Meet Keith White of Paraíso Roasting Coffee Company

Today we’d like to introduce you to Keith White.

Keith, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
So my journey began on a 500 acre family farm in Metter, Georgia where we produced cotton, tobacco, soybeans, and more, but has taken me to hippo and crocodile infested waters in wooden dug out canoes and seeing some of the most beautiful places the world has to offer. And don’t be alarmed this isn’t a play by play of my life but I feel important to call this out because without a plan to do so my farm foundation has in so may ways shaped my journey in coffee and life. Having the opportunity to learn about agriculture from my Great Grandfather and my dad, who recently retired from the USDA’s Natural Resource Conservation Service after 37 years was a blessing that took me many years to realize. While we were able to maintain a lot longer than many other Black farmers in the South, it came with many obstacles most notably race based discrimination by the USDA leading to my Great grandfather and Father being a part of both Pigford v. Glickman class action suits. Though I was just a boy through most of these tribulations, I was able to see the challenges around equity, and the inequality that exists amongst farmers/producers. Fast forward to my first visit to West Africa and exposure to agriculture on the continent, It was extremely reminiscent of the challenges my family faced and I was compelled to do something and Coffee, Cocoa, and Tea became a vessel to influence change.

Why Coffee? And How did I get there?
So after selling most of the family farm due to increasing prices and pressures to operate, my family and I relocated to New Mexico where I attended the University of New Mexico, here I was introduced to a global community and became close with several individuals from the continent (Africa) who shared stories of their homes and were my gateway to better understanding my connection and deeper roots. It was then that I shared with my father that I wanted to somehow in the future work in Agriculture in Africa. Well life had other plans, and I began working in film and television where I was able to develop skills such as accounting, bookkeeping, people management, logistics through my role in Transportation, and many others leading to a move to Los Angeles and a role as a Studio Executive in Transportation for Netflix managing titles around the world. Now during my time as a freelancer in the industry I was fortunate enough to reconnect with one of my dearest friends from the tiny country of Equatorial Guinea who asked if I’d be interested in coming to his country to help establish their countries first American Style BBQ Restaurant seeing as to at the time I owned a BBQ Food Truck in Albuquerque. I didn’t realize it but this was the opportunity I’d been waiting on and that I’d discussed with my dad many years prior. With much hesitation, research, and Duolingo, I ventured to Africa and out of the country for the first time. Upon arrival I instantly realized how much the people from the region resembled my family! I mean to the point that I was taking photos and sending to my mom 😅. We proceeded to begin our work to establish the restaurant which was no small feat! But we were able to make it happen. As a part of the journey, and sourcing the products needed to operate, I began to see that most of the products available in stores were not being sourced locally and were mostly imported even down to the produce. This was an eye opener and pushed me to connect with local producers, and that’s really where the journey began! This is where having a background in agriculture and a resource like my dad and his colleagues became invaluable. On this and subsequent visits I performed soil test in numerous regions to better understand the quality and capabilities of the soil. We partnered with vets out of Kenya to improve the health and quality of the livestock so that we had a healthy and sustainable source of meat for the operation but also educated local butchers about processing and packing for resale so that their meat could be featured in grocery stores in addition to their shop operations. We were able to complete this vision, but it opened my eyes to even greater potential for the people, my people as well as becoming an example for the diaspora demonstrating that there is soo much potential on the continent and that with passion, vision, and perseverance they too could influence change through their knowledge.

