Writer and anthropologist ALEXA ROMANO and researcher and strategist VERA ESPÍNDOLA RAFAEL draw on two intentional dialogues, held at the Women-Powered Coffee Summit in 2024, to look at the value of dialogue to understand the needs and realities of coffee producers, particularly women.

En la Women Powered Coffee Summit 2024 (WPCS) se llevaron a cabo dos diálogos que la escritora y antropóloga ALEXA ROMANO y la investigadora y estratega VERA ESPÍNDOLA RAFAEL retoman para reflexionar sobre el valor del diálogo en la comprensión de las realidades y necesidades de los productores de café, en particular de las mujeres.

Co-founder of Cxffeeblack, BARTHOLOMEW JONES shares how we can use the method of sampling and the framework of Afrofuturism to reconnect to coffee’s Roots.

Efforts to make coffee’s supply chain more sustainable have resulted in more awareness of the labor it takes to produce coffee, but some parts of the chain remain overlooked. ERIKA KOSS sheds light on the vital human labor that makes it possible for farmers to be paid and for baristas to serve coffee.

JANICA ANDERZÉN and Professor V. ERNESTO MÉNDEZ of the Agroecology and Livelihoods Collaborative at the University of Vermont trace the efforts of a new initiative, the State of the Smallholder Coffee Farmer, and explain what’s needed to take the project beyond this first stage.

ERIKA KOSS explores the nuances of the word “empowerment,” the complications of its twenty-first century usage, and why an update to our vocabulary is required.

SHAKEEL PADAMSEY, DANA SIEDEM, and MICHAEL BUTEERA MUGISHA explore the challenges and opportunities of coffee production in Uganda.

Professor LOURIVAL CARMO MÔNACO, a geneticist who took part in the coffee journey that identified several coffee varieties we enjoy nearly 60 years later, recalls the mission. As told to JONAS LEME FERRARESSO.

Beyond the current Covid-19 crisis, our industry has known for quite a while that we are facing sustainability issues we need to consider if we want to keep selling specialty coffee in the future. MARIO FERNÁNDEZ, Technical Director of the Specialty Coffee Association, explores the opportunities of specialty C. canephora.

In America, the coffee industry is primarily business. If I have an idea that will revolutionize the industry, as an individual, I’m free to take my vision and run with it. LABAN NJUGUNA explores the role of government agencies and the importance of making information available to growers in a Viewpoint feature for SCA News.

We know that high-quality coffee comes at a cost, but what are the unseen costs of selling that coffee with a story? EVER MEISTER asks herself this question every day—and now she’s asking all of us.

If you’ve recently attended any SCA events around Europe, it’s highly likely that you interacted with Jessie May Peters.

When you hear the words “inclusive or accessible,” what images come to mind first? HOBY WEDLER and TREY MALONE explore a broader understanding and application of inclusive design practice and how it stands to benefit the specialty coffee industry.

MARÍA ESTHER LÓPEZ-THOME shares her story in Issue 6 of 25 Magazine. All photos by Andres Anaya.

I am often asked how I, as a business owner who happens to be a woman of color, maneuver an industry where there are few people who look like me. One thing that I have learned through my career in coffee is that progress towards diversity doesn’t often follow a linear path. It is filled with challenges and setbacks. Progress is not always clear and at times doesn’t appear noticeable.