Meraki Coffee Roasters, on Tuesday, celebrated its fourth anniversary of consistently delivering the finest exquisite coffee currently available in Maldives to titillate the taste palates of its loyal customers.
Since its inception in April 2015, Meraki has played an undeniable role in integrating a deep love and appreciation for speciality coffee from various origins to the populace. Not only does Meraki diligently brew some of the best coffee in town, but the coffee connoisseurs also provide their own roast of beans to cafe’s, resorts and other clientele, thereby expanding the consumer demand beyond Lavazza, Illy and other commodity brands that previously typified local image of coffee.
In an exclusive interview with Meraki’s original cast of veteran baristas Inas Ismail and Leevan Shareef, they highlighted Meraki’s primary focus on coffee as its distinctive feature.
According to Inas, the original concept intended to showcase coffee offering only a roasting room for coffee enthusiasts, however, Meraki Founder Mabrouq Azeez decided to venture further and establish the quaint cafe. The resultant popularity grew to an extent that the original objective is often overlooked.
Whereas coffee is graded from 0-100 in accordance with the number of defects or foreign matter present, the size of the beans and moisture content, Meraki exclusively offers beverages in the ‘specialty coffee’ range of above 80 in grade, a stark contrast above the average grading found in the commercial market.
Inas attributes Meraki’s consistent quality to the company's policy of using fair trade, sustainable and ethically sourced green beans that are brought in from origins spanning 9 different countries, that are subsequently roasted in-house.
Adding on, Leevan noted that the process yields a wider variety of coffee "that is extremely fresh", and praised Meraki’s role in paving the way for cultivating a “home-brewing” culture through the sale of its equipment.
Moreover, with the coffeehouse' anniversary in mind, Inas recalled several milestones that Meraki had celebrated along the way.
She revealed that their retail gained traction within a year, expanding their space and resulting in the relocation of their roasting room to a separate facility. The barista also mentioned that as recently as 2018, Meraki had signed Bestbuy Maldives Pvt Ltd (BBM) as their wholesale partner, currently supplying its products to more than five resorts.
Meraki is not only renowned for its guaranteed beverage excellence, but also for the wholesome ambience created by its friendly and welcoming baristas.
As Leevan noted, the personal connections that develops between their baristas and the loyal customer-base also adds to Meraki’s allure.
Meraki’s recent addition to its team Aesha Latheef attested that she frequented the place daily for one and a half years before her experience with ‘brainstorming’ and talking to the baristas drew her to the environment eventually leading her decision to seek employment.
Celebrating its four years, Meraki wishes to invite its customers to continue, as the placard confidently displayed on its wall reads, to “Sip and Wonder.”
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