In February 1985, the National Basketball Association sent written correspondence to Nike, confirming the ban on Black and Red Air Ship PE worn by Chicago Bulls Rookie, Michael Jordan. The letter stated that the color of the shoe broke the principle of uniformity of the league team, requiring that the player’s shoe should be at least 51% white. This moment of disturbance in the culture of sport and sneakers is an appropriate prelude to the ethos Coffee tāst.
Founded by three visionary black artists –Reggie blackartist and multimedia designer; Okakwe aroundphotographer and inventive director; AND Jason ReynoldsThe author of the Novel York Times bestsellers – Tāst is a special coffee brand built on disruption, negligence and cultural switching on. According to Reynolds, the main narrator of the brand, Tāst works “put some paint where it is not.” Like the original Air Jordan, he would employ a project for a catapult sneakers’ culture outside the courts, coffee Tānt decided to approach specialist coffee as a design challenge: How can inventive expression and novel narratives break the barriers in a special coffee culture? How can you extend the availability and belonging to the inside traditionally excluded from the frame?
Introduced to the market on January 31, 2025 on the eve of the black history of the month, Tast is online, a specialist direct coffee brand, offering coffee of individual origin to attract all pallets and profile preferences. Black, who provides coffee supply, describes the TAST mission as “taking people on a journey around the world through a bag of the best coffee in the world.” Volume 1 menu contains four offers: dim roast, washed coffee from Cajamarca, Peru; Medium roast, washed coffee with Huehuetenango, Guatemala; Lightweight roast, natural coffee from Sidamama in Ethiopia; and featherlight roast ethyl acetate, prann coffee from Huli in Colombia. Available as one -off purchases or subscriptions, 250G bags range from 20 to 26 USD, and subscription discounts maintain prices for both coffee producers and available to end consumers.
Okolo, the brand architect, calls coffee bags as “translucent sculptures aimed at decorating kitchen countertops.” He explains: “We want to invite coffee lovers to return to the ritual, consume slowly and enjoying everyone.” He continues: “We decided to run with a smaller bag, because we trust a compromise of constrained consumption for higher quality.” This philosophy is reflected in the statement of the brand “Tāst More, a minister drink”, which is printed on boxes in which coffee arrive – a reminder that what is inside is something else.
“You can find a lot of high quality coffee”, offers black, “but its presentation-an urban, menu, tasting notes-they are so far above the heads of some people that they do not feel welcome or do not want to try.” He continues: “We want to recognize coffee as a community nucleus and a common denominator of its combination.”
The goal of Tāyst is to introduce a novel demographic group of coffee lovers, whom they describe as “the living – he passed, unable and outfit.” “We think coffee is for everyone,” notes Reynolds, “But we present it, undeniably, through a black lens.”
This brand’s text lens and visual appearance-is informed about the abilities, experiences, instincts and tastes of this Self-Fed Black Coffee Trio based in Washington. The Tāst team calls their home base “DC, DC” to reflect their closeness from the black cultural community they represent. By publicly confirming their ideas and opinions about specialist coffee, they are aimed at attracting consumers who look like them and historically overlooked.
The benefit that consumers’ attractiveness will be care, the basic value of Tast. According to the founders, the ubiquity of Coffee makes it an ideal vessel for cultivation. “We start from the place of believing that coffee exists at every corner of the planet and in every room where care was provided. It’s amazing to consider!” reflects Reynolds. “For us, coffee is not only a noun, it is a verb.” Coffee “means honestly, loudly and openly. When you see two black men on the street who give each other, it’s “coffee”. When you tell your daughter that you love her, it’s “coffee”. We need to come up with how to actively take care of our clients. ” For this team, the care is not only in achieving the perfection of the product, but also to participate in the processes that strengthen and engage the full spectrum of coffee: free, fascinating, connoisseur and companion who joined coffee only for the company. He caused so much friction that he disturbed the love they had for each other, it would be a way out.
This duty of care is woven into every decision to make decisions, including the choice of the basic color of the brand, pink, which, according to Colorpsychology.org, causes a feeling of tenderness, love and compassion. Love for each other, for their community and coffee, drives the Tast.
Looking to the future, the founders have clear ambitions. They hope that during the year Tāst will be considered a fresh and significant voice in a special coffee coming out of “DC, DC”. They are looking for wholesale, commercial and cafe partnerships, in which people can experience tast in the community environment. They also plan to introduce a constrained number of mixtures that will enliven the brand’s personality in the cup.
As for the physical cafe? It is on the road map, but only if they can fully activate the level of care and hospitality they predict. “I’d like [open a cafe]”Black,” and updates Jay’s love for furniture, love for design and my desire to rewrite the narrative about a black cafe. It would be an honor to open a space in which we could pour all our love in our guests. ”
Until then, Webshop is open, offering amazing coffee and a growing collection of digital content. Welcome to their first Tāst!
Visit the official Coffee tāst Website and follow them on Instagram.