After returning to the US I began to really think about what I could do in Agriculture to continue with this new found passion in a meaningful way but also create the financial ability to do more in the regions that I knew deep down I was from. That’s when I landed on coffee, cocoa, and tea as the three crops that were in demand globally and also some of the few products that connect agriculture, culture, migration, hospitality, and economic development all at once. Upon visiting my first coffee farm I quickly realized that there would be no coffee without the community. One farm visit required my father and I, both non swimmers, to take wooden dug out canoes across the Mbam river in Cameroon which is known for having hippos, and crocodiles, followed by a 10-15 mile ride on motorbikes in the mud through the Cameroonian Savannah, all the while their national animal is the Lion! And that’s just one farm! But this gave way to our company slogan “Community To Cup”, because without the ferry driver, the motorbike operators, and most of the community during harvest season, we wouldn’t be able to enjoy our cups of coffee, tea and chocolate bars. After making several subsequent visits to coffee producing countries in Africa and importing samples from farms I was able to build relationships with and had supply, I began reaching out to any roaster, Q Grader, and importers to see if what we had was quality enough for the US Market. To my surprise it received quality scores consistent with high level specialty Coffee. This gave me the confidence to go further and develop a strategy to import my first container and begin selling the green coffee with plans to eventually begin roasting and someday begin selling cups of coffee, tea, and other product via a coffee shop as this to me was the best way to be able to truly create the impact we desired to have. After working hard with several award winning roasters I was able to learn the craft/science of roasting and was able to develop a brand Paraiso Roasting, and a product that I felt was market ready. After developing a business plan and exploring several avenues for funding the operation, a close friend and business owner in Albuquerque where I was living at the time heard my pitch and saw the passion behind what we were attempting to do and invested in the business for limited stake enabling me to maintain majority ownership of the business. With this in place we proceeded to import our first container of coffee from our partners in Cameroon. Once navigating the logistics of importing a container of coffee from Africa into the US, and receiving our coffee we went right to work promoting the coffee around the country and beginning to sell the green coffee when we quickly shifted to roasting the product ourselves as we’d established a partnership with one of the largest film and television catering companies with operations in 6 states along with several other film craft service and catering companies.

Why Exclusively African Coffee, Tea & Cocoa? After a couple visits I did an African Ancestry DNA test which told me my mothers family was 100% Tikar from Cameroon. Why this was even more significant than just learning the fact was that unbeknownst to me, the producers I was working with in Cameroon were only about 40 miles from the Tikar village. With this information in hand, on my very next visit, I had the privilege of visiting the Tikar Sultan’s palace before his passing and was granted a private tour where I was given the history of all former Tikar leaders, an experience I will cherish forever. Considering the connection to the region it was easy for me to decide that the way I wanted us to stand apart from most other roasters and coffee shops is that I wanted to focus exclusively on African Coffee Origins. While I have a deep respect for all ethical coffee production, I feel it’s long overdue that some of the lesser known coffee producing regions in Africa such as Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Angola, Congo, and many others get their due recognition vs the historical exploitation that has existed. We’re doing this through fair prices, shared agricultural knowledge, and continued partnership through regular visits to origin. We found cocoa and tea to have a similar story to coffee which is why we’ve imported cocoa from partners in the coffee producing regions and begun working with Nigerian and Kenyan Tea producers to bring a diversity of offerings to our Atlanta community but also to further tell the stories of these amazing producers.

Why Georgia/Atlanta?
Being a Georgia native I’d always wanted to come back home to expand on the things we were doing by sharing knowledge with local youth around opportunities in agribusiness and expanding on the traditional perception of farming. Along my journey I’ve realized that there are endless possibilities in the agricultural sector whether someone’s interest is tech, business, commodities, finance, entrepreneurship, traditional farming, and so much more. The opportunity presented itself when I was given the opportunity through my job to relocate to Atlanta. While the 5 years that I spent in Los Angeles were beyond amazing having met the love of my life, my beautiful wife Sophie, I was at a place where I was feeling increasingly that the time was right to go back home, and I’m beyond grateful for my wife being ready and willing to take that step with me. We looked all over Atlanta but truly felt the growth and development happening in South fulton was something we wanted to be a part of and decided to both live and establish our roastery in the South Fulton area. Having done so we got right to work reaching out to the community here and throughout metro Atlanta looking for wholesale partners that we could develop relationships with. We were fortunate to have already begun working with several prominent catering and craft service companies in the film and television industry who were already using our coffee in Georgia as well as several other states, this allowed us to connect with other similar companies, but also was helpful in conversations with other prospective clients such as restaurants, coffee shops, and cafes. Atlanta has truly welcomed us with open arms and we’ve only been back for a little over a year so really inspired by what we feel the future could hold. In addition to our film and television partners we now work with several restaurants, donut shops, and coffee shops around Atlanta and we’ve just launched our wholesale, and catering pages on our website Paraisoroasting.com, as we’ve just acquired a new custom collapsable coffee cart and have begun doing pop-ups, corporate events, or wherever you may want a coffee vendor. You’ll notice our offering is somewhat limited but this is due to our only offering products from producers of whom we have an established relationship so that when we promote ethically sourced it’s not just on paper. That said, we’ve recently added our rendition of Bissap, which is a Senegalese Hibiscus Tea to the website in tea bag form which can be used for hot or iced tea and will soon be unveiling two new Single Origin Coffees, from Burundi, and Kenya.

