Rwanda Kibirizi

1. Our Relationship
Sweet Maria's was the very first import partner Inheritance worked with. As for most other roasters, Sweet Marias' offered a simple and convenient solution for our small roasting operation. With the ability to order in 1, 2, 5, 10, and 20lb quantities, we found it simple and stress-free to source from them as we scaled our business.

2. Who is Sweet Maria’s?
Sweet Maria’s is a U.S.-based green coffee company best known for supplying home roasters and small professional roasters with green beans, roasting gear, and deep educational resources. It was founded in 1997 in Columbus, Ohio, by Thompson (Tom) Owen and Maria Troy, and later moved to the Bay Area—first to Emeryville in 2002 and then to a larger warehouse in Oakland in 2016.
Alongside its retail site, Sweet Maria’s operates Coffee Shrub as its wholesale arm for small roasteries, offering 50-lb bags and full-bag options, cupping notes, farm info, and transparent marketing materials.
As a privately held company, Sweet Maria’s does not publish annual revenue or volumes. Third-party data services estimate revenue in the low-to-mid millions (with ranges that vary widely), which should be treated as directional rather than authoritative.
In recent years, the company has expanded its role as an educator and gear partner—e.g., becoming an official U.S. reseller for ROEST sample roasters—further signaling its focus on quality-forward sourcing and hands-on learning for roasters of all sizes.

3. Industry Impact
Sweet Maria’s helped popularize home coffee roasting in the U.S., making high-quality green coffee accessible at small quantities while teaching people how to evaluate and roast it through an extensive “Coffee Library,” glossaries, and media. This blend of access + education has shaped a generation of home roasters and many future professionals.
Its wholesale site, Coffee Shrub, lowered the barrier for emerging micro-roasters to buy thoughtfully sourced coffees with transparent notes and farm context, contributing to a more literate and quality-focused small-roaster segment.
The brand’s sourcing work and producer-support projects (e.g., Farm Gate, Proyecto Xinabajul, and other long-running initiatives) have also encouraged greater transparency and relationship-based buying among hobbyists and small roasteries alike.
Public coverage over the years has consistently framed Sweet Maria’s as a cornerstone of the home-roasting movement—originating in a basement operation and evolving into a well-known Bay Area hub for green coffee, gear, and know-how.

$6.30 USD

400 lb