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Zurich · Switzerland

MAME

Since 2016 · Emi Fukahori, Mathieu Theis

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Overview

MAME was founded in October 2016 in Zurich by Emi Fukahori (Japan) and Mathieu Theis (France) — partners in life and in coffee — who met at a 2013 specialty cupping and quit corporate office jobs to open the first café on Josefstrasse. The name means 'bean' in Japanese and is also formed from the first letters of their names. Emi won the 2018 World Brewers Cup and Mathieu has held multiple Swiss Barista Champion titles. MAME began roasting its own coffee in 2019/2020 and now operates six locations across Zurich and Geneva (Saint-Gervais), including the Binz roastery and recent expansions to Plainpalais (Sept 2023), Bahnhofstrasse (Oct 2023), and Saint-Gervais (Dec 2023).

Known for

  • Co-founder Emi Fukahori won the 2018 World Brewers Cup using MAME coffee
  • Co-founder Mathieu Theis — multiple Swiss Barista Champion titles since 2016
  • MAME flavour wheel — proprietary system for cataloguing and recommending coffees by taste profile
  • Six-location footprint: Zurich (Josef, Seefeld, Roastery Binz, Plainpalais, Bahnhofstrasse) and Geneva (Saint-Gervais)
  • Three-question barista intake (hot/cold? milk? flavour profile?) — formalised hospitality method

Why it matters

MAME is what Swiss specialty looks like at championship pace. Two decorated competition baristas — one with a World Brewers Cup title — running six cafes and a roastery built around a flavour-wheel sourcing-and-service model. The combination of competition discipline and German-Swiss hospitality precision is the template most newer Swiss roasters now reference.

Production

destoning
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head roaster
Mathieu Theis (co-founder); Matt Winton (key team member, multiple-time UK Barista Champion)
color sorting
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roaster machine
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filter equipment
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cupping frequency
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roastery location
Binz industrial complex, Zurich (since November 2019)
espresso equipment
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annual volume tonnes
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Café

MAME Josef (Josefstrasse, Zurich, opened Oct 2016); MAME Seefeld (Holbeinstrasse 25, 8008 Zurich, opened July 2018); MAME Plainpalais (Geneva, Sept 2023); MAME Bahnhofstrasse (Zurich, Oct 2023); MAME Saint-Gervais (Geneva, Dec 2023)

Recognitions

  • Emi Fukahori — World Brewers Cup Champion (2018)
  • Emi Fukahori — multiple Swiss Brewers Cup titles
  • Mathieu Theis — multiple Swiss Barista Champion titles (2016 onward)

Sources

More roasters