Tehran · Iran
Sam Coffee Roasters
Sam Coffee Roasters roasts in Tehran, Tehran Province.
Since 2009 · Mohammadreza Ghaffari
Overview
Sam Coffee Roasters was opened in 2009 by Mohammadreza Ghaffari and partners as a one-time hospitality fitout for the Sam Center luxury mall on Fereshtah Street in north Tehran — a project that turned into the founders' primary business and the country's most visible third-wave operation. Sam runs six curated cafés across genuine Tehran neighbourhoods, roasts on a 12 kg Probat installed inside the cafe, and runs Modbar+La Marzocco brew bars with siphon and Chemex service.
Known for
- Founded 2009 in Tehran's Sam Center on Fereshtah Street — turned a one-off mall fitout into the country's third-wave reference operation
- Six curated Tehran cafés in 'genuine neighbourhoods' rather than in luxury malls only
- Roasts on a 12 kg Probat installed visible inside the flagship café
- Modbar + La Marzocco espresso program; siphon and Chemex on the brew bar
- Rotating gallery of emerging Iranian artists across the spaces
Why it matters
Until Sam opened, third-wave coffee in Iran existed as a handful of imported beans served from espresso bars run by people with little training. Sam Café was the first local operation to combine in-cafe roasting, multi-method brewing, single-origin pricing transparency and sustained barista R&D in the country, and it has functioned as the de-facto training ground for the wider Tehran specialty scene.
Production
- roaster machine
- Probat 12kg (in-cafe)
- filter equipment
- Chemex; siphon
- roastery location
- Tehran, Iran
- espresso equipment
- Modbar; La Marzocco
Café
Sam Center, Fereshtah Street, north Tehran (flagship); 6 locations total including Aftab St, Akhgari Sq, Darband, Shahrak Gharb