Exquisite Coffees and Comfortable Surroundings at Meraki Coffee Roasters

For several years, Clarksdale has had a full-scale coffee bar called Yazoo Pass, but at this year’s Juke Joint Festival I was surprised to see that another coffee bar had opened, a place called Meraki Roasting Company. The space on Sunflower at Second next to the Delta Cinema is a spacious, bright and comfortable oasis away from the hustle and bustle of the Juke Joint Festival, which is Clarksdale’s biggest day. As it turns out, Meraki is an arm of the Griot Youth Program, a non-profit which seeks to intervene in Clarksdale by guiding young people into a number of worthwhile careers and pastimes, including, now, coffee-roasting. The shop has bean varieties from Ethiopia and Colombia, cups of coffee available by French Press or pour-over method, and a number of sweet and savory baked goods, as well as gelato from highly-acclaimed Sweet Magnolia which is also made in Clarksdale. What with the rainy weather this year, Meraki was a great place to get dry, unwind, relax, recharge our phones and ourselves, and enjoy exquisite coffees. And in the process, it’s cool to know that we were helping Clarksdale young people as well.