Stephane Prophete is the founder of the Haitian coffee brand COPO. He started the company out of love for both coffee and his country.
“Back in the days, Haiti was ranked among the top exporters of coffee,” he told Travel Noire. “In 1949, Haiti was the world’s third coffee major producer. Unfortunately, we could not keep up with the market because of the downing of production. Coffee production has been the victim of many natural disasters.”
COPO was founded in 2014 with the mission to encourage people around the world to re-discover Haitian coffee and its unique place in the history of coffee. In Haiti, Prophete said the country only produces Arabica coffee where the beans are grown up to 1600 meters of altitude in the mountains of Haiti.
“We are currently creating a sustainable income for our network of Haitian farmers, thereby creating a fair-trade bridge between them and the rest of the world. Our steadfast vision is to make Haiti the world’s #1 choice for premium coffee,” said Prophete. “Creating a fair-trade bridge between the Haitian Coffee farmers and the global market is our top goal. We want to ensure that Haiti continues to be a top producer of premium coffee and acknowledged.”
Despite natural disasters, Prophete says Haitian coffee remains in great demand on the world market because it has a very competitive profile compared to other producing countries.
“Haitian coffee has played a big role in the Haitian economy since 1715, and we are fighting to get it back on the global market after facing many challenges,” says Prophete. “We invite each and every one to share this journey with us by trying a cup of our Haitian coffee if you never had the chance.”
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