Emmanuel Dunbar grew up hating coffee. Now, coffee is his life.

Emmanuel owns Royal Diaspora Coffee Company, a cafe and community gathering place in Tampa. While Royal Diaspora is a proudly Black-owned business, Emmanuel’s customers are as diverse as the way they take their cup o’ joe.

The Zest team visited Emmanuel at Royal Diaspora. In this conversation, he breaks down his love-hate relationship with coffee. (It was never about the taste!) He also shares his big plans for the space, which go far beyond java beans.

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