Married couple and both social entrepreneurs bring their Filipino coffee shop project to Kickstarter.
London, UK – Muni Coffee Company is a Filipino inspired coffee shop soon to launch in London. What makes Muni unique among the sprawling independent coffee shops in London is that they will be the only ones to serve Philippine’s finest Arabica coffees. Jena and Julian founded Muni Coffee Co. in 2013.
“Coming from the Philippines, we have such passion to share our rich heritage to the world. With London’s busy independent coffee scene, there tends to be a lack for newer concepts and coffee origins. We realised we want to bring something unique and something that will inspire people”, Jena states. This was when she and her husband decided to set up Muni Coffee Co.
For more than a year, the couple has traveled back and forth to the Philippines to study the coffee landscape, establish relationships and visit coffee farms. They were able to meet the farmers through the Philippine Coffee Alliance. Vie Reyes, Founding Director and advocate of Philippine coffee has worked many years with farmers to positively impact the coffee landscape of the Philippines.
To the Philippine Coffee Alliance, the partnership with Muni coffee opens new prospects of promoting Philippine coffee and sharing its potential to the world. Muni Coffee will channel interest and expertise from the UK market to support Filipino farmers in increasing quality and production, enabling them to bring their specialty coffee on the international stage.
“Early on in the process, we realised that there is more to Philippine coffee than meets the eye. Knowing and experiencing how much sweat and dedication goes into every single cup of coffee, we ourselves were inspired to grow deeper in our understanding of the various processing that happens on ground. We can honestly say that we are committed not only to serve the most exciting cup of coffee in London, but to see our partners on the farms thrive as well”, says Julian.
Muni Coffee Co. is planning to launch their first coffee shop in West London. What Londoners can expect are specialty coffees from the Philippines that has undergone a highly selective process. Specialty coffee experts Joe Syme and Jon Cowell of Campbelle & Syme Coffee Roasters tested over 25 different coffees that Jena and Julian brought into London and finally selected the two best ones.
With great enthusiasm, Jena says: “we want to tell a story and we want our customers to experience where the coffee comes from and what extraordinary journey it had to take until it ended up in their cup. We want them to be taken by the aroma, tastes, and be inspired by the story of the coffees”.
Torre farm in Benguet is one of the origins of Muni coffee. A 30 hectare land above 1,600 ASL are owned by a family of Igorots (Filipino indigenous). When Jena and Julian met Norman earlier this year, they learned that he just left mining gold from a portion of their land that was sold to a company. After working with PCA, Norman was encouraged to revive the family’s coffee plantation and earn a more sustainable income. Norman says, “My dream is to transform our land into a coffee tourism farm so locals will learn about growing coffee and its importance to the communities.” After their meeting with Norman and PCA, Jena and Julian have established relationships to help Norman and his community at Torre farm to improve their harvesting methods and technologies.This year, coffees from Torre farm has stood out among the cupping table during a test session with Campbelle & Syme Coffee Roasters.
“We are excited to share stories like Norman’s and we are even more excited to contribute to origin so we can increase their capacity sustainably. We want to start with one farm at a time. We are also committed to buying their coffee at above market price so farmers like Norman will be encouraged to continue and improve their livelihood.”
Jena and Julian are preparing for their first launch. So far they have invested in their brand design, website, food menu development, research, and first coffee shipment. Jena and Julian need more funding so they can finally move into their first coffee shop in West London.
They decided to bring their coffee shop project to Kickstarter to raise more funds so they can finally move into their first coffee shop. Since Kickstarter has an all-or-nothing concept, they only have 30 days to raise the funding they need. So if you share the vision of bringing Philippine coffee to London and would like to join them in making an impact on the coffee farms, you can join them by supporting their Kickstarter campaign to be launched this month of August.
Follow their Kickstarter campaign by visiting their website at www.municoffee.com or follow them at twitter @municoffee and Facebook.You can donate for as little as £1 and be a part in bringing their vision into reality. If you would like to give even more, you can even have the chance to meet Norman and hang out with his family in their beautiful farm in Benguet.
For more information about their Muni Coffee Co. project or would like to schedule an interview you can send them an e-mail at jena@municoffee.com or send them a tweet @municoffee.
The Founders
Julian and Jena Krause both finished their Masters in Social Entrepreneurship from Hult International Business School. Julian currently works as operations manager at Every Nation London, a Hammersmith-based church. In the past he has helped established and worked in a business consulting in his University in Augsburg. Jena Krause has a background in Hospitality Management and also worked as a business development manager for Gawad Kalinga, UK. She currently works full-time to set up Muni Coffee Company. Both founders have a strong business background and have experienced setting up businesses. They are convinced that their passion for coffee, their social commitment and business skills enable them to be successful both in the short and the long haul.
