PicturePoet and/the Bench owners Jeffrey Levin and Bonnie Powers, at top right, are showcasing Cute Coffee, a brand run by Bianka Alloyn and Sabreen Naimah, at top center, in their shop at 11 Throckmorton Avenue. Courtesy images.

Poet and/the Bench, the four-year-old lifestyle store and jewelry atelier space from Jeffrey Levin and Bonnie Powers, continues its efforts to elevate emerging makers by showcasing Cute Coffee, brand run by Bianka Alloyn and Sabreen Naimah, a pair of black female roasters in Oakland.

In response to an industry that historically has not treated women or minorities in ethical ways, Alloyn and Naimah have set out to do craft coffee differently, eliminating the middlemen to ensure fair compensation and treatment for all involved. Cute Coffee work directly with farmers, farm managers, pickers, and mill managers to procure the tastiest beans from around the world and carry on the heart and soul of women and their families.

The founders describe their coffee as “dynamic, beautiful, and delicious,” noting that “we notice that those who do not like coffee have never actually had coffee with care and love put into it. It truly makes a difference. Every time we roast, we roast with care, intention, and love to extract that deliciousness inside.”

The current roast, Marigold, comes from a women-led farm in Costa Rica. These beans, with their fruity, rounded with earthy chocolatey notes, are roasted to perfection by Cute Coffee in your choice of whole beans or ground.

Freshly roasted coffee is available for pick up at Poet and/the Bench or shipped to your door. “We’d love to show Cute Coffee our collective affection with a hearty first order and on-going support,” Levin and Powers say. “Orders need to be made by Sunday eve for each Monday’s roasting.”

Conversations with an Artist, 8 Questions with Cute Coffee

Read more about Cute Coffee’s Farm to Cup Philosophy

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