A new Black-owned coffee shop and roastery in Detroit’s North End is hosting a free walkabout of the neighborhood this weekend featuring coffee, cameras and conversation.
The free event kicks off Sunday at 10:30 a.m. and includes a tasting of three coffee blends at Sepia Coffee, coupled with a discussion about equity in the coffee industry, a walking tour of the local neighborhood to learn more about its history, and photography.
“It’s going to be a great opportunity for us to get the greater community in – whether you’re a photographer, artist or just a coffee enthusiast – to be able to connect with Sepia Coffee and learn a little bit more about our story,” said Martell Mason, owner and founder of Sepia Coffee.
Mason, who is originally from Highland Park moved back to the area in 2021, saw that there weren’t any Black coffee roasters in the Detroit area and decided to do something about it.
“It was a bit of a shock to see that our coffee community wasn’t as diverse as it should be given that within Detroit proper, you still have [majority] of the population identifying as African-American, so why isn’t there a Black roaster?” said Mason.
Two weeks ago he opened the doors to Sepia Coffee in Detroit’s North End and is also building a roastery in Highland Park with an anticipated opening of 2025. The roastery will allow him to increase his capacity by eight times at much per batch of beans. He sells wholesale to more than 30 locations across Southeast Michigan.
To source coffee beans for Sepia, Mason participates in the Black Producer Program created by Phyllis Johnson which exports coffee from Black farmers in Brazil, an underrepresented and undervalued population in the country’s coffee market, the largest in the world and accounting for more than a third of global production. Johnson also founded The Coffee Coalition for Racial Equity, a not-for-profit that addresses the lack of participation and opportunities for Black Americans in coffee.
On Sunday, Johnson will lead a discussion about the Black Producers Program while event attendees taste three different Brazilian blends. After the coffee tasting, attendees will head out with cameras (and phone cameras) to walk along Milwaukee Ave, Woodward Ave, Euclid St. and Oakland Ave. on a tour led by Detroit touring company City Institute to learn more about the history of the neighborhood, and capture photos along the way. Photographer Scott Millington, who hosts a series called “Cameras and Coffee”, will be in attendance.
Sunday’s event is free. Participants will receive 15% off all retail products at Sepia Coffee, which includes bags of beans, tea and coffee-making equipment.
Mason plans to hold another event at the shop in November, the details of which will be announced soon.
“Sepia Coffee, hopefully, will be the platform for so many others to be able to talk about the greatness that’s happening right now in our city,” he said.
Sepia Coffee is located at 2831 East Grand Blvd. and is open Tues.-Sun. 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.