I grew up watching my dad drinking coffee religiously every single morning, and even going as far as getting it shipped from France because he didn’t like the taste of American coffee.  If it helps, I was born in France, so my father lived a good portion of his life there.

Now resettled in the US, every morning at 5am, the coffee pot was on, and the aroma of coffee woke us up. But surprisingly, I didn't start drinking coffee until I moved out, about age 24.

A trip to Seattle in 2013 opened up my eyes to specialty coffee, and I was never the same. I became obsessed with coffee culture. That led me to my newfound passion for finding truly incredible coffee from around the world, including D.R. Congo. I got tired of drinking bad coffee and in 2021, I decided to start roasting my own beans after attending an Ethiopian Coffee Ceremony.

Months later, I found myself in D.R. Congo for the very first time, where I discovered that coffee was in fact in my DNA. My paternal family told me all about my grandparents' coffee farm and how in my family, it's common for children (as young as the age of two) to pair up their bread with coffee for breakfast—not milk! Needless to say, I felt like everything made sense for once in my life. It was also the first time I heard the word: Kanfuela. Coffee in Tshiluba.

That life-changing trip to D.R. Congo cemented my mission, and that's how KANFUELA was born. You can read more on how I chose the name here.