In 2022, Cxffeeblack announced the Barista Exchange Program, a two-part initiative that would send Black American coffee professionals to origin in Africa as well as bring African baristas to expand their knowledge of the trade in America. It was an ambitious plan to say the least, and like all ambitious plans in the specialty coffee industry it ran the risk of fizzling out before reaching completion. The sheer amount of time and money required to pull something like this off already had the deck stacked against the Memphis-based coffee company.
But if you’ve followed the trajectory of Cxffeeblack and its co-founders Bartholomew Jones and Renata Henderson, you’d know it’s unwise to bet against the coffee shop owners/roasters/documentarians/clothing designers. And now, two years later, the final phase of the Barista Exchange Program is about to kick off, bringing five baristas of African descent to America to tour and learn from cafes across the Southern US.
Bringing the Barista Exchange Program to fruition hasn’t been easy. Jones, Henderson, and the rest of the Cxffeeblack team have crowdfunded, collaborated on sneakers to raise money, toured the country behind a documentary, and drawn academic and financial support from the of Vanderbilt University and MiiR as well as backing from Unapologetic Records, Hyatt Caption, and Sivetz Roasting Machine, all to bring the program to life (while running a roastery and opening a brick and mortar cafe). It’s been a two-year uphill climb, but it culminates today, September 19th, with the five scholarship fellows touching down Stateside.The Barista Exchange Program fellows are:
Beamlak Melesse Bekele (Ethiopia), Ethiopia Barista Championship Runner-Up
Elise Dushimimana (Rwanda), Senior Barista and Quality Assurance at Kivu Noir Cafe
Lukonge Charles (Uganda), Head Barista at the La Pâtisserie Express, Uganda Barista Championship Runner-Up
Smayah Uwajeneza (Rwanda), Founder of Elevate Through Coffee, Leadership Equity and Diversity (LEAD) scholar, and Q-grader
Mario Alberto (Afro-Colombian), Lead Farmer and Co-Founder at Solo Cafe
Over the course of the next two and a half weeks, these five individuals will participate in an “educational and cultural exchange,” per the press release, visiting Black-owned coffee shops around the south with stops in Memphis, Nashville, Atlanta, and Raleigh-Durham. In each city, fellows will meet with industry leaders and “will collaborate on culturally contextual business models and undergo intensive training.” As part of the tour, Cxffeeblack will be hosting public events—some, but not all, coffee focused—allowing “the opportunity for Fellows and attendees to engage in cultural exchange.” The full list of events and dates for the Barista Exchange Family Reunion Tour can be found here.
“More than anything, I believe this trip will serve as an opportunity to voice the opinions of my coffee community, their story, and hopes for the future of the coffee industry,” says Barista Exchange fellow Beamlak Melesse Bekele. “It will be a great space to learn from and share the experience of the African coffee community, to teach the ways of my people and their love for coffee.”
Having been following along and reporting on in real-time Cxffeeblack and the Barista Exchange Program, it’s impossible to not be impressed not just by the vision and execution of the initiative, but by the impact as well. We’ve seen Program fellows go one to take part in NKG Pace programs as well as cafes as far as Singapore stating the influence Cxffeeblack has had. It’s more than just nine participants filling up their passports. Jones and Henderson have given a tangible shape to what it means to be Black in the specialty coffee industry. With Cxffeeblack, Blackness in coffee is celebrated and given historical context, it’s communal and uplifting. And if the success of the Barista Exchange Program is any indication, it is not only needed, but very much wanted.
Zac Cadwalader is the managing editor at Sprudge Media Network and a staff writer based in Dallas. Read more Zac Cadwalader on Sprudge.
