Happy International Women’s Day

This International Women’s Day, we’re delighted to feature four women-produced coffees.

One is a judges’ favorite from the Brazil Forca Café Competition. Two come from small groups of women but very different contexts — the 20 Mexican women from Zongolica are enormously proud of their collective effort and named their coffee “Women Power Zongolica!” (the logo above was created for the bag). While the 18 women in Ebejico, Colombia, are determined but still forging their way, seeking out trainings to continually improve their efforts and in some cases still convincing spouses that specialty coffee is worth the extra effort. The fourth coffee is a blend from across Honduras, created by our colleagues at NKG exporter Becamo to celebrate the perseverance and strength they witness from women producers daily.

International Women’s Day is a call for celebrating women’s achievements in order to raise awareness against bias and take action toward equality. The United Nations is using today to highlight the connection between gender equity and climate change. It notes that women and girls constitute the majority of the world’s poor are more vulnerable to climate-change impacts, displacement and violence — while also being powerful change makers, defenders of the environment and effective leaders for climate action.

“Gender equality is not just a women’s issue,” it says, “it’s the path to our survival.”

We’re pleased that two of these coffees come from the NKG Bloom initiative, which is working with thousands of women farmers — empowering them to run their farms at full potential, optimize their incomes, and care for their families and homes with dignity and pride. In Uganda, NKG Bloom now also offers gender-equity seminars to couples that focus on the importance of joint planning, joint decision making and of sharing the profits of coffee production.

Empowering women isn’t just good business, it’s critical to our social and environmental health. Today, it’s our real joy to — loudly, sincerely, exuberantly! — also celebrate women. Happy International Women’s Day, to all of you!

#ShesTheProducer

Brazil Forca Café Maria Aparecida Bento
Maria Aparecida Bento is a producer in Campo das Vertentes, in Minas Gerais, Brazil. While this coffee didn’t make the top 10, as judged by an international panel, it was an absolute stand-out for the InterAmerican judges, who made a point of seeking it out afterward. This is a very limited-quantity microlot.

Cupping notes: Orange, chocolate, caramel; citric acidity, velvety body. 

Colombia Antioquia Ebejico
In 2019, 18 women from Cooperative de Occidente de Antioquia gathered to identify strategies for strengthening their coffee production skills, better contributing to their farms and obtaining higher prices for their efforts. They continued to meet weekly, eventually forming the Ebejico Women’s Group and receiving training, also in cupping and roasting, from Servicio National de Aprendizaje (SENA).

Cupping notes: Chocolate, tropical fruits, caramel; malic acidity, juicy body.  

Honduras NKG Bloom Gea Organic
In Greek mythology, Gea is goddess of the Earth and the mother of all creation — and so a fitting title for a coffee honoring “the determined spirit of women,” per our colleagues at exporter Becamo. This washed coffee is the work of more than 400 women in Lempira, Ocotepeque, Intibucá, Copan, La Paz, El Paraiso and Comayagua.

Cupping notes: Floral, green grape, herbal; juicy acidity, smooth body.  

Mexico NKG Bloom Zongolica
“Women Power Zongolica!” is what the 20 women who produced this coffee promptly named it. Most of them identify as part of the Nahuas indigenous group, which shares its rich wisdom about plants, rivers, animals, mountains and the universe through the storytelling of its elders. These women are proud and passionate, and we couldn’t be more thrilled to bolster their efforts with the trainings and resources of the NKG Bloom initiative.

Cupping notes: Chocolate, florals, brown sugar; citric acidity, juicy body.  •