In 2006, Nasr (Qiyam’s founder) made his first trip out of the United States to Ethiopia, the birthplace of Arabica coffee. He wasn’t even a coffee drinker then. In 2010, he began graduate school research focusing on agricultural policy in Ethiopia and Kenya. Eventually, the applications to international NGOs came to an abrupt end and the rabbit-hole of coffee began, as he learned there’s such a thing as coffee quality. “Wait, there’s levels to this?! I thought coffee was just coffee.” 

Long story short, the rabbit-hole got deeper, and deeper, and quickly. By 2014, he co-owned a restaurant in New Orleans and began working for a coffee roaster part-time – restocking shelves at grocery stores, delivering roasted coffee to his employer’s wholesale accounts, filling and folding retail bags, and making cold brew. With what spare money he could gather, he began attending official Specialty Coffee Association classes and eventually developed the skills to become a licensed Q grade (a sommelier of coffee if you will).  After six years of being a restaurateur, he decided it was time to cannonball into coffee. 

He packed his bags and moved to Seattle (the Hollywood of coffee, right?!) where he worked as a barista while living in his uncle’s basement. Then came the year where he worked as a junior trader on the East Coast. And then back to the West Coast where he worked for six years as a Quality Control Manager for an Oakland-based roaster. “This is when I developed a near fear around roasting. My palate had become very particular and I was afraid that I could not roast coffee well enough to satisfy my own preferences. And I proved that to be true, lol! Roasting for experienced palates takes a lot of work.” Thankfully his colleagues at the time were very supportive and encouraging.

By the time he went on his first origin trip to Colombia in 2024, he was convinced – it’s time. Meeting farmers equally passionate about coffee and tasting their amazing harvests convinced him that it’s time to bring true the dream of improving farmer livelihoods into fruition. In 2025, Qiyam Coffee was founded with the mission of ethically sourcing high-end coffees and roasting to highlight their innate characteristics.