It’s June, and that means it’s time to celebrate our friends in the LGBTQ+ coffee community!
BY J. MARIE CARLAN
BARISTA MAGAZINE ONLINE
Here at Barista Magazine, we celebrate Pride year-round. But in June, we’re especially happy to highlight LGBTQ+-owned cafés, queer coffees, and Pride events around the United States.
Check out these Pride-related goings-on this June, and help support your local LGBTQ+-friendly coffee companies and nonprofits.
Ritual Coffee, San Francisco
Juanita MORE! is a drag queen and philanthropist from San Francisco, and also the face of Ritual Coffee’s canned coffee, SoMa Star. Each year, Juanita chooses a different nonprofit to which a portion of SoMa Star sales are donated year-round.
“This year, we are proud to donate to @lyricsf, a nonprofit center dedicated to building community and inspiring social change,“ Ritual’s Instagram reports. “LYRIC achieves this by enhancing education, providing career training, promoting health, and developing leadership among LGBTQQ youth, their families, and allies of all races, classes, genders, and abilities.“
Uncommon Coffee Roasters, Saugatuck, Mich
“We were the first safe space in our town in 1994 founded by two gay men with a passion for coffee,“ a spokesperson for Uncommon said. “Our new owners are multigenerational coffee farmers who were partnership farmers for years and are continuing the legacy. A number of our employees identify as LGBTQ+, including our café manager. We also celebrate pride all year long. Saugatuck-Douglas (our home base) has been home to LGBTQ communities for more than 100 years. We have the reputation for being the most gay-friendly small town in Michigan.“
You can buy their Pride Blend year-round, a medium-roast blend of Brazilian and Colombian coffees with earthy, fruity, and chocolatey notes.
THE QUEER ONE Coffee at We Are Here Coffee , Kent, U.K.
England’s We Are Here Coffee is doubling its donations to nonprofit Gendered Intelligence with every bag of THE QUEER ONE (which is sold year-round).
Donations From Cherry Coffee Roasters, New Orleans
Cherry is donating 10% of their June retail bag sales to Fort Worth youth organization LGBTQ Saves.
Events at Blueprint Coffee, St. Louis
Blueprint Coffee is teaming up with Left Bank Books for a monthly summer book bazaar series to be held at High Low STL. The first event will kick off on Sunday, June 16, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. “Queer Joy June“ is themed around choosing books that inspire joy and acceptance throughout the LGBTQ+ community.
Looking ahead in the year, Left Bank Books will also hold its Staff Picks Pop-Up in July. “Left Bank is a long-standing awesome local book store here in STL. (The) pop-up is in the literary arts building and home to one of our coffee bars,“ says Blueprint Coffee Owner Mike Marquard.
Next up will be the Empowerment August Pop-Up, and a Banned Books Pop-Up in September. These events will be great opportunities to connect with the community, enjoy coffee, and learn together.
Bevy Milwaukee, Milwaukee
Café Bevy Milwaukee will host an event June 20 called “Gay & Flashy,” which they describe as a latte art throwdown with a disco theme.
PERC, Atlanta
For the entire month of June, PERC will be selling their Pride latte with ”strawberry + Trix cereal” flavors, with $2 from each drink sold being donated to either Lost-n-Found Youth in Atlanta or First City Pride Center in Savannah, Ga.
Why It Matters
There are still spaces where queer folks are not free to be themselves and face unfair discrimination. According to the ACLU, there are currently 107 anti-LGBTQ bills advancing in U.S. state governments. At a time when the civil rights of our friends in the LGBTQ+ community are still under serious threat, it is essential that we continue to support them, and we are committed to uplifting queer voices and championing their successes.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
J. Marie Carlan (she/they) is the online editor for Barista Magazine. She’s been a barista for 16 years and writing since she was old enough to hold a pencil. When she’s not behind the espresso bar or toiling over content, you can find her perusing record stores, writing poetry, and trying to keep the plants alive in her Denver apartment.
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