Who We Are & ¿Qué Estamos Haciendo?
Coffee In Rhythm With Its Origins
Bichota began with the recognition that while many Black and Brown cultures across the globe are the producers of coffee, rarely are those cultures reflected in specialty coffee shops in the United States. Bichota comes from Puerto Rican/Colombian slang that dares us to be energetic, sexy, and flirtatious in the moments we need self-confidence the most. As a practice of art, Bichota is an exploration of the identities of the people that work for it: Black and Brown, Afro-Latino, and people in communities that have been burdened by historic disinvestment. In our future cafés, you'll find the flavors of where our coffee comes from in the unique menu we craft.
Beyond flavors, coffee in rhythm with its origins is an ethic by which Bichota finds its purpose and way of being. Bichota seeks to be considerate and uplifting to the farmers and communities that our coffee comes from; to having an ethical supply chain; to supporting our workers in having full and balanced lives; to being an anti-displacement/placemaking force for communities Bichota is in; and to our customers having an experience they can be proud of and assured their coffee was thought of from farm to cup. As a wholesale supplier of coffee, we seek to support cafés, communities, and spaces that the specialty coffee business has typically not centered in their approach.
As a practice of business, coffee in rhythm with its origins means that Bichota does not prioritize profit above all else. Of course having a sustainable business is immensely important for us and the communities that we serve, but we know that we can't use old practices that have produced harm to these same stakeholders. Instead, Bichota has developed a company structure that will ensure the people and communities that produce our coffee are fully humanized, respected, and have the same opportunities for sustainability that we seek for ourselves.
All together, coffee in rhythm with its origins is the sazón of Bichota.
Our Sazón // Our Values
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Support Farmers
We buy coffee from farms that are not only delivering exceptional coffee, but from fincas that are paying and treating their workers well. We will increase the transparency of practice by providing our customers information about where we get our beans, how much we pay, and how it gets here.
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Support Our Workers
Our staff are Bichota. What you see is their vision. Therefore, our first priority is them, because we wouldn't exist without their craft and love. We have put this value into practice by signing a labor peace agreement with Unite Local 17. They'll decide if they want to unionize with our full support.
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Support Community
Bichota will be on the block in the neighborhoods where specialty coffee is usually not found. Not only do we want to serve coffee with the flavors of their homeland, we see ourselves as an anti-gentrification and displacement force too. This means we want to be a responsible steward of space by following community's vision for itself.
Specialty
Roasted
Our coffee is roasted to bring out its best flavor. Along with some knock-out mezclas (blends), we'll be offering some special single origins that will rotate over time. Each of them crafted to their maximum beauty and each of them checked to ensure you taste that in every cup. It's #BichotaSazón every time a bag is opened.
Shop our coffee here!
On The Block
¡Estamos Aqui!
Bichota has always intended to be in community, surrounded by the culture and conversations Bichota reflects. We couldn't imagine a more important way to do that than to be on the block, right next to you.
We've opened our shop in George Floyd Square at 3740 Chicago Avenue!
Some Frequently Asked Questions
What's the deal with you and Wesley Andrews?
Wesley Andrews is our dearest compa in the game. In fact, we wouldn't exist without them. Wesley Andrews is a part owner of Bichota and we share a logistical operation. While we are unique in our roasting style and direction, we share resources in our green coffee sourcing, roasting operations, and shipping logistics among some other back end items. This allows Bichota and Wesley Andrews to reduce our costs where possible and produce the best coffee we can at the best price.
While we are different, we think if you like them then you will like us.
What does Bichota mean?
Bichota comes from the Puerto Rican slang word bichote, originally. Bichote has some fun connotations that we encourage you to look up, but the reggaetonera Karol G took this word and inspired the people. From her, Bichota means, "a moment of feeling sexy, flirtatious, daring, strong, empowered, and to a certain extent, translates into personal motivation and self-confidence. We are all super 'Bichotas' inside. It’s about believing and working so that the rest of the world can see it too."
For us, Bichota means the sexy, flirtatious self-confidence you find in the moments that are pathways to becoming who we want to become. It's about finding a way in a world that may not be built for you to succeed, yet we make it anyway.
Wait, is THE reggaetonera gonna be at Bichota when the shop opens?
Por favor! Por favor!
Are there cheaper options to purchase your coffee?
We feel deeply that we can connect specialty coffee to a broad range of people. And we feel a debt to the people who created the cultures Bichota reflects. We're currently working with some community-centered grocery stores to see how we can do this in a sustainable way. In the meantime, we're doing our best to provide a wide range of coffee with various price points to be accessible to a broad range of coffee lovers.
We would also say that we are trying to ensure that we are serving coffee that is priced to ensure we are not exploiting farmers, or exploiting our staff, and that we are able to maintain a sustainable business. This is tricky, but we're tinkering with this all the time hoping we can accessible por tod@s nuestr@ gente (all our people).