Celebrating Culture: Introducing Uncharted Coffee

“Feel free to take chances, and take risks, and dare to do something new or different.” -Robyn Rihanna Fenty

It’s hard to imagine Rihanna as anything other than the powerhouse she is today. But long before she started Fenty Beauty, she was just a little girl admiring her mom in the mirror, asking to borrow her lipstick. Those moments ultimately led her to see make-up as a form of expression, inner beauty, and female empowerment. When she created Fenty Beauty in 2017, she wanted people of every skin tone and type to feel the way she did in those moments when her mom handed her that coveted lipstick: beautiful within.

I wondered what would happen if all businesses started like Fenty, putting people at the center through inclusivity. When I first began to learn about the history of coffee, I was most surprised to learn how each country has a unique method for preparing coffee. In many ways, it helped me gain more appreciation, curiosity, and respect for other cultures.

In Turkey, where coffee drinking is an integral part of their hospitality, they prepare Turkish coffee by brewing it just under the boiling point, allowing the coffee grounds to release their aromatic oils and preventing bitter acids from passing into the water.

In Vietnam, they drink coffee all day as a social activity, considering it an extension of their home, and use a phin (a tin, aluminum or stainless steel filter) that’s placed over the top of a glass and filled with coffee, creating an espresso-like brew.

In Malaysia, coffee drinkers enjoy coffee styles based on black kopi beans, which are roasted over charcoal with sugar and butter or margarine.

Growing up, my sister Danielle and I shared a deep appreciation for coffee, our parents letting us have small sips from a young age. We never outgrew our love of coffee, and as two traveling sisters, we incorporated this passion into every adventure.?

One day, we were visiting Columbia and arranged a local tour.

“There aren’t really any female-owned coffee farms,” Elizabeth explained as we toured her family-owned coffee farm.?

We trailed behind her, admiring the lush, expansive fields. Straw hats popped up from among the rich, green land, and as the weeks passed, the slow, steady drip of an idea began to form.?

What if we could celebrate other cultures through coffee??

What if our beloved ritual could uplift others?

And what if we could share our story as it unfolded?

Founded by two sisters who believe we can do better, Uncharted Coffee helps rebuild communities of color that have been exploited and damaged by coffee colonization and mass production through sustainable sourcing and packaging, price transparency, and free educational resources.

Uncharted Coffee: honoring farmers and families, celebrating women, and protecting natural resources.

#coffeefortheculture