Ruang Kopi: The California Roastery That Only Roasts Indonesian Coffee

A Roaster Spotlight, first published in our newsletter, What's Brewing, on September 9, 2026. The lineup and prices are as of that date.

At a glance

• Roaster: Ruang Kopi, Fontana, California
• Owners: Rei and Bella
• What they roast: Indonesian coffee and nothing else
• Sourcing: mostly through Bernard, their partner on the ground in Indonesia, who buys green coffee directly from farms
• Awards: two bronze medals at the 2024 Golden Bean
• Giving: 10% of every sale to Solar Chapter, for clean water systems in Nusa Tenggara Timur

Four in the morning, newborn in the house. Bella is pumping. Rei is at the stove flipping omelets. Baby T is screaming. Somewhere in the middle of it one of them reaches for the coffee, and for about a minute the morning works. Plenty of parents have had that exact morning. Rei and Bella came out the other side of it with a roastery.

Rei and Bella with their two kids. Ruang Kopi got going in the thick of the newborn months.

How Ruang Kopi started

"In the days right after that chaotic morning, coffee went from a daily survival tool to a real calling," Rei says.

Within a few weeks they reconnected with Bernard, a friend who had lived in the US and moved back to Indonesia for good. He had just started roasting himself and was taking a year off to travel farm to farm, learning the trade and buying green coffee directly.

They learned the business from him. That turned into a partnership. Bernard is now their contact on the ground in Indonesia and sources most of what they roast.

So the order of events is not the one you would expect. They did not decide to open a roastery and then go looking for coffee. They found the one person who could teach them, and Ruang Kopi grew out of that.

Neither of them does this full time. Rei is a business systems consultant, Bella is a food scientist. "Coffee is something that brought together a lot of our interests," Rei says. "Bella's background in food and quality, Rei's interest in systems and process, and, of course, our shared connection to Indonesia."

What people get wrong about Indonesian coffee

Ask Rei what outsiders misunderstand about Indonesian coffee and the answer is a map problem.

"Many assume all Indonesian coffee is heavy, dark, or earthy like traditional Sumatran profiles. But Indonesia spans thousands of islands with wildly different terroirs, soils, and microclimates. A bean from Sumatra tastes completely different from one grown in Java, Bali or Flores."

That is the whole thesis of the shelf. Ruang Kopi roasts Indonesian coffee and nothing else, and that was settled before anything else was. Rei's view is that good Indonesian coffee is hard to find in the US, and what does turn up tends to be one flavor profile standing in for a country of thousands of islands.

If your idea of Indonesian coffee is a heavy dark roast that tastes of cedar and tobacco, this is the shelf to test it against. That profile is real, and it is one island.

The Ruang Kopi lineup: Sumatra, Java, Bali

The West Java washed, black tea and citrus right there on the label. One of their two 2024 Golden Bean bronzes.

As of September 2026 seven coffees were up, deliberately spread out:

• Kerinci, Sumatra, in both a natural and a semi-washed
• Mandheling semi-washed, built for espresso
• Bali semi-washed
• West Java washed, for filter
• Two house blends, Santai Pagi and Hitam Manis

Single origins were $19.65 a bag on their site, blends $17.35.

The Hitam Manis blend beside the Bali semi-washed.

Two Golden Bean bronzes, and what they were worth

In 2024 they entered the Golden Bean and came away with two bronze medals, the West Java in pour over and filter, the Kerinci in milk based espresso.

Rei is careful about what that did and did not do.

"Winning a bronze medal was honestly more meaningful to me personally than it was a major business milestone. Having our coffee go through a rigorous judging process by professional coffee judges and come out with recognition gave me a huge boost of confidence. When you're a small roaster, you're constantly questioning whether you're doing things the right way."

The medals did not move the business. They settled an argument he was having with himself.

The 39Arita ceramic pour-over filter

There is one odd item in the shop: a Japanese ceramic pour-over filter, sitting next to the Indonesian coffee.

It came out of testing. Dialing in roast profiles burns through a lot of paper, which got them looking for a reusable alternative, and they found the 39Arita Cera Filter on Instagram. They liked the cup it made enough to keep using it themselves, and they now hold the only official US distribution for it.

Ten percent to Solar Chapter

Ten percent of every sale goes to Solar Chapter, which builds solar powered clean water systems with remote communities in Nusa Tenggara Timur. Rei came across it in college through mutual friends. It was started by Indonesian students in Chicago.

"I remember thinking that I would love to work with them someday. So when Bella and I started brainstorming what we wanted Ruang Kopi to be, Solar Chapter was one of the first organizations that came to mind. We really believe that if we're building a business around Indonesian coffee, giving back to Indonesia should be part of that story."

They have not been out to see a project in person yet. Two small children and a remote corner of eastern Indonesia do not combine easily. Solar Chapter sends updates instead.

Find Ruang Kopi

Ruang Kopi's profile, with its coffees, is on Roast Local. For more roasters in the state, see all California roasters or our California coffee scene guide. For how a container of Sumatran coffee gets to the US, see what shipping adds to a bag of coffee.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Is all Indonesian coffee dark and earthy? No. That profile is associated with traditional Sumatran coffee. Rei of Ruang Kopi points out that Indonesia spans thousands of islands with different soils and microclimates, and that a bean from Sumatra tastes completely different from one grown in Java, Bali or Flores.

Where can I buy Indonesian specialty coffee in the US? Ruang Kopi in Fontana, California roasts only Indonesian coffee and sells online. As of September 2026 the lineup covered Kerinci and Mandheling from Sumatra, a Bali semi-washed, a West Java washed, and two blends.

Where is Ruang Kopi located? In Fontana, California. It is run by Rei and Bella, who both work other jobs: Rei is a business systems consultant and Bella is a food scientist.

What awards has Ruang Kopi won? Two bronze medals at the 2024 Golden Bean: the West Java in pour over and filter, and the Kerinci in milk based espresso.

What is the 39Arita Cera Filter? A reusable Japanese ceramic pour-over filter. Ruang Kopi started using it to cut down on paper filters while testing roasts and now holds the only official US distribution for it.