# CxffeeBlack

Honor Your Roots

- Canonical URL: https://wefunder.com/cxffeeblack
- Entity ID: wefunder:company:114055
- Last updated: 2026-06-06T05:01:34Z
- Generated at: 2026-06-07T03:12:05Z

## Quick facts
- Reached over six figures in our first year and maintained 50% average growth YoY.
- Reached over $1M in sales to date and have already raised almost $300,000 pre-seed
- Built an all-black supply chain from Ethiopia, shipped by a Black owned company, and roasted by us.
- Sold a sitcom to HBO Max based on Cxffeeblack- a rapper turned teacher turned coffee business owner.
- Achieved 1.2 million organic streams for the company's coffee-branded music catalog.
- Partnered with NBA Player Jae'Sean Tate of Houston Rockets on merch, youth scholarship, and pop-up.
- Established the first-ever Pan-African Black Barista Global Exchange Program in 2023.

## Active fundraises
- wefunder:fundraise:112146: 4(a)(6) successful (USD)
- wefunder:fundraise:62079: 4(a)(6) successful (USD)

## Story
Cofounders: Bartholomew Jones and Renata Henderson intended to reinstate the origin, purpose, and integrity of cxffee through the knowledge of its Black history and being a part of its Black future, creating Cxffeeblack.Photo: Andrew Puccio, Casa Creative Club“What would happen if cxffee culture loved people of color as much as it loved their cash crops; and what if we cared for and celebrated single-origin people as much as we celebrated single-origin coffee?” These questions Jones posed as a social experiment, as he started both his musical journey and the journey to Cxffeeblack. The name, “Cxffeeblack'' started as a musical metaphor that Bartholomew used to interconnect cxffee and Blackness. He wanted us to begin seeing ourselves as the way God intended us to be, without all of the cream and sugar of the world; but just you, beautifully, unique, and Black. The intentional “x” instead of the traditional “o” represents the missing variable in all of us, the part of the equation that requires us to be unique in our humanity, in order to help solve the problem that divides us.As they both traced the origins of cxffee back to Africa, they were also able to trace the significance of cxffee to their childhood. For Bartholomew, it was his dad; a student of Lemoyne Owen College traveling to Kenya, falling in love with the culture, and learning about Kenyan coffee. His dad passed down the knowledge of Kenyan culture and the origin story of its coffee to him while he was a child.For Renata, it was her grandfather, a sanitation worker marching alongside Dr.King with his canteen of coffee by his side while they fought for the rights of all sanitation workers. Seeing that canteen in her grandparent's house each day was like a medal of honor. Renata also got a chance to see African American traditions; witnessing the love her grandparents shared for one another, as they poured each other’s cups of coffee in the mornings.Cxffee was always a part of the story, we just had to realize how far back the story went.“No sugar, no cream please.” Layer by layer, if you could strip away all of the cream and sugar, you would witness coffee returning to its original state of Blackness. Similarly, if you could strip away all of the cultures and inputs that have layered themselves on coffee, you would trace its origin back to Blackness. From starting a business out of the house in North Memphis and achieving six figures in the first nine months with the launch of the signature roast, Guji Mane,  Make Cxffee Black Again, is us setting the record straight of our history that was lost in the layers of cream and sugar. The layers of slavery that diluted our identity and made our knowledge of ourselves, almost intractable. The secrets of our culture, lost in the bottom of the ocean, washing away the Blackness, but keeping the cream and sugar. As we navigate through a world of distilled cxffee, and remove the conditions we found our way back home, from Cxffeeblack to Africa.To the land of Ethiopia, where the indigenous Ethiopian women taught Renata how to brew and roast cxffee, traditionally. To the city of Memphis, where Bartholomew wanted to create a space free of gentrification, and give opportunities back to the community, intentionally.“We were going to go and meet the homies in Africa for the homies back in the hood in Memphis,” said Bartholomew Jones.“Don’t cover my dreams, please.” Cxffeeblack, as a storefront, is the Anti Gentrification Cxffee Club, which acts as an embassy connecting the motherland to the lands of Memphis, TN. It was important that this space could comfort Black Americans through relativity and cultural congruence; while encompassing traditional African artifacts and sharing the history and future of cxffee and Blackness. As the movement, Cxffeblack continues to press forward to educate the community about the history of cxffee through the lens of Blackness; it also seeks to inspire the uniqueness, authenticity, and future of Black people. So, what do you think would happen if cxffee culture loved melanated folk as much as it loved their cash crops? Let’s find out together.

