From a bike to a coffee ecosystem.
NR Company didn't start with an office or investors — it started with a secondhand bicycle, a bucket of cold brew, and a founder willing to show up.
A bike, a bucket, a festival
Nuno rolled into Festival Kafe Timor in Dili on a three-wheeled bicycle with cold brew coffee, under the name Black Pearl. It wasn't a café — it was mobile, handmade, and full of hope.
The rebrand to Black Box
When people struggled to say “Pearl,” the brand became Black Box — simpler, memorable, and true to the compact, mobile setup it was built on.
A national win
Black Box won Timor-Leste's national business plan competition, Kompetisaun Planu Negosiu Inovativu, earning US$5,000 and opening the first physical shop in Farol, Dili.
Learning to roast
A five-month training in New Zealand, hosted by the New Zealand Embassy, planted the seed for owning a roastery of our own.
Investing through the hardest season
After COVID-19 nearly stalled the business, a government soft loan through BNCTL funded our first roasting equipment — turning years of training into a real roastery.
NR Coffee House is born
Sourcing, roasting, and serving came together under one roof, with three brands under NR Company: Avô Si'ak Coffee & Roastery, Kafe Beiala, and Black Box.
“You don't need to be perfect to begin. You just need to begin.”
Nuno Ridenio Barros Baptista Guterres, Founder