We were lucky to catch up with Khalifah Ahmeedou Bamba-Mbaye recently and have shared our conversation below.

Khalifah Ahmeedou , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today How did you come up with the idea for your business?

First of all, I must admit that I never came up with the idea to pursue the endeavor of building a Coffee business, for that I mustn’t take any credit. It was Divine inspiration that gave me the privilege and the opportunity to be of service to first my family, my neighbors and to the community.
The circumstances started with my wife who had for months been very sick with acid reflux disorder.
Even though we sought help through Doctors and modern medicine, her condition worsened over time.
The acid began to corrode her stomach and esophagus, which prevented her from eating properly. She began to loose an excessive amount of weight and increased in anxiety and discomfort. She was suffering a great deal.
We were afraid.
The Doctor kept urging her to change her diet and gave her a list of options to implement into her lifestyle in addition to the medication she was prescribed.
As often as she tried to stick to the regiment, the end results were the same.
One of the items that the Doctor warned her about was acidic foods and drinks which included citrus fruits, certain meats and vegetables and of course soda pop and coffee.
Traditionally we were not Coffee drinkers, and would only take it on certain occasions.
Frustrated and fearful, we began to seek out alternative remedies to her condition and contacted our Spiritual Master for advice.
He invited us to attend a gathering that he was hosting in our home town and assured us that everything would be alright.
We attended the gathering where many other Disciples were present and facilitating the hospitality.
They were serving Cafe Touba Coffee, this was the first time that we had ever encountered it.
Initially we were fearful, taking heed to what the physician had advised concerning Coffee, however we didn’t want to be rude, so we agreed that for the sake of being polite, we would share a small cup.
Upon her sipping a small amount of the Cafe Touba, she immediately told me that she felt relief in both her stomach and her throat. We finished the cup, and shared another. By the end of the evening she informed me that she had felt better than she had in over a year.
Our Spiritual Master sent us home with a pound of the Cafe Touba, and over the next month we continued to consume the Coffee.
On our next follow up visit to the physician, she took xrays to examine her internal progress with the corrosion. The physician was very much amazed, and immediately asked what changed in her diet to bring about such a healthy recovery? We told the physician that the only thing that we had added to my wife’s diet was the Cafe Touba Coffee.
We reported this outcome to our Spiritual Master and he suggested that we share the Cafe Touba with others who may have been suffering from the same disease.

This is how we new that the endeavor was worthwhile. It would be a unique opportunity to help solve the problems of other people who loved Coffee, but may have had to give it up due to the acidity issues it was causing in their bodies.

It was a very exciting time and a story that we’ve shared with thousands of people who have received benefits from this new experience with Coffee.

Khalifah Ahmeedou , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My name is Khalifah Ahmeedou Bamba-Mbaye. I was born 1970 and raised in Chicago Illinois.

I am the product of a Matriarchal upbringing, so I have a deep sense of ethics and moral values with a profound affection and respect towards the Divine feminine and their importance in Human development.

I am an Alumnus of Columbia College Chicago’s class of 1996.
In addition to the encouraging support of loving parents, this training and exposure is what inspired and led me towards the pursuit of ownership and establishing an independent business.

Storytelling is my birthrite, a talent that I inherited from my Father.

I write both for the stage and the screen, my passion being documentaries and love stories.

Cafe Touba being both ancient and mystical is legendary for it’s countless stories, all related to the holistic rejuvenation of the Human condition.

Through our practical lived experiences, here at Cafe Touba Medicinal Beverage Co., we are certain beyond any doubt that the cornerstone of the foundation of welfare (health & happiness) begins with the diet.

We recognize and understand the performance arts and storytelling in particular, to be an embodiment of our Ancestral tradition, a means to transmit the wealth of our heritage & culture, and the means for healing both the hearts & minds of our children and our community.

However, I never in my wildest imagination envisioned that the vehicle would be a platform born out of Coffee.

