Our country is in a state of revolution. Many may not realize that coffee and where you consume it is a political act. Coffee is not as simple as it seems.
It really grinds my gears as a coffee lover that many people do not even know where coffee comes from. Did you know that its origins lay in the forests of Northern Africa? Bet you didn’t. Coffee did not come from Italy or Java. The coffee plant was first domesticated in the historic city of Harar, Ethiopia. It then spread to the Arabian peninsula over the centuries until it landed in the hands of Europeans through their unforgettable colonial explorations.
Flash forward hundreds of years, we confront the corporatization of coffee. Luckily, artisanal coffee shops began to open their doors in magnitude over the last decade. This challenged the mass-produced coffee brands and their questionable labor practices. Starbucks is a main player in that corporate game. We all know the joke about a Starbucks on every corner of New York. Yet, in 2018, an inspection of Starbucks supported coffee plantations in Brazil revealed horrific conditions for workers. And, their pay was nearly nonexistent.
It doesn’t stop there. Complex just reported that Starbucks is not allowing its employees to wear anything associated with the Black Lives Matter movement. These large scale coffee companies wouldn’t want to risk anything in these times. So why do we keep giving them our money? There is a plethora of delicious and ethical coffee out there brewed by local members of our community.
The bright side is you can work towards justice by treating yourself to astronomically better coffee. We must support black-owned coffee businesses. Our country needs to stand together, and that starts with lending a hand to small businesses. Let’s put an end to drinking corporate. These businesses deserve our business.
Categorized by state, here is a list of black-owned coffee shops around the United States. If you see I am missing any coffee shops, please let me know! This list is evolving and I want to make it as complete as possible.
Let’s get caffeinated with JUSTICE!
Black-Owned Coffee Shops in the U.S.
California
Watt’s Coffeehouse (Los Angeles)
Vanilla Black (Los Angeles)
Nimbus Coffee (Los Angeles)
Patria Coffee (Compton)
Cafe Dejena (Oakland)
Red Bay Coffee (Oakland)
AosA Coffee (Huntington Beach)
Tribute Coffee House (Garden Grove)
South LA Cafe (Los Angeles)
Obet and Dels (Los Angeles)
Little Amsterdam (Los Angeles)
Hot and Cool Cafe (Los Angeles)
Bloom and Plume (Los Angeles)
Undergrind Cafe (Los Angeles)
Sip and Sonder (Inglewood)
Harun Coffee (Los Angeles)
Silver Back Coffee (Los Angeles)
Kahawa 1893 (San Francisco)
Colorado
Whittier Cafe (Denver)
Georgia
Urban Grind Coffee House (Atlanta)
Not So Urban Coffee & Roastery (Oxford)
Portrait Coffee (Atlanta)
Village Coffeehouse (Atlanta)
Grant Park Coffeehouse (Atlanta)
Gilly Brew Bar (Stone Mountain)
Illinois
Ain’t She Sweet Cafe (Chicago)
Sip & Savor (Chicago)
On the Go Jo (Chicago)
Louisiana
Krewe du Brew Coffee House (New Orleans)
Dee’s Coffee (New Orleans)
Pontilly Coffee (New Orleans)
Cafe Dauphine (New Orleans)
Edison’s Espresso & Tea Bar (New Orleans)
Black Star Books & Caffe (New Orleans)
Backatown Coffee Parlour (New Orleans)
Good Karma & South of Eden (New Orleans)
Maryland
Southeastern Coffee Roastery (Baltimore)
More Than Java Cafe (Laurel)
Vagrant Coffee (Baltimore)
Massachusetts
Lucy’s Ethopian Cafe (Boston)
Michigan
Detroit Sip (Detroit)
Narrow Way (Detroit)
Folk (Detroit)
Missouri
Turn (St. Louis)
Northwest Coffee Roasting Company (Clayton)
New Jersey
Black Swan Espresso (Newark)
New York
Brooklyn Bell’s The Local (BK)
Take a Break and I’ll Bake (BK)
Roger That Café and Bakery (BK)
Drip Coffee Makers (BK)
Kafe Louverture (BK)
Settepani (Harlem) & Settepani Bakery (BK)
Calabash Teahouse & Cafe (Harlem)
Tsion Cafe & Bakery (Harlem)
Serengeti Teas & Spices (Harlem)
North Carolina
Beyu Coffee (Durham)
Black & White Coffee Roasters (Wake Forest)
Oregon
Deadstock Coffee (Portland)
Elevated Coffee (Portland)
Fuel Coffee (Portland)
KISS Coffee (Portland)
Sugar Street Bakery & Bistro (Portland)
Pennsylvania
Uncle Bobbie’s Coffee and Books (Philly)
Amalgam Comics & Coffeehouse (Philly)
South Carolina
Not So Urban Coffee & Roastery (Charleston)
Tennessee
Dr Bean’s Coffee Roasters (Memphis)
Cxffeeblack (Memphis)
Texas
Cafeza (Houston)
Kaffeine Coffee Internet & Office Cafe (Houston)
Three Keys Coffee (Houston)
Throughgood Coffee (Houston)
Wisdom’s Coffee and Bakery (Houston)
Black Coffee (Fort Worth)
Virginia
Merge Coffee Company (Harrisonburg, VA)
Jirani Coffee House (Manassas)
Morning Brew Coffee Company (Roanoke)
Roasters Next Door (Roanoke)
Urban Hang Suite (Richmond)
Washington D.C.
Wisconsin
Rise and Grind Cafe (Milwaukee)