![]() Quality and certification premiums have also helped METAD build roads and community centers, and they have expanded an “out-grower” program designed to provide technical assistance, farm equipment and certification programs for more than 5,000 local farmers. METAD plays an active roll in the local community: their workforce is over 70% women, and they provide healthcare for employees, award university scholarships, and sponsor an elementary school with over 700 students. Adinew is also one of the founding executives of the Ethiopian Commodity Exchange (ECX), the dominant organization in Ethiopia for commerce and trading. Her descendants now run the estate and farm, with brothers Aman and Tariku Adinew at the helm of METAD. The land on which Hambela Estate sits was awarded to Muluemebet Emiru – the first African female pilot – after World War II. METAD is a very unique entity in Ethiopia, and has an even more unique history. METAD is a big part of Onyx’s portfolio, as more than half of all their Ethiopian offerings are either farmed or sourced through them. They own and operate the famed Hambela Estate, where this coffee hails from. This coffee is a single origin selection from METAD, an Ethiopian coffee sourcing firm. “Cxffeeblack is a social enterprise that seeks to reintroduce the Black history of coffee into Black communities and help reimagine its Black future.” Bartholomew Jones, founder of Cxffeeblack ![]() It’s fitting, then, that of the sample coffees that Onyx sent Cxffeeblack for consideration, the first installment in the 1616 Project comes from the birthplace of coffee – Ethiopia. Similar to the 1619 Project, 1616 Collaboration Series is an exploration and celebration of African coffees it aims to honor the African and indigenous peoples who cultivated coffee culture then and now. It’s also the first installment in a new line of releases for Cxffeeblack called the 1616 Collaboration Series. Eschewing the “private label” moniker – which Onyx views as pejorative and exclusive – Public Label creates an opportunity for Onyx to learn from their partners and for their partners to share in beautiful coffees. ![]() Onyx’s Public Label series provided the perfect opportunity to do exactly that. “It was only a matter of time before we found a way to collaborate.” “Since that point, Onyx has been family,” says Jones. Onyx’s Director of Wholesale operations, Bear Soliven, and Jones have had a relationship for the past several years, being born out of a mutual love of coffee and hip-hop. Their most recent collaboration is with Arkansas’s Onyx Coffee Lab, as an installment in Onyx’s Public Label series. Cxffeeblack is a social enterprise that seeks to reintroduce the black history of coffee into black communities and help reimagine its black future by using revenue generated from apparel, music, events, consulting work, and collaborations to invest in their community providing opportunities for people of origin to create inspiring work. This is the mantra of Cxffeeblack – a Memphis-based venture that was launched by Bartholomew Jones and Renata Henderson. “Love Black people like you love black cxffee.” – Cxffeeblack
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