Coffee is from Africa, yet the way we think of and enjoy coffee today is largely separated from the roots that produced that original fruit. The disparity we see in the value stream today, where those growing coffee do not receive the fruit of their labor, is the consequence.

Today we get to talk with someone who has been laboring hard to honor coffee's root in an effort to create a better future for both those who grow coffee as well as for under served communities whose own cultures are tied closely to coffee's history.

Bartholomew Jones is an emcee, cxffee nerd, and multi-hyphenate creative.

Alongside his wife, Renata Henderson, he is the co-founder of Cxffeeblack and co-owner of the Anti-Gentrification Cxffee Club, a coffee educational center and cultural hub located in Memphis, TN.

Founded in 2018, Cxffeeblack is a community-oriented, multi-disciplinary, education-based coffee company that became a trailblazer in the coffee industry by creating an entirely all Black coffee supply chain from Ethiopia to Memphis, TN, the first of its kind.

Cxffeeblack is on a mission to return coffee to its African roots and in the process create an equitable Black future. Bart is a Sprudge 20 honoree, an annual list of the Top 20 coffee influencers cultivated by Sprudge Media Network, a renowned international authority on coffee and its culture; Cxffeeblack was one of the Coffee Coalition for Racial Equity's 2024 Innovator of the Year awardees.

We discuss:

• Creating a Space for Authentic Creativity
• Honoring the Roots and History of Coffee
• The Impact of Colonialism
• Collaboration and Co-Creation in Coffee Culture
• The Evolution of Coffee Black
• Empowering Individuals to Find Themselves in Coffee
• Diverse expressions of Coffee
• Creating a Community Space: The Anti-Gentrification Coffee Club
• The Coffee Black Flagship: A Dining Room and Co-Generative Dialogue
• Inspiring Coffee Shops that Honor Roots and Engage with Communities

Links:

Invest in CxffeeBlack: Honor Your Roots

www.cxffeeblack.com

https://www.instagram.com/cxffeeblack/

Related episodes:

• 116 : Understanding Gentrification w/ Dr. Stacey Sutton
• 352: Music, Culture, and Coffee w/ Hip Hop Artist, Propaganda
• 338: A Conversation w/ Martell Mason of The Sepia Coffee Project, Detroit, Michigan
• 279 : Founder Friday! w/ Daniel Brown and Nephthaly Leonidas of Gilly Brew Bar
• 230 : Making room for Community in your Shop
• 139 : Founder Friday w/ Kusanya Cafe co-founder, Phil Sipka
• 315 : Growing and Connecting w/ Stephen Zinnerman of The Coffee Enthusiast!

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