It’s true, the most inspiring and meaningful conversations that I have ever experienced have always taken place over a cup of coffee or tea, ceremonially and informally.

This accompanied by music, dance, singing, drawing, painting, photography and filmmaking creates an amazing environment that offers the answers, the remedies, the cures for disease.

With kindness, courtesy, sincerity and empathy, our customers can safely without criticism or judgment, express their thoughts, feelings and opinions.

This I found to be the very purpose of my existence, to facilitate spaces that promote the welfare (holistic health and happiness) of peace to reverse the negative effects of the spiritual, mental, emotional, physical and social ailments of the Human experience.

I’ve always been an indiscriminate problem solver and a comforter towards anyone who I encounter.
It is my calling.

Besides my ego (which I constantly seek to annihilate), I don’t believe that anything sets me apart from other people and organizations.

I believe that all Human beings have been given a unique talent and ability, that we exist for the Divine purpose of helping one another.

It’s up to each individual to find what that is.

Cafe Touba Medicinal Beverage Co. is most proud of the privilege and opportunity to be of service, to be of assistance, to be an inspiration to other aspiring visionaries, and
to be a beacon of hope for our fellow man.

Please feel free to research The Legends of Cafe Touba, or to contact us directly.

We would be honored to answer any additional questions you may have, and to fill any order that you may place with us.

Please follow us on our social media platforms:

https://m.facebook.com/toubacafe

cafe_touba_africancoffeeshoppe

http://Www.Cafetouba.coffee

Can you talk to us about how you funded your business?

Café Touba came from very humble beginnings. Our first lesson was to use whatever means that we had at our disposal, which wasn’t much.

When we began our research on other Café Touba shops we saw right away that these shops were nothing more than huts made from straw and mud.

We saw makeshift mobile Coffee stands that were made from spare parts out of a junkyard.

However, what these entrepreneurs had managed to accomplish was truly amazing. With a little paint, and artistic ability, they turned these Coffee carts into beautiful masterpieces. And at the end of this effort, they had ownership of an honest and respectable business that sufficed not only their needs, but also their wants.

This is the model that we copied.
Of course, being in America gave us many advantages that our African brothers didn’t have access to, which gave us even more humility and gratitude to use the small resources that we had. Without a doubt what we started with was much more than what our African counterparts had.

Our initial investment was $500 which was donated by a family member (who thought we were insane), and our first Coffee stand was in the backyard of our house.

We started promoting & hosting events in our backyard to create traffic.

The events were all performance art genres, and our constituents began to receive education about Café Touba.

Through this process they began to purchase cups of coffee, which grew into bags of coffee.

Over the course of three months our popularity increased dramatically, and our neighbors began to complain about the traffic.

This forced us to seek new alternatives for our customers to bring business.
A friend suggested that we explore the local Farrmers Market circuit, and that resulted in the business quadrupling it’s income within another quarter.

The business almost funded itself, the coffee sold itself, the story concerning my wife’s health issues sold itself. We found many people who are now customers who shared the health concerns of our family.

We’d love to hear about how you keep in touch with clients.

We keep in touch with our clients via social media, email, special events, festivals and the Farrmers Market circuit.

Brand loyalty has been fostered by delivering on our promises, meaning that everything that we’ve ever told our customers about in regards to our brand, proved through their own personal experiences to be true.

From this, we consistently receive referrals from our loyal customers and word of mouth.

Another aspect of our brand loyalty is rooted in the history of Café Touba, the brand is ancient, mystic and world renowned. It’s well known throughout Africa, France, Germany, Venezuela, the Caribbean, Canada and the east coast of the United States.

Coffee lover’s were loyal to Café Touba long before we ever knew of it’s existence.

Contact Info:

• Website: Www.cafetouba.coffee
• Instagram: cafe_touba_africancoffeeshoppe
• Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/toubacafe

Image Credits
Sun’nah Abu Bakr Mbacke Faal