Today we’d like to introduce you to Kevin and Charnelle Cooper.
Hi Kevin and Charnelle, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
Our story has always been focused on the legacies that our grandparents and ancestors left us. We feel called to continue in that legacy so that our grandchildren’s’ children will benefit from their impact. Our story started with a question in regards to our grandparents. Besides their faith in Christ, what one thing would they do if they were to meet each other? They would probably talk at a kitchen table over a cup of coffee. For this reason, we started looking into the coffee business. Charles Ray Cooper is my grandfather and was my best friend. He passed away in 1998. We named our business in honor of him and all of our coffees are named after all our other grandparents and ancestors. Our focus has always been to connect with family and friends through our coffees. Almost everyone can recall memories of Saturday morning coffee moments with past relatives as a child, teenager, or young adult. We thrive for our coffees to continue to represent those moments.
We are a home coffee roastery company that has hopes and dreams of moving into our own location where we can serve other coffee shops, restaurants, retail specialty shops, online orders, schools, and farmers markets. You will find us at different events selling our coffees and telling stories about our grandparents and ancestors. You will also find our coffee’s featured at Soiree Coffee Bar (one of the premiere Black-Owned Coffee Bars in Dallas).
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
My wife and I are both educators that are still in school pursuing a doctoral degree and an MBA. Some of the struggles that we have had to overcome have been with the amount of time between our educational careers, school, and the growth of our business.
There has also been continuous learning on behalf of us being novices in this industry. We started our company this past October. Finding well-graded coffee beans from around the world and roasting the right coffees for the perfect profile has always been our learning passion since our induction into the coffee industry.
As you know, we’re big fans of Charles Ray’s Coffee and Roasters. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Charles Ray’s Coffee and Roasters is a high-quality roasting company that strive to offer well graded specialty coffee that is freshly roasted for customers as a way to fellowship and bond with relatives, neighbors, and visitors.
The company operates through the guiding principles that were modeled by Charles Cooper.
Honor God in all things
Respect and support family and friends
Believe that honor, humility, and integrity are the foundations of a great life.
Unlike most coffee roasters, we roast our beans based on fluid bed technology. You will find that most coffee roasters utilize drum technology. Fluid bed technology tumble and heat the beans by pumping jets of hot air making roast times significantly shorter than drum roast. We believe this type of roasting allows for a cleaner cup of coffee that will accentuate the flavor notes of the beans.
All of our beans give honor to our grandparents and ancestors by naming a certain bean after them. Our prayer is that people will know more about Charles Ray, Mama Jane, Muddy, Papa Nelse, Mr. Mann, Arline, and Mama Katie.
Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
We believe that post-COVID has birthed a new approach to how people are experimenting with coffee. There are more customers wanting to learn different brew methods and bean types. We believe the market is growing with small-batch coffee shops as well as DIY home baristas. We see more coffee shops opening and meeting the needs of customers in the next 5-10 years.
Contact Info:
- Email: charlesrayscoffee@gmail.com
- Website: http://www.charlesrayscoffee.com
- Instagram: Charlesrayscoffeeandroasters
- Facebook: Charlesrayscoffeeandroasters
