We recently connected with Maria Browne and have shared our conversation below.

Maria, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. To kick things off, we’d love to hear about things you or your brand do that diverge from the industry standard.

At Soul Cafe Coffee Roasters, we’ve intentionally diverged from the industry standard with our experiential approach to coffee. While most roasters focus solely on beans and brewing, we view coffee as a central element in creating complete sensory experiences.

What truly sets us apart is our philosophy that coffee should engage all five senses plus what we call the “sixth sense” – the aspirations of those enjoying it. We’re not just selling coffee; we’re crafting moments that express your essence.

For example, when developing our signature roasts, we consider not just flavor profiles but how they complement specific environments and moments. We think about how the aroma fills a space, how the warmth of the cup feels in hand, and even how the sound of brewing contributes to the overall experience.

This experiential philosophy is deeply connected to my vision across my ventures. While The MIB Project focuses on interior design and Browne Properties handles real estate aspects, Soul Cafe brings that same commitment to expression, experience, empathy, and emotion to the world of coffee.

This difference matters because in today’s marketplace, people aren’t just buying products—they’re investing in experiences that authentically reflect who they are. Our approach transforms ordinary coffee service into a distinctive touchpoint that elevates spaces and creates memorable moments. By focusing on the experiential aspects of coffee, we help create environments where people feel more connected to themselves and others—one cup at a time.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My journey into the boutique coffee industry began quite personally – I was actually a tea drinker until my husband introduced me to the art of specialty coffee. His passion opened my eyes to coffee’s potential as a multi-sensory experience, and I saw an opportunity to merge his coffee expertise with my background in interior design.
Soul Cafe represents this perfect union of our passions. While my husband brings deep coffee knowledge, I lead the business, applying my background in biomechanics, ergonomics, and FinTech to create coffee programs that seamlessly integrate with hospitality spaces.
What sets us apart is our experiential approach. Unlike most roasters who focus solely on beans and brewing, we view coffee as a central element in creating complete sensory environments. Each roast is developed not just for flavor, but for how it contributes to a holistic experience – how the aroma fills a space, how it pairs with specific environments, and how it creates moments that express the essence of both the venue and the people within it.
Our services extend beyond exceptional beans. We design complete coffee programs for boutique hotels, cafes, restaurants, and luxury rentals – including curated beans, equipment recommendations, barista training, and integration with the overall aesthetic and operational flow of spaces.
Soul Cafe is a vital component of my integrated approach to boutique hospitality, working alongside The MIB Project (interior design) and Browne Properties to create spaces that deliver exceptional experiences while generating premium passive income. This holistic ecosystem emerged from my own challenges as a mother of four trying to create memorable family vacations while developing property investments.
I’m most proud of how we’ve transformed coffee from a simple amenity into a defining experience that elevates hospitality spaces. At the heart of all my ventures are “The 4 Es” – Expression, Experience, Empathy, and Emotion – principles that guide everything from our roasting process to implementation.
Soul Cafe isn’t just about exceptional coffee; it’s about using coffee as a medium to create meaningful connections in spaces where work, leisure, and luxury seamlessly merge into a lifestyle of freedom.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

The pivot that transformed Soul Cafe Coffee Roasters came early in our journey and fundamentally changed our approach to entering the coffee industry. Initially, my husband and I were set on opening a physical café space. We had developed business plans, scouted locations, and envisioned creating a community gathering spot centered around coffee culture.
However, as we deepened our research and passion for specialty coffee, we realized that to truly deliver the exceptional experience we envisioned, we needed complete control over the most fundamental element: the beans themselves. We recognized that establishing a unique brand identity and ensuring consistent quality would be challenging if we relied on external roasters.
This realization prompted us to pause our café plans and pivot to becoming a coffee roasting company first. Rather than rushing to open a retail location, we decided to build our foundation by mastering the art and science of roasting. This shift allowed us to develop our distinct roast profiles, perfect our craft, and establish a strong brand identity before introducing our coffee to the public.
The pivot required learning an entirely new set of skills—from sourcing green beans to understanding the complex chemistry of the roasting process. For my husband, it meant diving deeper into his passion for coffee. For me, it meant applying my design sensibilities and business acumen to create a cohesive brand experience that would eventually integrate with my other hospitality ventures.
This strategic pivot has proven invaluable. By establishing ourselves as roasters first, we’ve been able to develop signature coffee programs that now complement the experiential interior spaces I create through The MIB Project. The quality and distinctiveness of our coffee have become central to the holistic hospitality experiences we offer, creating a much stronger foundation than if we had rushed into café operations without first perfecting our product.
Sometimes the most important pivots aren’t about changing direction entirely, but rather about getting the sequence right. By focusing on roasting before retail, we ensured that when we do eventually open café spaces, they’ll be built upon an established reputation for quality and a clear brand identity that expresses our authentic essence.

If you have multiple revenue streams in your business, would you mind opening up about what those streams are and how they fit together?

Soul Cafe Coffee Roasters is part of our broader strategy to create multiple integrated revenue streams within the boutique hospitality ecosystem. While we don’t have unexpected sidelines like ATMs, our business model is deliberately designed to generate diversified income through complementary services.
Our primary focus is boutique hospitality development, where we transform properties into premium experiences for investors. Within this framework, Soul Cafe serves as a specialized component that enhances the overall value proposition.
The coffee business integrates perfectly with our holistic approach to hospitality, which includes:

-The MIB Project’s interior design services for creating immersive, essence-rich spaces
-Browne Properties’ tech-forward operations and management solutions
-Soul Cafe’s experiential coffee programs as signature amenities

These services create a comprehensive ecosystem that allows property investors to develop premium hospitality venues that practically run themselves. The synergy between these elements creates multiple revenue opportunities through design services, operations consulting, coffee program development, and potentially membership-based market intelligence.
What makes this approach powerful is how each element strengthens the others. Our coffee programs elevate the design spaces created by The MIB Project, while the operational systems from Browne Properties ensure consistent execution. Together, they create a compelling investment opportunity for clients seeking to generate passive income through elevated hospitality experiences.
Rather than disconnected revenue streams, we’ve built an integrated model where each component serves the larger mission of transforming boutique hospitality into both profitable investments and lifestyle-enhancing ventures for our clients.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://soulcafecoffee.com
• Instagram: Soulcafecoffee
• Facebook: Soul Cafe Coffee Roasters
• Linkedin: Soul Cafe Coffee Roasters
• Youtube: @SoulCafeCoffeeRoasters

Image Credits

Carlos Andres Varela