Why go
Kalita, Kono and a quiet room
Pour-overs at Maru are made on Kalita and Kono drippers, espresso runs on a Synesso MVP, and the grinders are a Mahlkönig EK 43 and Mazzers. That equipment list is not trivia; it is the clearest statement of what the Los Feliz café cares about, which is extraction rather than volume. Coffee for anyone staying is served in ceramic cups by Notary Ceramics, which tells you the room expects you to sit.
The café opened in late September 2016, after co-founders Jacob Park and Joonmo Kim spent more than three years developing the concept, in a neighbourhood between Silver Lake and Hollywood. The name comes from the Korean San Ma Ru, meaning mountaintop, which the brand ties to high-altitude coffee growing. In the early years Park was owner and head barista as well as a certified Q Grader, while Kim ran the business side from the floor.
A minimalist room for a focused visit
Maru is best used as a coffee visit rather than a café meal. The Los Feliz shop is minimalist and quiet, with a comforting tranquility that has been its defining note since it opened, and the service details all push brewing to the centre of the experience.
That restraint is the identity. There is no broad food programme competing for attention and no music-led room to talk over, just a bar, a filter setup and a small number of things done carefully. The company’s own language keeps returning to process, ritual and everyday quality, and the room is arranged to support exactly that.
What to order
Espresso and pour-over are the two routes, and filter is where Maru’s identity sits most clearly; the company publishes its own Kalita brewing guide. In the early Los Feliz period the bar ran three roasters at a time, carrying Coava Coffee Roasters, Sweet Bloom Coffee Roasters and Stereoscope Coffee.
Maru now roasts as well, presenting itself as a Los Angeles roaster working with coffees that undergo intensive processing. Retail releases have included Colombia Yeison Tovar, Colombia La Divisa Gesha, Costa Rica Finca Los Angeles and the Sanmi Blend. Tea is on the menu too, herbal, green and black. For food, the pastries come from Cake Monkey, with babka slices, doughnuts and savoury bacon jam twists the clearest anchors in the case.
Tags
Frequently asked questions
What should I order at Maru Coffee?
Filter, made on a Kalita or Kono dripper, since that is where the café’s identity sits and the company publishes its own Kalita brewing guide. Espresso runs on a Synesso with EK 43 and Mazzer grinders. For food, the pastries come from Cake Monkey: babka, doughnuts and bacon jam twists.
Does Maru Coffee roast its own coffee?
It does now. Maru presents itself as a Los Angeles roaster working with coffees that undergo intensive processing, with releases such as Colombia Yeison Tovar, Colombia La Divisa Gesha, Costa Rica Finca Los Angeles and the Sanmi Blend. In its early years the bar ran three guest roasters at a time.
Compare nearby places
| Venue | Type | Area |
|---|---|---|
| Kettl Tea | Café | Los Feliz |
| Ondo Coffee | Café | East Hollywood |
| Canyon Coffee | Café | Echo Park |
| Anko | Café | Koreatown |
| Loquat Coffee | Café | Cypress Park |
