The Women of Coffee
Did you know, when sorting green coffee, most companies tend to choose women to do it. It is because of their capacity to quickly analyze and their attention to detail, that they outperform men to take out defects from a green coffee batch. It’s not a competition, it should never be. But today I’d like to write about some amazing women I have come across in my coffee career who have left a true mark.
Maria Elena Botto
Maria is President of the IWCA El Salvador Chapter. In 2018, when I decided I needed to get more invested in the coffee industry in my country, I decided to join the Women’s Coffee Alliance. Maria, as president was extremely welcoming, and encouraged me to participate in many events, meet a lot of people, and even become part of the board of the alliance. She is a woman of action and holds a true passion to help coffee-producing women in El Salvador thrive and to be included.
Susan Gates
I met Susan through a phone call in our preparation for the 2018 Specialty Coffee Expo. At the time she was in charge of the Roasters Village at the expo, and encouraged us to sponsor the Barista Guild bar for the event, and to apply for the Best New Product awards. When we finally met during the Expo, she was just the best human being, and was there to celebrate with us when we won the BNP awards. She has admirable creativity, gives great advices and spreads joy all around.
Kellem Emanuele and Blanca Castro
Kellem is the current Executive Director of IWCA and I have never met her face to face… but she has been a great element in strengthening the Alliance all over the world, implementing new things like the IWCA Connects webinars, where she is always present and engaging. I am honored to have been the first webinar speaker for the series.
Blanca is the IWCA Chapter Manager, she is a warm and dedicated woman and has done an amazing job keeping different chapters in the world moving forward and growing strong.
Ana Cristina Valencia
Ana is not only a woman who loves coffee. She is also responsible for helping educate the Latino community in coffee, as a writer and translator in PDG Español for a few years and a true ambassador in the coffee scene in Mexico. A young soul with great taste in music, she is an admirable woman in the coffee industry.
Ashley Rodriguez
Ashley was the first person ever to interview me for a podcast. I remember being nervous at first, but as we went through her questions for Boss Barista, I started to loosen up and to feel empowered. I was a young girl who was starting her coffee startup, and she made me feel like I could do this. Here I am, 2 years later, still doing it!
Hanna Neuschwander
Although we’ve only exchanged emails and a quick call, Hanna, Director of Communications at World Coffee Research, was a light in times of desperation. While looking for organizations to collaborate with Coffunity for our Coffee Glossary, she was the first person to give me the green light to share their content in the app. That’s how we are able to educate people on the different verified varietals and cultivars around the world.
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Karla Boza
We went to the same school, but it wasn’t until years later when we met again through coffee. She and her sister are great examples of women producers who fight and persevere to see their business, San Antonio Amatepec, grow. Karla is an SCA LEAD Scholar and thanks to her I own my Fellow kettle to brew my coffee every day ;).
Other Women I Admire But Have Not Met… Yet
The coffee world is big and full of wonders. I know there’s still a lot of empowering women to meet and to be motivated by. Here are other women whose careers I’ve followed through social media or other coffee publications.
- Andrea Allen, US Barista Champion, Mother, Onyx Coffee Lab Co-Owner.
- Erika Vonie, Independent Coffee Consultant, Vlogger and awesome Instagramist.
- Amaris Gutierrez Ray, Director of Roasting at Joe Coffee and founder of the Women in Coffee Project.
- Marcela Umaña, Economist at the International Coffee Organization.
- Christina Meinl, President of the Specialty Coffee Association.
- Vava Angwenyi, Founder of Vava Coffee and SCA Director.
Honorable Mentions
Finally, there are many women who have been present in some way or another in my career who I want to thank:
Ines Maria Ortiz, Karla Merlos, Carmen Elena de Silva, Sonia Castaneda, Maria Pacas, Lucia Abrego and Monica Valdivieso, Rina Paniagua, Holly Bastin, and Giselle Barrera.
Thank you, women, for being the strength that coffee needs, for sharing your passion with the world, and for taking care of the smallest, yet most important things. Let’s keep empowering each other!
With a lot of admiration,
Andrea.
