Today we’d like to introduce you to Giuliana Bernini.
Hi Giuliana, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I was born into a coffee family, my great great grandfather, Don Florentino Castro, was known as the coffee guru in Costa Rica in his days. I have always been inspired and passionate about food and the food industry. Growing up my dad was always involved in the agriculture industry. My passion for food and nutrition led me to become a professional in food science and nutrition at NC State University, which translated into a job as a quality assurance manager with a non-dairy start-up company in NYC. While in New York, as my brother visited, we brainstormed the idea of bringing our coffee to the US, where we saw a gap in the specialty coffee market, which to us meant a huge opportunity. At that moment, we started planning, contacting different farmers, coming up with a mission… Today, we not only farm our own coffee beans but also outsource from small farmers that we promise fair trade.
We bring only the highest-grade coffee beans out there and are on a mission to create a community where we all learn about coffee, give back to others, and save the rainforests of Costa Rica (we are donating back to the rainforest with every purchase). Our coffee sleeves say “coffee with care” because we are trying to do good through coffee. Our shop is filled with Costa Rican plants, a mural representing our beautiful rainforest, and different tropical flavors in order to teach people about our country and promote tourism. Not only do we have a shop in DT Dallas, but we are also making online sales and starting to do wholesale distribution in 2021. We are proud to work with the #1 micro raster of the year, coming up with amazing roast formulas in order to enhance the flavors and aromas of our coffee beans. We are excited to teach the community about specialty coffee, what makes us special and how we, all of us together, are going to make a change. Part of how we are doing this is through our stage at our first shop, the Rain Stage, where we will be having small businesses showing their products and selling artists, singers, open mic nights, and more.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
It has absolutely not been a smooth road, not only did we decide to take this on during a global pandemic, where we were quarantining with our family back in Costa Rica, but we have had to learn so much about not only starting a business but starting a business as a non-citizen. We have had to learn about licensing, visas, trust, etc. One of the biggest struggles was trying to get our coffee imported during covid times, where our coffee was stuck for about two weeks in customs in Houston and it was hard to get in touch with people. Not only this but it was delaying our entire opening process, starting with trying the coffee with our roaster and coming up with formulas to roast it to taste incredibly delicious.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
My business is called The Berni Bean Coffee Co. The reason why we named it this is because of my last name, “Bernini”. Berni is short for Bernini and we wanted to create a whole community that felt like part of our family. Our specialty coffee has a score of 89, making it one of the highest scored coffees in the industry last year. We specialize in fair trade, incredible coffee beans (all the way from farming, processing, drying, roasting, and making it at the shop or selling it online), making deliciously indulgent recipes that you won’t find anywhere else, and of course, giving back to the community. Our brand has a purpose for everything we do, we call our beans “grounds for joy” because we are trying to also bring joy to you through every cup of Berni Bean Coffee you drink. We want people to try this amazing product we believe in, to change your life! it is not the hustle culture we are trying to promote, we are all about learning about coffee, enjoying the flavors, taking a step back from your day to sit down, meditate, share with others and drink high quality, sustainable coffee.
Before we go, is there anything else you can share with us?
As a Latina, born and raised in another country it has been hard to get to where I am, but what I like to emphasize is that when you support Berni Bean, you are supporting my dream. You become part of my life and I will promise to always keep the standards of my product and work towards achieving the best experience for all of my customers.
Pricing:
- Coffee Bags $19.99 – $20.99
Contact Info:
- Email: giulianabernini@thebernibean.com
- Website: www.thebernibean.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bernibeancoffee/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bernibeancoffee/
