Cocoa Cinnamon

Cocoa Cinnamon Coffee, Espresso, Drinking Chocolate, Tea, local Pastries, Desserts. We roast and ship Little Waves Coffee everywhere. Cocoa Cinnamon came in a dream.

Latina Led, open-hearted, and determined to connect commerce to human flourishing. Cocoa Cinnamon is locally owned and operated by Leon and Areli Barrera de Grodski. We employ a diverse team who are dedicated to excellence in our craft and strive for down to Earth service. Cocoa Cinnamon strives to be a vessel for discourse and sustainability. We believe it is more subversive to be a space in whic

h diversity of idea, belief and background are sought and cultivated than to profess a specific politics. Coffee, chocolate and tea are age old lubricants for ideas. The name comes from a couple key spices that have played major roles in the rise and fall of civilizations, ingredients we love and whose histories are easy to forget. The quest for spices initiated a romantic yet harried story, for which the world has been transformed. Languages, religions and cultures have been spread and obliterated. Our menu touches upon this. The drink names and recipes as the names they carry and the spices that are used in their making and come out of a simple curiosity. Where do cloves originally come from? How did cacao play a role in history? Cocoa Cinnamon is our way of experiencing these amazing tastes and the stories that go with them. It is also a way of making small decisions that undo longstanding patterns. And committing to working towards being part of a thriving community, city and world. We believe that through commerce, we can be part of creating sustainable and pleasurable habits. We mean this in a direct way. Wherever possible we source all of the ingredients that go into what we make as locally and sustainably as we can. This is an ongoing process and we aim to get better as we grow. We have a living wage guarantee for all crew members who have completed basic FOH training and aim to be a contributing and positive catalyst in our local community. Non-tipped team members earn a minimum of $13.35 per hour. Certified by the Durham Living Wage Program. Cocoa Cinnamon uses part of its profits to support local organizations and efforts that aline with its mission. Please see our blog for last year’s contribution stats and our donation page to make a request. As a space we aim to be open, creating a kind a public house, where difference is a pleasure and no belief is assumed. People from all walks of life, backgrounds, economic statuses, languages, beliefs and ideas are welcome and hoped for*…we have a community coffee program for anyone who might not be able to afford a coffee, tea or chocolate drink. Simply ask for a “community coffee” at the counter and we’ll ask you what you would like. Thank you for taking part and enjoy. Leon and Areli
Cocoa Cinnamon

08/25/2026

Today, I visited two of our shops and savored 5 perfectly executed drinks by several team members.

L made me a perfectly balanced ice SCM oat milk short latte with cardamom. Z poured a perfectly extracted Edwin Noreña Black Honey Sidra, and J made me a Sudan Rume Americano....super rare, smooth, balanced and delicious. Besides the pleasure of the delicious drinks, each of the mini conversations that I got to have with our team brightened my day considerably!

I was talking with a friend yesterday. We might be living in the moment in history where connection, acknowlegement, thinking, and open conversation is more important than ever before. These have always been at the root of what coffee houses are for for us...and to get to experience that impromptu across the shops today resonates deeply. - L

08/25/2026

Boardinghouse Arts, Shirlette Ammons and Laura Ritchie's venture, picks up where Ritchie's former gallery the Carrack Modern Art left off.

08/21/2026
Ancestral Healing - Our wonder menu collaboration with Kendra Espiritu.— pomegranate, clove and vanilla espresso tonic t...
08/07/2026

Ancestral Healing - Our wonder menu collaboration with Kendra Espiritu.

— pomegranate, clove and vanilla espresso tonic topped with a sweet cold foam

Re opening their shop ɢʀᴏᴜɴᴅᴇᴅ in Las Cruces, NM.
“...I don’t remember what I was doing before this. I don’t remember what life was like before this. It’s my whole family…You walk in here and you feel the heart…[including a sense of] fighting back]…This life is so precious and magical, so why not do everything with our whole heart? Isn’t that the whole point? No holding back, no fear of the outward perception.” – Kendra Espiritu

The wonder menu will switch mid September! Be sure to try all of them and read their stories.

Hey Y'all! Our community coffee fund is running low! Please contribute if you are able. What is Community Coffee? And ho...
07/23/2026

Hey Y'all! Our community coffee fund is running low! Please contribute if you are able.

What is Community Coffee? And how can I contribute or use it?

Community Coffee is a sliding scale program that we offer to ensure our drinks menu remains accessible to our community while being a program that we can sustain.

Think of it like a semi subsidized public gift card in which the main part of the total cost of the drink is offset by contributions to the fund from the public and Cocoa Cinnamon.

How do you use the community coffee fund?
Just ask for any drink up to $7 in value, contribute a dollar or more towards the purchase and let us know you would like it as a community coffee.

To be sure all folks can participate, we limit the use of the fund to one drink and one churro per week (at CC Lakewood only) per person in order to keep it viable.

If you are able and would like to support the program, please let our team member at the register and how much you would like to contribute to support the community coffee fund!

Thank you!
Love, CC

Insights from the NC State Extension Master Gardener volunteers, Durham County
07/16/2026

Insights from the NC State Extension Master Gardener volunteers, Durham County

What is hydrophobic soil, why does it matter and what do you do about it? These are the questions discussed between 2 EMGs and the Durham County Extension Agent when a previously healthy Illicium p…

We so appreciate Discover Durham for their never ending support for Durham small and Indie businesses! This ABC7 Good Mo...
07/11/2026

We so appreciate Discover Durham for their never ending support for Durham small and Indie businesses! This ABC7 Good Morning Washington feature makes us want to go out to eat and explore!!

Shout to brightblackcandle, Durham Distillery featuring Conniption Gins, Durham Distillery featuring Conniption Gins, Seraphine Durham, Durham Bulls Baseball Club, Washington Duke Inn & Golf Club

Durham combines rich history, vibrant culture, and an award-winning culinary scene to create one of North Carolina’s most exciting destinations.

Thanks to all who voted CC INDY Week Best of Durham for the 13th year in a row. We're more grateful than is easy to say ...
07/04/2026

Thanks to all who voted CC INDY Week Best of Durham for the 13th year in a row. We're more grateful than is easy to say for your support!

From the beginning, CC was founded on curiosity, wonder, and pluralism and came to be with a lot of boosting from our community.

Those principles still pervade and guide us today. In today’s world where trends, divisiveness, one dimensional thinking, outright greed and ego driven politics seem to rule the day we see something else at play in our shops. Every day with our local community and across the world via our partners and collaborators, we see and work to support a different way; one of openness, invite, striving toward common good, and pleasure in our great diversity.

Thank you for taking part!

Tap the link in first comment to see all the local independent Best of Indy winners and finalists.

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Durham, NC

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