Young man creates company to sell coffee from black farmers – 11/08/2023 – Café na Prensa

The racial inequality observed in the coffee industry was what inspired Raphael Brandão, 31, to create Café di Preto, a roasting company located in Baixada Fluminense that exclusively sells beans from black rural producers.

He began to feel the need to create a coffee project focused on racial issues when he attended the International Coffee Week in 2019. At the event, considered the most important in the sector in Brazil, he says he did not see any black people, with the exception of those who worked in services such as cleaning and conservation of the place.

And then he started looking for black people in the coffee production chain. The kick off of this search, naturally, was an initial Google search. Then came the first disappointment: the results were almost all about the slave history behind the coffee. On the one hand, sadness; on the other, that was the biggest fuel. It was not possible to accept that, in 2023, black people in the coffee industry were still linked to slavery, he says.

A greater awareness of racial issues began to emerge when he went to São Paulo for a project at Educafro, an NGO focused on the education of poor black youth. “There I understood racism as a whole, not just the racism of swearing, of banning people from going to a place, but systemic racism. It was an experience that made a lot of difference in the work I do today, in my way of fighting .”

This is racism that Raphael faced several times throughout his journey in the world of coffee. “Once I bleached my hair and a guy came to the company and said ‘damn, there’s a criminal in here’. And, later, I was even forced to dye my hair to participate in an event”, he says.

This was just one of a series of embarrassing episodes he experienced when he was still working among white employers and clients. The sequence of racist harassment had a mental impact on Raphael, who began to experience bouts of anxiety and depression.

After much suffering, he decided to quit his job. The situation was unsustainable. There were days when he went to work crying.

He then launched a virtual crowdfunding project and a raffle to buy equipment to have his own roastery.

“I thought of the name Café di Preto not only because it was made by black people but also because of the racist jargon ‘that’s a black thing’. All the time they told me that something black was something poorly done. So we’re going to break that because when If they talk about my coffee, this is Café di Preto, it will be something very good.”

With the money raised, he was able to buy the roaster, but the difficulties were just beginning. He had to deal with delays in the delivery of equipment and, in the few months between his resignation and the roaster’s arrival, he experienced serious financial difficulties. A friend sympathized when he saw his empty refrigerator and offered to help him at the fair, a gesture that Raphael remembers with emotion to this day.

Until, on April 19, 2022, the dream became reality. That was when the first batch of coffee produced by black people was roasted.

Today, Raphael sells specialty coffees – the most noble category of coffee – produced by black families and roasted with his own machinery, in a property located in Nova Iguaçu, in Baixada Fluminense.

In the beginning, it was even difficult to find black farmers. Little by little, however, he discovered more producers, but always with small properties. “All the coffees made by black people in Brazil are microlots. All the producers I buy from are small. I recently bought an excellent coffee from a producer and it was the first time in my life that she issued an invoice.”

The Café di Preto portfolio currently has three labels: Dandara (R$ 30.00, 250 g), Edilaine (R$ 45.00, 250 g) and Esperança (R$ 45.00, 250 g). Sales are made via the roasting company’s website or directly via Instagram @cafedipreto.

Now, one of Raphael’s plans is to try to democratize quality coffee. He recognizes that special coffee is still exclusive, as prices are much higher than traditional ones. “The average consumer doesn’t want to know that coffee costs more because it has more than 80 points. They need coffee that fits their budget.”

Therefore, he thinks about having a coffee without so much sensorial complexity, but grown by honest producers, well roasted and with prices similar to the labels found in supermarkets.

“One thing that really hurts me is that people from my neighborhood come here smelling that coffee and wanting to buy it, but when I tell them the price, they leave and never come back,” he says.

Furthermore, he wants to spread knowledge about coffee beyond elitist and white circles. Think about doing workshops with people from the periphery and low-income young people.

“I want Café di Preto to make a collective impact, so that the path for other black people is easier than it has been for me. The story of overcoming is only good for those who overcome it. And many people cannot overcome it due to lack of opportunities,” he says.

Now, Raphael’s dream is to see coffee stop being just a white thing and become, in fact, Café di Preto.

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