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About Us

Hi There! We’re Ritual Coffee Roasters

Of course coffee’s our thing. We set the highest standard for quality and sustainable sourcing in the industry.

But despite our mad-scientist pursuit of the perfect cup, we’re determined to demystify the entire coffee experience.

Sourcing our Coffees

Finding the gems buried in one of the world’s most actively traded commodities isn’t easy. Ritual pays double to triple the commodity market value for specialty grade coffees, and far above “fair trade” prices as well.

We pride ourselves in sourcing coffees from smallholder farmers whom we know. By paying sustainable base prices, providing financial incentives for hitting quality targets, and investing in special infrastructure improvement projects, the producers we partner with are able to earn more for their coffee and reinvest money back into their farms.

Standout coffee producers share the same attitude about their craft as we do: that coffee can always be better.

Eileen Rinaldi, Founder

Eileen once had a shot of espresso that changed her life. She was at a cafe called Vivace in Seattle, and knew right then what she must do. Open a shop, dedicated solely to coffee, in her favorite city. She founded Ritual in 2005.

Fast forward years later, and she’s built a totally unique, passionate enterprise, while at the same time helping foster the careers of so many on the vanguard.

When she’s not hanging out with her daughter Alice and son Edsel, she’s still hard at work caring for Ritual – though she’ll be the first to tell you her door is always open, and she almost always has time for coffee. Come say hi!

Our Values

BE KIND

Being nice is never the exception to the rule. It’s just as important to us as making the best coffee.

HAVE FUN

Our tireless pursuit of the perfect cup will never keep us from having fun along the way.

BE INCLUSIVE

Coffee is for everyone. We create a safe, welcoming environment on both sides of the counter.

HAVE INTEGRITY

We build win-win relationships with everyone we work with and treat them as an extension of Ritual.

CHALLENGE THE STATUS QUO

We don’t pretend to have it all figured out. It’s part of who we are and we like it that way. We’ll always try to make the Ritual experience even better.

STAY GROUNDED

Even though we’re at the top of our game, we’ll never have an attitude about it.

Our History

  • 2023

    Launching a line of delicious canned coffees!

    3 canned coffees on wooden table
  • 2022

    Ritual opened a café in the Harvey Milk Terminal (Terminal 1B) at San Francisco International Airport.

    Exterior of Ritual SFO
  • 2020

    We update our packaging design and unveil this entirely new website, whilst working to stay afloat during a global pandemic.

    red cup
  • 2019

    Ace “omniroast” single-origin coffee line is introduced, suitable for both espresso and drip preparations.

    ace bag
  • 2018

    Ritual dips a toe in the instant coffee world, then jumps in altogether.

    coffee tubes
  • 2017

    Ritual Napa expands to include the Cup & Star Bar, a sit-down experiential coffee bar with a special menu.

    cup and star bar interior
  • Ritual’s 6th location opens in the heart of San Francisco, on Market Street in the Castro.

    Say yes to coffee window decal
  • 2016

    Our branding is updated, along with new bio-friendly packaging and custom “belly band” labels. We win an award or two.

    Ritual rebrand
  • We take Ritual baristas to Finca Monte Rey in rural El Salvador to learn about how coffee is produced, and to then try their hand at picking some.

    coffee pickers
  • Ritual Haight opens at the quintessentially San Francisco corner of Haight and Central, diagonally across from Buena Vista Park and a row of gorgeous Edwardians.

    Ritual on Haight
  • 2015

    Ritual introduces a matching 401k plan for employees.

    two matching cups
  • 2014

    Ritual’s flagship on Valencia gets a major remodel, making the space more open and light.

    remodel of valencia cafe
  • First staff origin trip to Honduras, nicknamed “Baristas in Paradise.” Employees get to meet several coffee producers we work with and see firsthand how coffee is cultivated and processed.

    honduras staff
  • 2013

    Our coffee bags get redesigned.

    2012 bag design
  • 2011

    Ritual Hayes Valley opens in a custom built, repurposed shipping container, one of the first in North America!

    ritual hayes
  • 2010

    We ditch the French Press in favor of Hario V-60 individual pour-overs, and everyone else has since copied us!

    making v60 pourovers
  • We switch from roasting on a 1990’s Probat L-12 to a far superior fully-retrofitted 1950’s Probat UG-22

    coffee roaster
  • 2009

    Eileen is a founding member of SF Made, alongside Mark Dwight of Rickshaw Bagworks.

  • Ritual opens its very own production Roastery and training center in the SoMa neighborhood

    people standing around a cupping table
  • 2008

    Coffee in Wine Country – Napa’s Oxbow Public Market gets its very own outpost of Ritual

    napa oxbow with ritual flag
  • 2007

    Ritual opens a kiosk in the Bayview, tucked inside the equally revolutionary Flora Grubb Gardens

    Ritual at flora grubb
  • Under coffee buyer Ryan Brown, Ritual begins its relationship-based sourcing model

  • 2006

    We start roasting on a little 5 kilo Probat in the back of the Valencia Street café.

  • 2005

    We open our first café on Valencia Street and introduce San Francisco to the style of coffee that it’s now known for. By day 3, we already have a line to the corner.

    Cafe on Valencia at night