Sweet Renaissance Coffee Academy

Sweet Ren is about so much more than just coffee. I know a lot of folks have

just coffee. I know a lot of folks have uh walked away from the academy uh with more than just knowing how to pour beautiful drinks. barista training and

beautiful drinks. barista training and resident roasting is sort of the mechanism for which uh we move through the program but truly um sweet ren is

about building community share disrupt learn what does that mean to you when I think about dis disruption

um a lot of it it's like personal um and so that's a big part of what we're trying to do obviously disrupt these patterns that um don't always see culture. I mean, coffee is really

culture. I mean, coffee is really culture and a sense of belonging that I think we've been able to create with these cohorts and they're sharing their

cultural truths and that that's really cool to see. I think is really the heart of what Sweet Renaissance was built for.

>> For, us,, I, think, it, was, really, trying, to set out to disrupt patterns we had seen in coffee, trying to figure out um what was still missing in specialally coffee

and why. And I think we both learned and

and why. And I think we both learned and know like there are true barriers of entry in it, whether it's all this equipment that's behind us. Um the

knowhow, the business plans, the connections in coffee, the barista training and all of that. And that

um if we kind of just sat back, you know, waiting for this to all magically shift, it it had been years and years and decades of it not shifting.

Initially, our focus was on these barista training cohorts to help. you

know, it's a lot of uh education and training that's needed to be a barista and just the time and resources of building that skill set. And I think in

starting that there's a lot of the focus, but then to quickly realize like the belonging side and like the community side of all of this connecting with each other and just building incredible relationships.

There's something to be said about having the cohort sizes uh a little bit smaller because there's that relationship building component that sort of comes along. I I know a lot of

folks who've come to Sweet Ren have been in job settings where they're expected to fit inside a box and um dress a certain way or perform a certain way.

And here they're able to show up as their most authenticelves. as a program.

There were so many people sending in their applications and um we just couldn't take as many as who wanted to come. But that allowed everybody to know

come. But that allowed everybody to know what we were offering was needed and wanted and um that it it had a real

future. Jada, a participant from cohort

future. Jada, a participant from cohort 1, um is a is has been just an excellent example. She's giving back to each of

example. She's giving back to each of those members in ways that she knows how.

>> So,, I'm, not, from, Minnesota., Um,, my family is from Guyana and coffee is not really a part of my culture. So, I

started hanging out at the Get Down over in North Minneapolis when I opened in 2021. And that was the first exposure I

2021. And that was the first exposure I had to black culture being represented in coffee, which I didn't even think was possible. And then I was a part of

possible. And then I was a part of cohort one which ran from January 24 through about March of 2024 and I've been involved ever since. It

was really like a vulnerable and intimate experience. It had been such a

intimate experience. It had been such a long time since I allowed myself to be taught by someone who has a lot of knowledge and experience and a skill. Um

and so it required me to be vulnerable as well as them. when I'm here in classes observing other cohorts doing what I do for the social media side there's just so much collaboration like

we are learning and growing with and from each other which I think is pretty beautiful >> I, think, also, of, Yadira, that, was, a, member of cohort one and um you know we were

really focused on these barista training cohorts out of the gate and she came in and flipped it all upside down cuz she was um hungry and just you know wanting to really set up her own roasting

company and I think that really just opened our eyes beyond the barista side and is memorable in that way to see like all the different ways we can really help um with Sweet Run.

>> Being, a, part, of, Sweet, Run, has, given, me, a lot of resources that otherwise I wouldn't have known that they existed.

>> Something, that, I, was, projecting, on, doing like within 10 years, I was able to do it within a year of finishing the program.

I wasn't in a really good place when I came to um Sweet Brand and I've been a part of the program just opened my heart

and my mind to know that there is a lot of good still the community that Sweet Brand has built is beautiful. I'm just

very grateful of being a part of it.

It's just like gives me a lot of hope.

Now we have two residency roasters. Um

two people who are pouring themselves into starting their own coffee roasting companies and trying to understand how to resource and surround them with help on everything from roasting and green

coffee buying to marketing and bookkeeping. Also now we have um the

bookkeeping. Also now we have um the production roasting. So now not only do

production roasting. So now not only do we create jobs on the barista side, but also in roasting and fulfillment. Well

I think one of the things that's been very telling is that um folks from prior cohorts are then coming to not only join

in on the kickoffs or the graduations and things for the for the next cohort but they're also coming back to offer up their expertise in drinks, um their

expertise in uh roasting or some of their business plans and um connecting that way. not just in their original

that way. not just in their original cohort.

>> What, we're, creating, has, enormous sustainable impact and Sweet Ren allowed us to stay connected. It's also a a disruption in how we think about

philanthropy. The the dollars catalyze

philanthropy. The the dollars catalyze those learnings and really help benefit so many other people who are going to take that knowledge um and be able to move at warp speed. We are fully

convinced like this is important and work that needs to be done and we need help to to get it done.

>> I, think, if, we, had, access, to, more, funding like obviously that means access to more resources.

>> If, it's, not, more, people, per, cohort,, it's being able to offer uh more cohorts.

>> Disruption, must, be, funded.

>> We, can't, stop, now., you, know,, like, that momentum will fall flat if we stop our efforts. So, um, yeah, I think we're at

efforts. So, um, yeah, I think we're at a a turning point for sure right now.