The Future of Paradise
So we landed on the name Paraiso, which means paradise in Spanish, for a number of reasons, one being the neighborhood where I began my journey in the only Spanish speaking African country Equatorial Guinea is named Paraiso, but more importantly I saw the producing regions truly as paradise. Our goal as we grow in the community is to begin offering educational sessions for those interested in learning more about coffee and those that produce it. Not just for youth but anyone looking to educate themselves further about coffee sourcing, roasting, cupping, and other aspects of working in coffee. As we add more producing countries and regions to our offering, we aim to create more direct relationships with producers and simplify the complexities of more ethically sourced direct trade coffee. Follow us @paraisoroasting on all social media and subscribe to our mailing list for more information about new products and the producers behind it.

Notable Experiences:
Once when I was visiting a small village in Equatorial Guinea, a lady began speaking to me in her tribal language of Fang, at which point I tried to apologize and let her know that I was from the US. She told my friend in FANG to let me know that I may be a few years displaced but that I was from there. This and other experiences like this made it clear that I was pursuing the correct mission.

Although it’d been maybe 10 years since I’d dreamt of my Grandfather, On my first night on the continent, I had the most vivid dream I’ve ever had, and he was there. In the dream we were in Africa discussing farming even though he’d never been to Africa. Maybe it was the travel meds but memorable none the less.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Much like many businesses, when covid hit most of my clients at the time had their businesses decimated and subsequently so were we because when their operations stopped, so did ours. But that quickly showed me that if we were to survive we must diversify our customer base and revenue streams.

Obtaining Capital for a concept that you had little to no examples of individuals that looked like you successfully accomplishing what you were attempting to do.

Building relationships as a new business in a new city. We are working hard to cultivate trust in the community so that our reputation precedes us when engaging prospective clients.

My wife Sophie being diagnosed with cancer just 5 months after giving birth to our daughter and only a little over a year after moving to Atlanta and while working to establish and grow our business.

Times like these are when having faith, passion, and a clear vision is so important.

We’ve been impressed with Paraíso Roasting Coffee Company, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Paraíso is truly our labor of love! After so many impactful experiences throughout my journey, the work we do feels like a calling. Having the opportunity to share the stories of the countries, regions, and communities where we source our products is truly a privilege and our goal is that the passion we feel for the work we do is present in all of our offerings. We’ve decided to focus exclusively on Coffee, Cocoa, and Teas from Africa. We feel there are so many amazing stories to tell in these varying regions and see coffee, cocoa, and tea as a fantastic vessel to do so! Many of the origins we promote may be lesser known but we’ve spent many years working with producers and their governments to further mutual goals of increased sustainability and equity while constantly improving quality for final consumers. One of the things that makes me most proud of Paraíso our persistence and perseverance. Though we’ve faced some challenges and adversity while building the brand we’ve maintained our commitment to direct trade and partnership with our producing partners ensuring we continue to deliver sustainably produced, and ethically sourced products. We’ve begun to expand our offerings, add additional products to our line and exciting new origins as well as launching our wholesale, and catering services on our website so if you’re in need of a great coffee experience in your space or for your business, please drop us a line via our website or social media!

Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
Given the global demand for coffee, cocoa, tea, and other agricultural commodities showing no sign of slowing, I think the future of Agribusiness for those interested is bright! I also believe that with the growth happening in Atlanta there are ample opportunities to participate in so many different ways! Weather you’re interested in traditional farming, technology, science, commodities trading, finance, and especially entrepreneurship there is something for most. Even if you’re interested in film and entertainment, there needs to be more people telling these amazing stories in a meaningful way. So yes I wholeheartedly believe these reasons create some resilience in coffee, but also in Agribusiness for years to come and that along with the fact that if I, a pig farmer from south GA can do it then anyone can, and this is the message I really hope young listeners and readers take away.

Pricing:

• https://www.paraisoroasting.com/shop

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.paraisoroasting.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/paraisoroasting/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/18qJm9WwZh/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/keith-white-10992a61
• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@paraisoroasting