Barista carefully pouring hot water over freshly ground specialty coffee in a pour-over dripper

Portland's Micro-Roastery Since 2018

Ember & Oak

Where every cup tells the story of the soil,
the roaster, and the moment.

Direct Trade Organic SCA Certified
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Our Story

Roasted with
intention.

Ember & Oak was born from a simple conviction: that extraordinary coffee starts long before the brew.

In 2018, founder Maya Okonkwo left a decade in restaurant kitchens to open a small roastery above a hardware store on SE Division Street. Her first drum roaster — a 5-kilo Probat she named "Greta" — is still running every Tuesday and Thursday morning, filling the neighborhood with the caramel warmth of first crack.

Today we work directly with 11 farming families across Ethiopia, Colombia, Guatemala, and Sumatra. We pay above Fair Trade minimum by an average of 34%, and we visit every farm at least once a year. When you taste the brightness in our Yirgacheffe Mist, you're tasting the elevation of Gedeo, the red soil, and the hands of the Tadesse family who have cultivated those trees for three generations.

Farmer-First
Small-Batch
Zero-Waste Roasting

Brew Guide

From Bean
to Cup

Pour-over brewing setup with gooseneck kettle
⚖️24 gCoffee
💧380 gWater
🌡️93 °CTemperature
⏱️3:30Total Time
🔬MediumGrind Size
  1. Rinse & preheat. Place a paper filter in the dripper over your server. Pour boiling water through the filter to rinse and preheat the vessel. Discard the rinse water.
  2. Grind fresh. Grind 24 g of coffee to a medium consistency — similar to coarse sea salt. Add to the rinsed filter.
  3. Bloom. Start your timer. Pour 50 g of water in a gentle spiral, saturating all the grounds. Wait 45 seconds and watch the coffee bloom as trapped CO₂ releases — a sign of fresh roasting.
  4. First pour. At 0:45, slowly pour to 200 g, working in a steady spiral from the centre outward. Maintain a medium flow.
  5. Second pour. At 1:30, pour to 300 g in the same spiral pattern.
  6. Final pour. At 2:15, bring the total to 380 g. The drawdown should complete by 3:15–3:45.
  7. Taste & adjust. If sour, grind finer or raise temperature. If bitter, grind coarser or lower temperature by 2 °C.

Coffee Subscriptions

Always Fresh,
Always Roasted for You

Every bag ships within 48 hours of the roast. Pause, swap or cancel anytime — no questions, no hoops.

Kindling

$24/ month

The perfect first spark.

  • 250 g of one roast per month
  • Choose your roast level
  • Tasting notes card included
  • Free shipping
  • Curated roaster's pick
  • Access to limited lots
Start Kindling

Wildfire

$78/ month

For the obsessive, the curious, the connoisseur.

  • 1 kg across four curated roasts
  • Early access to all limited lots
  • Quarterly roastery visit & cupping
  • Free express shipping
  • 15% off all in-café & online purchases
  • Direct line to roaster for recommendations
Start Wildfire

All subscriptions billed monthly. Cancel or pause before your next billing date. Ground or whole bean — you choose at checkout.

Find Us

Come Say
Hello

2847 SE Division Street
Portland, Oregon 97202

(503) 264-8801

hello@emberandoak.com

Opening Hours

Monday – Friday7:00 am – 6:00 pm
Saturday8:00 am – 7:00 pm
Sunday8:00 am – 5:00 pm
Roast Days (Tue & Thu)From 6:00 am

Getting Here

  • TriMet Line 4 — Division St & 28th Ave stop
  • BIKETOWN dock one block east
  • Street parking on SE 29th Ave
Roastery entrance on SE 28th Place — follow the smell of freshly roasted coffee.

What People Say

Words that
Warm Us

★★★★★

"The Yirgacheffe Mist is unlike anything I've had outside of a SCA competition. Jasmine, peach, the cleanest finish. I've been on the Ember subscription for eight months and I dread the days it runs out."

Simone Marchetti Barista & Home Roaster, Seattle
★★★★★

"The Oak Latte is the reason I wake up. I've tried to recreate it at home — bought the toasted oak syrup online, watched every video — but nothing matches what comes out of their La Marzocco. Some magic just lives in the café."

Jonas Eriksson Food Writer, Portland Monthly
★★★★★

"As someone who visits coffee farms in Central America, I was skeptical about the 'direct trade' claim. Then I met Maya at her Ethiopia sourcing dinner and watched her light up talking about the Tadesse family. This is the real thing."

Ana Luisa Rivera Agricultural Development Officer, Guatemala
★★★★★

"The avocado toast and a cold brew on a Saturday morning in their garden — this is what a city neighbourhood café should be. Warm, unhurried, genuinely excellent."

Cassandra Bloom Regular Since Day One, SE Portland
★★★★★

"I teach coffee at a culinary school and I send every single student here before they graduate. It sets the benchmark. The pour-over brew guides are more thorough than anything in our curriculum."

Marcus Osei Instructor, Pacific Culinary Institute

As featured in

  • Portland Monthly
  • Bon Appétit
  • Eater PDX
  • The Oregonian
  • Sprudge