Meet Claudia Shivers | Coffee Mogul. Caffeinated Beverage Designer. Writer. Chief Creative Officer at Queen Coffee Bean

We had the good fortune of connecting with Claudia Shivers and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Claudia, what makes you happy? Why?
Love makes me happy. Love is absolutely, always the answer to every question. How do you have a more fulfilling career? Work in a career that you love. How do you raise healthy children? Raise them in unconditional, fierce, always growing, love. How do I build a successful business? Bless the world with the love that bursts out of your chest, and keeps you up at night whose sole purpose is to be the physical representation of your wildest dreams.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
My coffee and my written work are my art. I offer both as an act of service to my brothers and sisters as a way to show that they are not alone in the world. Queen Coffee Bean is my proudest professional accomplishment. In 2018 I was indicted on federal tax fraud charges. On August 26, 2019, I surrendered myself to Alderson Federal Prison Camp where I served 10.5 months. While I was there I wrote letters every week, and I also wrote my business plan. I knew that once I got home it might be difficult to get a job so I signed up for a class with Inmates to Entrepreneurs. They helped me understand that I could begin living my dream with as little as $500. I bought a small home roaster, set up a website, and in the middle of a pandemic Queen Coffee Bean was born. There was a time, post indictment, but pre-prison, that I considered suicide. Learning about the history of coffee and how to make the perfect latte gave me some place different to put my focus. Serving a customer that perfect latte at 4:30 am and seeing the smile on their face filled me with a feeling that had become foreign to my cells. It was gratitude. Gratitude got me through one of my worst times, and is the foundation on which QCB is built. My brand, my story, my life is about red hot gratitude, revolutionary love, and unrelenting acceptance of humanity.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
When I entertain my friends from out-of-town I make it a point to visit locally owned establishments. I, of course, take them to my roasting space so that we can enjoy a delicious cup of coffee. I take them to my favorite restaurant, Just Like Mommas. They have the most comforting, mouth watering home cooking.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I would like to shout out my sister and 5 children for encouraging the successful person you see before you today. My A1, my confidant, my rider has been holding me down since I told her I was pregnant at 16 years old. From telling my mom about my pregnancy to moving in with me to help me raise my children, to uncomfortable train rides to Savannah, GA to drop them off at college, she has been with me unconditionally. She has the bruises to prove it. Lol. My children, my children, my children. From the first embryonic flutter in 1992 to my last delivery in the winter of 2004, my life has been renewed with purpose and a reason to be better. Each one of my children exhibits a set of characteristics and talents that I am able to learn from. Unconditional love and acceptance has been the lesson I value most that I have learned from them all. Hence, the amazing coffee artist, successful entrepreneur you see before you today.

Website: claudiashivers.com and queencoffeebean.com

Instagram: queencoffeebeanofnc

Linkedin: Claudia Shivers

Twitter: @hottaxmama

Facebook: Queencoffeebeans and @mochacoffeeartist