OUR ORIGINS

Philly-area native Matt Saperstone has spent the past fifteen years (on both U.S. coasts) honing his skills as a restaurant and hospitality professional. He had the opportunity to journey throughout Southeast Asia when his wife was assigned to Yangon, Myanmar (formerly known as Rangoon, Burma) for her work. A lover of wines and craft beverages, he met extraordinary producers of unique specialty coffee while immersing himself in the study of coffee production and roasting during his stay in Myanmar. He returns to Philadelphia with the goal of connecting friends and neighbors to amazing coffees from lesser known origins like Southeast Asia.

OUR MISSION

Nilaa Coffee is a Philadelphia-based specialty coffee roaster. Our mission is to bring you the best coffees from the most unique people and places in Southeast Asia (and beyond). We will roast, serve, and sell the best products to our customers in a cozy, fun, and community-oriented way.

OUR VALUES

We value the dedication and efforts of our producers without whom we would not exist. We also value our loyal consumers for your support of this supply chain and appreciation of these great coffees!

Here are some of the key tenets that we value at Nilaa Coffee:

• Inclusiveness – We always look for ways to include others: whether that be by promoting SE Asian coffees or strengthening our communities.

• Respect – Everyone.

• Empathy – Always try to put yourself in someone else’s shoes, envision what their situation might be, and how you would act in such a circumstance.

• Teamwork – Nobody can achieve ambitious goals alone. We must rely on each other and realize our greater strength in numbers.

• Integrity – Never compromise on something you truly believe in. Always believe that your actions are important and serve a greater purpose.

• Stewardship – We are no better than our environments and how we treat them. We believe in full circle sustainability that starts on the coffee farm and ends with us at the roastery and café. We must take care to protect everything around us that gives us life and opportunity.

• Education – We are always seeking out ways to improve ourselves and our practices, learn from others and pass along knowledge to those who want to know more.

• Fun – what is the point of all of this if we are not enjoying ourselves? Fun and happiness lower stress levels, create stronger working environments and loyal patronage as well