About Us

Graffeo is one of North America's oldest artisan coffee roasters, and has been a mainstay in San Francisco’s North Beach neighborhood since 1935. It remains a family-run company passed down through generations.

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Our Story

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1935

From Sicily to North Beach
Italian immigrant Giovanni Graffeo opens a small grocery offering fresh roasted beans in San Francisco’s Little Italy. He sleeps on a cot in the back room.
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1954

The Repetto family takes over
Graffeo sells his roastery to Giovanni Repetto from Liguria, whose 10 year old son Luciano grows up learning the art of roasting coffee. Beatniks flock to North Beach cafes to hear jazz, read poetry and drink Graffeo coffee.
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1978

SF’s first fluid bed roaster
Now running the business, Luciano breaks from coffee roasting conventions by installing a custom-built fluid bed hot air roaster. Thus begins a decades long obsession to achieve the world’s finest roasted coffee.
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1984

The world comes calling
Visitors to San Francisco’s finest restaurants discover Graffeo and the mail order business expands. To meet demand, Graffeo opens a Beverly Hills roastery, followed years later by an outpost in Singapore.
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2024

An unwavering commitment
From the 1st coffee wave through the 3rd, at Graffeo we’ve stubbornly stuck to our ways. Because we believe that elusive perfect cup of coffee is not so elusive after all.

The Art of Fluid Bed Roasting

At Graffeo Coffee, our roasting process is as unique as the flavor in every cup. Using a custom-built fluid bed roaster perfected over decades, we ensure each bean is roasted evenly for a clean, rich taste that sets us apart. Learn More

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