Black-owned 2C Premium blends success with specialty coffee

When her two children were young, Teresa Hunt was a single parent constantly on the go, shuffling them between sporting events and daily activities — and her constant companion was coffee.

When her kids left home for college, she took advantage of her newfound free time. Now the founder of 2C Premium, she is building an empire around the caffeinated beverage.

Hunt said she fell in love with specialty coffee during a trip to Miami to visit her older sister. They were at a small breakfast spot where they had freshly ground beans from Nicaragua.

“It was the best. That was when I first tasted the difference between commercial coffee and specialty ground coffee,” she said.

What sets Hunt’s coffee apart is the unique blend of flavors and subtle notes.

“The coffee that I sell is specialty grade coffee — it is different from commercial coffee because it is roast to order,” she said. “So when you order off the website, the coffee has been roasted, packaged, and then shipped to you. It is always fresh.”

According to Hunt, the coffee is grown in the most nutrient-dense soil and is picked at the perfect time, so it has a very smooth flavor and is not bitter.

Hunt currently carries six flavors, most of which have beans from Central and South America. One of her best-sellers consists of single-origin organic beans from Bali, Indonesia, with notes of dark chocolate, molasses and brown sugar.

The African espresso shot is also a favorite of customers and has beans from Kenya, Tanzania and Ethiopia. It has fruity notes and a smooth and bold flavor, Hunt said.

2C stands for “two children.” Premium represents the fresh blends of coffee.

The names of her coffee have meaning, too — they are all an ode to her children’s basketball tenure. Coffee names like Crossover Espresso, French Fadeaway and Six Bean Baller are also a nod to the sport.

Both of Hunt’s children, Richard and Kennedy Jetter, were multi-sport athletes. They played basketball throughout high school and Hunt spent a lot of time at Amateur Athletic Union tournaments.

“In most of the photos that I have with them, I have a cup of coffee,” she said.

Her business is based online, and can also be found at Soil Sisters House of Plants in Beltzhoover. In the spring and summer, Hunt is a vendor at farmers markets and at various pop-up shops. She also provides a coffee service for those looking to have coffee at an event. Her goal is to have a coffee trailer.

“Growing up, my mom always told us, ‘If you work hard, you can achieve anything.’ If she says she is going to do something, she is definitely going to get it done,” said Kennedy Jetter, 26. “She’s passionate and I am so proud of her.”

Hunt said she had a humble upbringing, with an older sister and younger brother. Her mother was a single parent. Growing up, they lived in Broadhead Manor, public housing in the West End.

“It was very difficult — we struggled, we struggled a lot,” she said.

When Hunt was young, her mother went to college. Hunt remembers often sitting in class alongside her.

“She couldn’t afford a babysitter and she wanted to go to college, so she took us with her,” Hunt said.

Hunt’s work ethic and tenacity, she said, was gained from her mother.

Watching her mother persevere and give back as director of the nonprofit organization Project 90, which helped inner-city youth visit colleges, was inspiring to Hunt.

“She just pushed forward no matter what adversity she faced,” Hunt said. “She let us know regardless of the circumstances, there was nothing we couldn’t do if we put our minds to it.”

For Hunt, that advice became even more relevant during her journey to entrepreneurship. Her background and full-time career is in the real estate and mortgage industry as a litigation paralegal. She had no prior knowledge of how to start a coffee business. In 2020 and being a Black woman, it was not easy.

“When she first started, I really believed in the idea. Watching everything progress is really motivating, the way everything correlates with basketball, and to see it still growing is amazing,” said Richard Jetter, 24. “It’s a nonstop. My mom is always moving, and always going.”

Hunt didn’t have a mentor in entrepreneurship to guide her along the way, to bounce ideas off of.

“The first year was very very tough,” she said. “We are not exposed to as much as our white counterparts. We don’t necessarily have a family history of entrepreneurs, so we have to make it happen, search and find out what the next steps should be and audit ourselves to reach that level of success.”

Starting the business took a great deal of legwork and research. During the pandemic, Hunt was working from home, and she had a lot of time to research the business and ways to make it profitable. She researched the roasters and specifically focused on roasters that give back.

Once she accomplished that, she still had a frugal mindset. She budgeted and set aside the capital to fund the business. She also still works full-time.

“I want to have a repeat business, to work solely as a coffee vendor,” she said. “I love coffee and I love speaking with people and introducing them to great coffee — a lot of times, we don’t know about great affordable coffee.”