Star Village Coffee honors women, family, and heritage.
Named after a family ceremonial camp in Hungry Valley, Star Village Coffee was formed from a passion for coffee, but its owners also strive to change the face of indigenous entrepreneurship in Reno-Sparks.
A Family Affair
Star Village Coffee was established in Verdi in 2017 by Joel Zuniga and is run by him, his four brothers (including twin brother Josh), and his fiancée, Christy Liem. Zuniga is a member of the Paiute tribe and grew up on the Reno-Sparks Indian Colony. His interest in coffee was inspired by a trip to Costa Rica during harvest season. When Zuniga came home, he began to collect books on the roasting process and purchased a small home roaster with which to practice.
“From there, it just grew into the business we have now,” Zuniga says. “Along the way, it encompassed most of my family as well, and it’s become just a wonderful family affair.”
Along with employing relatives, Zuniga hopes that Star Village serves as a blueprint for what can be accomplished in a First Nations community where small business development and investment are lacking. Zuniga calls this “rezonomics,” a term he coined to describe the unique ways that reservation entrepreneurs create small businesses either on or off the “rez.” He says the idea has awakened a spirit in other indigenous businesses.
“We’ve received a warm welcome not only from our own tribe, but from other tribal enterprises on the West Coast and throughout the country,” Zuniga says.
Woman Power
Star Village offers several varieties of whole beans in packages that feature the logo of a strong native woman. This logo represents so much more than a nice illustration. The owner’s goal is to sell coffee produced by companies that are owned by women or that hire female workers.
One example is the Burundi Kalico coffee from the Kahawa Link Co. of the Republic of Burundi in East Africa. This fair trade company works with about 3,000 small-scale farmers to produce the bourbon varietal of bean that has flavors of guava, brown sugar, and berry.
“Our tribe is not matriarchal, although women play a central and sacred role in our tribal culture,” Zuniga says. “Our Star Village logo represents a matriarchal figure, keeping watch over the lifeline of the Great Basin indigenous people.”
More Than Beans
Zuniga tries to purchase the highest grade and freshest specialty beans available. Once they are delivered to the company’s Verdi location, the beans are roasted in a Diedrich roaster. Along with its four African and South American product types, Star Village also serves specialty coffee drinks at the roastery and during mobile pop-up events.
“We are trying to choose ingredients that are endemic to our area and that are essential to our tribe,” Zuniga says.
The drinks include a chokecherry latte and a pine nut latte. Zuniga and his team soak the pine nuts in water and make a milk that is then combined with a cold brew. The pine nuts are ground between traditional metate, or grinding stones.
“That drink is a big crowd-pleaser as well,” Zuniga says.
Christina Nellemann woke up this morning to the smell of Star Village Coffee and looks forward to trying a pine nut latte.
Star Village Coffee can be purchased directly from its roastery, the company’s website, Reno-Sparks Indian Colony smoke shops, Great Basin Community Food Co-op, and Native American woman-owned Bison Coffeehouse in Portland, Ore.
Star Village Coffee
420 Hwy. 40 W., Verdi
775-287-9883 • Starvillagecoffee.com
