David and Gaïna Dávila
Gaïna, left, and David Dávila
David and Gaïna Dávila are the founders and co-owners of Dávila Kafe in Washington, D.C., which specializes in coffees from Haiti and Nicaragua. The couple are coffee ambassadors for the underrepresented origins that are their families’ homes.
By Kim Westerman
STiR: What are each of your coffee stories? How did you get involved in the coffee industry?
David Dávila: In December of 1997, at the age of seven, I visited Nicaragua for the first time and went to a coffee farm with my father. That’s where I first learned about the process of cultivating coffee and the drying beds that my father worked on as a boy. I didn’t think much of it at the time, but I see now that my father was teaching me lessons about coffee and heritage that have since proven invaluable.
Since my father grew up on a coffee farm, and his father, grandfather, and great-grandfathers all worked as coffee agriculturalists, we consumed coffee outside of the construct of US coffee culture. Coffee wasn’t just something that kept us caffeinated; it was inclusive of all in our community and a hot brewed cup always served as the starting point of a good conversation.
Gaïna: Growing up in the Caribbean meant being surrounded by freshly roasted coffee and flaky homemade bread on a daily basis. My grandmother ran a small business in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, so she was constantly offering fresh coffee, or “kafe” as we call it, to both customers and friends. These moments were my first introduction to coffee. It wasn’t until after launching Dávila Kafe that my parents told me my great-grandparents had been coffee farmers. It felt like I had finally come full-circle.
David and Gaï: We got involved in the industry while working in South Asia as a diplomatic family in 2016. At the time, there was political strife in the US and we wanted to find a way to bring people from different backgrounds together. Over time, we decided that coffee would be a great place to start since it always served as a friendly starting point in our family. After diving into our research of the industry, we then recognized the need for greater representation at every level, and that’s how we started building a company with the mission of “fueling hearts and minds.”
STiR: What are the goals of your company, Dávila Kafe? Can you explain the importance of showcasing Haitian and Nicaraguan coffees, both from personal and industry perspectives?
David and Gaï: Our goal at Dávila Kafe is to create authentic spaces where specialty coffee doesn’t have to translate to exclusion or performative allyship. Representation for our company isn’t just a buzzword, it’s literally at the heart of why we began our venture into the world of specialty coffee with Haitian and Nicaraguan beans. We want all Americans to see themselves in our company, particularly those who have been ignored and underrepresented.
Haiti and Nicaragua have a rich coffee heritage that is often overlooked. Showcasing the best of both countries through coffee and culture has been a no-brainer for us because it’s a natural extension of our shared cultural heritage. We want the world to know that “poverty” doesn’t have to be the tagline that’s associated with Haiti or Nicaragua. They have much more to offer our industry and our global community.
STiR: Like many industries and subcultures, parts of the US coffee industry are engaging in activism around racial injustice and working to bring awareness to racism, in general, and in the industry, in particular. In your estimation, what are the best areas in which to focus these efforts?
David and Gaï: It’s well known that when mainstream coffee shops enter lower-income neighborhoods without regard for local residents or culture, it negatively impacts the community. In the wake of growing gentrification and modern-day redlining, minority groups typically see these mainstream coffee shops as a sign of oncoming eviction, culturally and sometimes literally. There’s certainly a measure of truth to that sentiment: In the past, mainstream coffee shops have engaged in practices that ignore the local residents and culture in an effort to target higher-income consumers, often proving problematic.
The coffee industry is valued at an estimated $225 billion dollars and provides 1.7 million jobs. In light of this, it’s past time that we do more to create inclusive and anti-racist spaces that serve the needs of disenfranchised and underrepresented communities. Some clear areas for engagement include impartial hiring practices, owning up to systemic racism in the industry, pay equity, promotion opportunities, anti-racist marketing strategies, implicit-bias training, and educating both employees and stakeholders about microaggression in the workplace.
STiR: How can we create lasting, systemic changes in the industry that won’t be viewed as merely lip service in the years to come?
David and Gaï: Systemic change will only come when the industry recognizes the need to restructure itself from within. This is the prerequisite to lasting systemic change. The coffee industry must stand resolute in its commitment to bear witness to our nation’s troubled history of racial inequity and violence by speaking out while taking thoughtful, clear, and actionable steps forward.
