A San Francisco roastery built around one belief: exceptional coffee deserves thoughtful care.
Crema was founded in 2018 in San Francisco’s Mission District. We started with one second-hand roaster, two accounts, and an obsession with the gap between how exceptional specialty coffee can be and how most people encounter it.
We believe that gap closes through care: knowing the people who grow our coffee, understanding the character of each harvest, and helping you make the most of every bag.
Maya Chen drafts the first Crema business plan in a Dolores Park notebook: sourcing relationships and roasting craft, given equal care.
The flagship roastery and café opens at 2847 Mission Street. Maya and Torres serve the first cappuccino on February 12th, beside a second-hand 15kg Probat roaster.
Maya visits El Paraíso Farm in Huila, Colombia. A relationship with Diego Bermúdez begins, and his experimental anaerobic coffees enter the lineup.
The espresso bar on Fell Street opens during a fragile moment for hospitality. Sam Westbrook joins as Wholesale Director.
Crema Elmwood opens on College Avenue, bringing the brew bar to the East Bay. Saturday public cuppings welcome first-timers and seasoned tasters.
Priya Nair publishes the first annual sourcing report, sharing pricing, relationships and volume commitments across our lots.
In the roast, at the bar, and in every conversation about the coffee we serve.
Learn To Brew With UsFounder & Head Roaster
Maya spent five years as a green buyer for a Bay Area importer before founding CREMA in 2018. She holds a Q Arabica Grader certification and travels to origin twice yearly. Her roasting philosophy: start from the green, develop to the coffee's nature, not to a style.
Head Barista & Training Director
Torres competed in the US Brewers Cup three times, placing in the top six nationally. He leads all barista training across CREMA locations and designs our brew guide program. He is relentlessly curious about water chemistry and its effect on extraction.
Green Buyer & Sourcing Relations
With roots in agricultural economics, Priya manages our importer relationships and travels annually to our direct-trade partners in Colombia and Ethiopia. She tracks pricing transparency across our supply chain and co-authors our annual sourcing report.
Wholesale Director
Sam built our wholesale program from two accounts to forty-three in three years. He consults with wholesale partners on equipment selection, staff training, and menu design. His background is in restaurant operations — he speaks the language of service.
Long-term partnerships help us understand how coffee is grown, what producers need, and how we can support their work.
Our roast approach starts with the green coffee. We develop each lot to its nature, with clarity and balance guiding the cup.
From brew guides to public cuppings, we make room for curiosity. Good coffee gets better when it brings people together.