00:00We're here live at Greenfield Village for a huge weekend block party because the Jackson Home is here.
00:05And we are speaking to CEO and head roaster of Sepia. Am I saying that right?
00:09Sepia.
00:09Sepia. See, I had to correct myself.
00:11Sepia Coffee, his name is Martell Mason. How are you doing, Martell?
00:14I am well, thank you. Thank you for having me.
00:16I'm already looking at the blend that you have created. The box is gorgeous, but tell me how you got
00:22to the point of connecting with the Jackson Home.
00:24Yeah, sure. So Sepia Coffee, we're based in Detroit working on something in Highland Park, but, you know, we pay
00:32homage to Black Bottom Paradise Valley.
00:34And so really being able to tell Detroit's rich history through coffee.
00:38So when we have the opportunity to come here and be a part of this weekend, we want to pay
00:43homage to the Jacksons, to MLK, to Henry Ford, Greenfield Village, and really highlight that history.
00:52So we have the Jackson House blend, which is a really, really great coffee that is full-bodied, rich.
00:59It's something that I feel that the Jacksons would have served in their kitchen.
01:03How do you come up with, like, the flavor profile? Are you thinking of the Jackson Home?
01:08That's what I was just going to ask, too.
01:09I'm wondering, like, how you come up with a flavor that embodies obviously good coffee, but also tells the story
01:16that you're trying to tell.
01:17Indeed, indeed. I've worked in coffee for over 15 years, and so coffee is very holistic to me.
01:23So when we think about origin, when we think about those flavors, you have to curate and tell a story.
01:29So this coffee actually is coming from Brazil.
01:32We source our coffees from Black Brazilian farmers, the pochotto family.
01:37And so for us, you know, it's important.
01:40The pochottos, their parents and grandparents were sharecroppers, right?
01:44So there's a direct connection to our history.
01:48A lot of us migrated from Alabama, from Mississippi, right?
01:52My grandparents and great-grandparents were sharecroppers.
01:54So it's great to be able to kind of, again, bring that history and those stories together.
01:59So I knew the Brazil coffee that we had would be the perfect coffee to have for the Jackson House
02:03blend.
02:04Anytime you talk to an artisan as yourself, I mean, making coffee is an art.
02:08It's not a business. It's an art.
02:10Where did you start?
02:12I mean, how did this all – you knew you wanted to be a part of it, and then you
02:16thought, I'm going to make a Jackson House blend.
02:18How? Where does that come from?
02:20Yeah, well, again, you know, it's just being in the office, right?
02:23I roast coffee every single day.
02:25So, you know, we're directly connected to the source.
02:27You know, our roastery is currently on East Grand Boulevard in Milwaukee Junction.
02:32And, again, we're working on development in Highland Park.
02:36And so, yeah, it was very easy for us to be able to kind of pull this together.
02:39But you have to do the research.
02:40You have to think about, again, what would people really appreciate.
02:44And so this is a very full-bodied coffee, great for espresso, for a mocha pot, for a percolator, right?
02:50We know that the Jacksons have a percolator in that home.
02:52And so we were really thinking about how can we, again, connect and tell this beautiful story.
02:58And you've hinted at the development in Highland.
03:00Can we get into that a little bit?
03:01Yeah.
03:02So we – I'm a Highland Parker born and raised.
03:05And so coming back to Detroit in 2021, I just saw a great opportunity to be of service to our
03:10community.
03:12Coffee, food, these are things that bring people together.
03:15And so Highland Park, we know, has had its challenges.
03:18But we see that Detroit is part of this resurgence and renaissance.
03:24And so what we want to do is to build our roastery and our cafe in Highland Park to ignite
03:29this development that's starting to take place around.
03:33Another connection and connecting it to Greenville Village and the Henry Ford.
03:38One of the first plant, Ford plants, was in Highland Park on Woodward.
03:44We're just about four blocks away from that plant.
03:47And so we will be able to tie in that history right here where we are today with the coffee
03:53that we're going to be giving to the world.
03:55I just love how intentional you are.
03:57I was just going to say everything has a meaning, everything has a purpose, and everything moves in the direction
04:01that obviously you want it to move in, which is super important.
04:05Where can people find you?
04:06Obviously, they can come out to Greenville Village today and try any of the coffees that you have, including the
04:11Jackson House Blend.
04:12Yeah.
04:13But can they find us online?
04:15Sure.
04:15Yeah, you can find us at cpacoffee.com.
04:17We're also on Instagram, SCP Detroit.
04:20But we do have a cafe on East Grand Boulevard, Milwaukee Junction.
04:24And we are, in two weeks, opening up a coffee kiosk at Detroit Shipping Company in Cass Corridor.
04:29Ooh, there we go.
04:29So you'll be able to find us at both of those locations.
04:32And then our Highland Park roastery and espresso bar should be open by quarter four.
04:37Love it.
04:37Come on now.
04:38Love it.
04:38Love it.
04:38Yeah, love it.
04:39I love this.
04:39I'll definitely be stopping by because I need to try what you have created.
04:44And I'm going to leave this box here for you.
04:46I'll let the two of you fight over who's going to take it home.
04:48Thanks.
04:48Appreciate it.
04:48Appreciate it.
04:49I already know where that box is going.
04:51I'll give you half.
04:52I'll split it.
04:53That's a fair deal.
04:54I'll go with that.
04:54But no, I lasted a little bit.
04:56I just want to thank Henry Ford, thank Greenfield Village for giving all of us the opportunity
05:01to come together and just be.
05:04I think it's important for us in this environment, in these times, to pull our resources together.
05:11So if you're out there listening, there are great businesses here today.
05:14Please come on now.
05:15Support us.
05:16Not just today, but going forward.
05:19Absolutely.
05:19We really need all of you.
05:20This is truly a reminder of what community truly is.
05:23Yeah, and it's got that feel.
05:24And we couldn't have said it any better than Martel did.
05:26We're just going to say 105 on the bounce.
05:28Now, of course.
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