every roast profile and tastes every batch. Jess runs our tasting room, which is open to anyone on Thursday, Friday and Saturday mornings.
Along the way
Twelve years in five moments
- 2014
A garage and a 1 kg roaster
The first batches go to friends and neighbours, delivered by bicycle every Saturday.
- 2016
Our first café customer
A bakery on Congress Street starts pouring our House Espresso. It is still on their bar today.
- 2019
Moving to the harbour
We take over an old net loft on the waterfront, install a 12 kg drum roaster and open a small tasting room.
- 2022
Subscriptions
Weekly, fortnightly and monthly deliveries, each roasted the Tuesday before it ships.
- 2025
Our first sourcing report
We publish exactly what we paid for every coffee, and how that compares with the market price.
Sourcing
What we pay, in writing
We buy from the same producers every year and publish what we paid them. Our 2025 report lists every lot we bought, the price per pound, and how it compares with the commodity market.
Read our sourcing report (PDF)Shipping & returns
The short version: we ship fast, shipping is free, and if something isn't right we fix it.
When we ship
We roast every Tuesday and ship every Wednesday. Orders placed by Monday at midnight go out that week; later orders go out the following Wednesday.
Delivery
Every US order ships free with USPS Priority Mail and arrives in two to three working days. You get a tracking link when your parcel leaves the roastery.
Returns
Unopened bags and unused gear can be returned within 30 days for a full refund. If you've opened a coffee and don't like it, tell us and we'll send a different one.
Damaged or lost
If a parcel arrives damaged or doesn't arrive at all, send us a note. We'll roast and ship a replacement the following Wednesday, no questions asked.
| Order placed | Roasted | Shipped | Usually arrives |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tuesday to Monday | Next Tuesday | Next Wednesday | Friday or Saturday |
| Subscriptions | Tuesday | Wednesday | Friday or Saturday |