The actionable steps listed above are a legal requirement in Germany and are one reason its economy recovered strongly from the Great Recession. Additionally, we strongly suggest committing to democratizing employment applications, which translates to eliminating the box for “felony conviction” on job application forms because it disproportionately excludes people of color.
Lastly, commit to lobbying for change — because corporate lobbying, as we all know, shapes many of our laws. If your company has lobbying expenditures, commit a percentage (50% or more) to drafting and supporting bills that would improve conditions for communities of color by increasing access to quality education and training, rebuilding infrastructure, achieving criminal justice reform, and making police more accountable. Keep in mind that the people most deeply affected by these deficits are the ones who can best define the problems and necessary solutions, and make sure they have a non-negotiable seat at the table.
STiR: What is the relationship between the global coffee industry and the US coffee industry where racial justice is concerned? What are the challenges of each, and what does each bring to the table? How can various constituents work separately and together to advance these important shared goals?
David and Gaï: When leaders of coffee companies in the US travel to origin, they often spearhead transactional conversations with little regard for local and historical context. This is problematic and is rooted in a history of racist power structures that have gone unacknowledged in our industry. Unfortunately, this is at the heart of the relationship between the global coffee industry and the US coffee industry where racial justice is concerned.
When conversations and relationships are purely transactional, it indicates to producers that Westerners won’t commit to their coffee when challenges arise. It reminds producers that Westerners aren’t interested in their livelihood or success but rather their company’s bottom line. Producers and agriculturalists in the global South have much to teach us, so our relationship should reflect this reality in a manner that demonstrates sincere respect for the work that’s being done at origin.
We will not be able to effectively work toward advancing shared goals without first establishing mutual respect, effective cross-cultural communication, and moving beyond lip service. To be clear, speaking the same language does not always translate to effective cross-cultural communication and understanding; this nuance is the pathway to long-term success across the board.
STiR: David, you’ve written about the “minority ceiling” in coffee. Can you share your observations about your recent West Coast coffee tour? You also raise the issue of a generation gap. Are these two possibly connected?
David: In 2018, while volunteering at the SCA Re:co Symposium, I noticed that the c-suites lacked the representation that’s so clearly visible at the lowest levels of the supply chain. Our industry is built on the backs of those who cultivate coffee, yet their voices aren’t directly represented at the highest levels. My West Coast coffee tour confirmed that the colonial heritage of coffee continues to permeate our work.
Many in the industry assume that the few individuals of color who make it into c-suites are special or somehow intellectually superior. However, this is simply false because the lack of representation in this space is directly tied to access, not ability. The truth is that there are many people of color who would do exceptionally well in the c-suites; however, they are often overlooked and/or face various socioeconomic barriers.
Coffee’s minority ceiling was not created by mistake, but by design. As such, we must be willing to engage in a multifaceted analysis of the systemic structures that restrict the upward mobility and access of minorities within the industry, and this includes taking a hard look at generational differences.
STiR: What are the most important gestures consumers can make to support anti-racist values?
David and Gaï: We believe in conscious consumption. Consumers have to take initiative by learning more about the companies and brands their dollars support. If the goal is to create a more equitable society, which it should be, then we must move beyond performative allyship. That means moving beyond expressing outrage, disbelief, or anger at injustice because that alone will not move the ball forward.
Again, this is certainly not an exhaustive list, but some simple steps that consumers can take include:
1) buying directly from black-owned businesses;
2) holding the companies they shop at accountable by asking for specifics on how said companies are taking steps to advance racial justice from the coffee bar to their c-suite;
3) speaking out while engaging in sustained anti-racism work, which includes learning and listening. The most important thing a consumer can do is choose to not be indifferent — because being uncomfortable isn’t life-threatening but racism is.
STiR: And on the industry side, how can players in the US industry leverage their power (economic and otherwise) to contribute to global outcomes throughout the supply chain?
David and Gaï: Industry players in the US can contribute by ensuring that farmers receive a living wage that leads to economic success at origin. Our consumers should understand that before their coffee hits their cup, that beverage has gone through nearly 30 hands for a meager $5.00 or less. Low competitive prices guarantee great profit margins for the largest coffee companies at the expense of our most vulnerable, yet necessary, industry stakeholders: our producers and agriculturalists.
By creating greater return on investment for producers, the future of coffee will essentially be guaranteed as far as human capital is concerned. Aging farmers will be able to send their children to school, and their children will be incentivized to remain in the coffee industry. This is one way we can contribute to positive global outcomes throughout the supply chain.