4 minute read
A Golden Brew
Story By Abigail Murphy Photos Contributed To LIVE Lee
One Auburn community member is starting a coffee business that has its origin roughly 8,000 miles away in Nepal.
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After a trip to Kathmandu and Biratnagar, Nepal, Russell Goldfinger and his business partner, Holden Kincey, started United Coffee People (UCP) in June. According to their Instagram page, when customers purchase their coffee, 60% of the money goes to help Nepalis, from living needs to building churches.
Goldfinger said his fusion of business and helping others was not created overnight.
The idea began at Lakeview Baptist’s missions conference last fall, where Goldfinger met a minister who was buying coffee from Nepal at a higher price to help improve the farmers’ quality of life.
“He was telling me about how he's been able to affect these families in a positive way, and it kind of just pulled on my heartstrings,” Goldfinger said.
It was then he realized what he needed to do. Goldfinger got connected with a group in Huntsville called Mission Driven Ministries, which was doing something similar with buying coffee, roasting the beans and selling them to churches. After talking to MDM, Goldfinger and Kincey were able to go to Nepal with the intention to look at the coffee fields.
Due to it being monsoon season, the two weren’t sure if they would even be able to see the fields while they were there.
The weather was better than what was expected, however. They were able to see the coffee fields and buy some of the beans.
The trip was also a learning experience, allowing Goldfinger and Kincey see how they could better support the people of Nepal, he said.
“They talk a lot about a culture shock when you get there, especially in a third world country, which is true,” Goldfinger said. “You get over there and you see a level of poverty that you can't even fathom — people living on top of each other in these shanties and poorly-built structures … and cows walking in the street and trash everywhere.”
However, he said there’s also a culture shock coming back. When Goldfinger stepped off the plane, the first thing he saw was two people tug-of-warring a bag of candy while yelling profanity at one another.
“It puts a lot of things in perspective of our wants and desires and all the things that we chase after here,” he said. “When in reality, we have more than most. We are so blind to those tangible things of our lifestyle that we forgot what it was like to honor one another, treat one another with respect.”
Goldfinger said this trip showed him the abundance America has and also some of our shortcomings. However, he said learning those things helped him shape what he wants to do with his business.
After bringing back 132 pounds of green coffee beans, Goldfinger said coffee became about building a way to support the people of Nepal.
“[Providing help is] more effective when it comes from someone of their own culture,” Goldfinger said.
The monetary support that comes from the coffee sales allows people in Nepal to directly support those in need.
“I’m not saying we can’t go over there and [help], but it has a
stronger reach when it comes from someone that has grown up living in extreme poverty. There’s a relatability that you and I can’t share with them.”
Right now, UCP is a grassroots organization selling coffee at farmer’s markets and beginning to partner with other businesses. Since it started, Goldfinger has sold about 55 pounds of coffee in roughly a month, as of August.
“That's not great numbers, considering coffee shops are selling 100 in a week, but I don't think God wants it to be some fast-growing, amazing, conglomerate Starbucks thing. The idea is to work and be patient,” he said.
Later down the line, Goldfinger said he hopes to one day have a storefront and cater to international students. The storefront comes along with ideas to have coffee and tea from different countries, and possibly hire students or recent graduates who need a job so they can keep a visa.
“Maybe even some of the employees speak the customers’ native tongue, but really anything that helps international students to have a less isolating experience.
“... We have spent an enormous amount of time making these distinctive words. I'm a Buddhist, or I'm a Baptist, or I'm a white southern guy, or I’m a Black man from the North or I'm a proud female. We have all these words of perceived affirmation that we use to distinguish ourselves from other people. What it has done is caused division, and so, a part of this idea is to bring people back together in all aspects.”
Find United Coffee People on Instagram @ unitedcoffeepeople.