## FAQ
1. **Hey I run CROWDSCALE - an equity crowdfunding newsletter for ~5,000 investors. This raise's popularity (and it's unique structure) has impressed me and I'd love to chat for a potential story. Drop me a note at hellocrowdscale@gmail.com if you're interested in talking! crowdsca...**
   - For sure. Reaching out this week.
2. **Can you share your thoughts on how often you will update us on how things are progressing with your goals and business plan? Secondly, do you intend to file the annual report with the SEC? Thanks for your feedback.**
   - Hey Eric! Starting in the new year we'll be sending monthly updates to investors. We had to pause during the last few monthly to complete the Cxffeeblack Barista exchange and my recent Ted Talk. The annual reports will be sent out on a schedule as well. Thanks for your questions.
3. **I see that you are shifting to a rolling close with about 20% of the funds identified, can you give a sense of how you plan to scale back as you raise additional funds. In particular, are you starting construction before you have all of the funds identified? I love what you ar...**
   - Hey Devin! Yes. Our first commitment was the build a permanent HQ for our movement in our community. With a grant and a few investments outside of the Wefunder, we've been able to get the new location 2/3 of the way towards completion. We have approximately 65k left in construction costs before we can open. Once the new space is open we'll be operating to recoup costs, and begin phase two of the raise which focuses on b2b distribution in the region, focusing on our RDT line of Gold Brews. We'...
4. **I’m following up to my previous question. Post raise communication is important to investors and we would appreciate understanding your plans and perspective. Thank you.**
   - Hey Eric! Apologies about the delay again here. Just getting back into the office after a few months of traveling, pitching, and hosting the pan African barista exchange with Vanderbilt. Happy to hop on a call to discuss any further questions you may have. 9017136555
5. **Hello , amazing opportunity for the culture ! And congrats on the success thus far ! My question revolves around the SAFE ; as an investor in terms of the campaign is the company aiming towards a Merger/Acquisition situation ?? Or could we see the ownership stay as is long ter...**
   - Happy to share. Shoot an email to hello@cxffeeblack.com with more detailed response, but at the moment our ideal end case is to buy our our investors once we pass 100M valuation. Once the 1,75 return is completed, dividends will optional based on profit for the year and the needs of the business.

## Team
- Maurice Henderson II (Co-founder | CEO)
- Renata Henderson (Co-founder | COO)
- Olayinka Osibodu (Director of Development)

## Q&A
- Q: Do you have any more recent financials you're able to share since 2024 has come and gone? More importantly, what are your growth plans? I'm trying to get a sense of the long-term goals of Cxffeeblack. The revenue share is intriguing, but feels insignificant compared to equity in the business itself (some simple math, if at some point yearly revenues are $800k, $24k is 3% split among $400k investor dollars means each investor gets $0.06 per dollar invested, and most growth projections would mean 1.75x would take...a very long time to reach; also revenue was less than half that in 2023). Are you planning on opening more locations and franchising? Is distribution is the future? DTC? The new location sounds awesome, but you guys give off much more of an independent community roaster vibe from the materials posted here. There's nothing wrong with that, community is honestly #1, but one location is just not enough reason to invest without some sort of growth and/or exit plan. Investing off vibes and community is reason enough if I live in Memphis, but I don't. I'd be happy with 1.75x back, but unless that comes back in, like, <10 years, it doesn't really matter and I'd rather see that revenue be reinvested in the brand and company for growth.
- Q: Hey I run CROWDSCALE - an equity crowdfunding newsletter for ~5,000 investors. This raise's popularity (and it's unique structure) has impressed me and I'd love to chat for a potential story. Drop me a note at hellocrowdscale@gmail.com if you're interested in talking! crowdscale.beehiiv.com
  - A: For sure. Reaching out this week.
- Q: Will you open another round of funding?
- Q: When will your next round open?
- Q: When will this close? It seems like the closing date keeps getting extended.
  - A: We were able to extend till the end of the month. Round closes today!
- Q: Hello , amazing opportunity for the culture ! And congrats on the success thus far ! My question revolves around the SAFE ; as an investor in terms of the campaign is the company aiming towards a Merger/Acquisition situation ?? Or could we see the ownership stay as is long term ? I also wanted to know how realistic given the early success of the business could we see a IPO truly occur with cxffeeBlack ? Lastly , past the Revenue share agreement would new owner investors be later entitled to any additional Dividends from Cxffee with there equity stake in tact?
  - A: Happy to share. Shoot an email to hello@cxffeeblack.com with more detailed response, but at the moment our ideal end case is to buy our our investors once we pass 100M valuation. Once the 1,75 return is completed, dividends will optional based on profit for the year and the needs of the business.
- Q: I’m following up to my previous question. Post raise communication is important to investors and we would appreciate understanding your plans and perspective. Thank you.
  - A: Hey Eric! Apologies about the delay again here. Just getting back into the office after a few months of traveling, pitching, and hosting the pan African barista exchange with Vanderbilt. Happy to hop on a call to discuss any further questions you may have. 9017136555
- Q: I see that you are shifting to a rolling close with about 20% of the funds identified, can you give a sense of how you plan to scale back as you raise additional funds. In particular, are you starting construction before you have all of the funds identified? I love what you are doing. I’m just looking to understand how you will grow this beautiful thing that you have started.
  - A: Hey Devin! Yes. Our first commitment was the build a permanent HQ for our movement in our community. With a grant and a few investments outside of the Wefunder, we've been able to get the new location 2/3 of the way towards completion. We have approximately 65k left in construction costs before we can open. Once the new space is open we'll be operating to recoup costs, and begin phase two of the raise which focuses on b2b distribution in the region, focusing on our RDT line of Gold Brews. We've currently sold about 8200 cans independently this year, and extremely confident in the brands ability to achieve significant sell through in the regions before making the national push. That being said, we have just landed our first grocery store locally: south point grocery in downtown memphis. They have a line of 5 other stores locally we plan to grow into once we make the marketing push in the first location starting 2025.
- Q: Can you share your thoughts on how often you will update us on how things are progressing with your goals and business plan? Secondly, do you intend to file the annual report with the SEC? Thanks for your feedback.
  - A: Hey Eric! Starting in the new year we'll be sending monthly updates to investors. We had to pause during the last few monthly to complete the Cxffeeblack Barista exchange and my recent Ted Talk. The annual reports will be sent out on a schedule as well. Thanks for your questions.