The Coffeewoman Arrives in Houston

The Coffeewoman held its seventh gathering at A 2nd Cup in Houston, tackling issues of harassment, gender identity, and career advancement in the coffee industry.

BY RAECHEL HURD
SPECIAL TO BARISTA MAGAZINE

Photos by Andrea Fernandez for The Coffeewoman

The Coffeewoman, an event series that has traveled to Seattle, Portland (Ore.), Providence (R.I.), Puerto Vallarta (Mexico), Berkeley, Calif., and Amsterdam, landed in Houston on Saturday, March 31. The event, which celebrates the women, gender non-conforming, gender queer, and transgender members of the coffee industry, took place at A 2nd Cup Coffee, a café and nonprofit that provides a safe space for victims of human trafficking. Cherry Roast founders Kristyn Wade and Elle Jensen were the keynote speakers, and they greeted attendees at the door as they walked in to gather with other coffee professionals, enjoy snacks, and talk about issues affecting marginalized members of the community.

The event began with a mini-Cherry Roast competition, which is a coffee competition exclusively for women, transmasculine, non-binary, and gender queer folx created in 2015 in Denver. Contestants poured beverages using Pacific’s Barista Series Rice in a throwdown. Instead of a traditional throwdown, contestants snapped a picture, and the top six photographs moved on to a final triangulation round to be had later in the night.

After the pouring round, Coffeewoman director Sarah Allen gathered folx toward the stage. Accomplished women coffee professionals then spoke to a variety of topics. These included imposter syndrome, vulnerability, safety, work ethic, and sexism. These topics manifested themselves in the form of panels, poems, and keynote speeches.

To start the night, Elle Jensen gave the first half of the keynote speech on café ownership. She spoke about providing a safe space for employees, and realizing that being an owner is, in fact, that. “Sometimes being an owner is doing the taxes, sometimes being an owner is creating a space for employees to feel comfortable,” said Elle. Being a former barista, Elle founded Amethyst on the principle of the space being for baristas and by baristas. This speech set the tone for the rest of the evening.

Kristyn followed Elle with the second half of the keynote, this being an original poem she wrote for the event. It was moving and inspiring—please see the end of this post to read it in its entirety.

Sarah Allen returned to the stage to moderate the first panel, called, “How Did I Get Here (Exploring Careers in Coffee).” The panel included: Aida Batlle, Ashley Lai, Stacy Wright , and Camila Topke. Sarah asked: “Have you ever faced problems because of your gender identity?” Aida responded by saying, “Working alongside my team to show them that I would never ask someone to do something I wouldn’t do,” created respect. This respect helps Aida produce top-quality coffee. Ashley answered a crowd question: “How do you help other women in your workplace?” “Ask for more from your employer. Workers have rights and should feel their voice matters,” Ashley said.

Take-aways from this panel

• Hard work pays off, be willing to do the same work you ask of your employees
• Ask more of your employer. Ask for classes, trainings, trips to origin, anything
• Create your own position if need be

After a brief intermission, Kristyn read a poem that set the tone for the next panel. Scroll down to see the poem in its entirety.

Elle moderated the second panel, titled “Sexual Harassment in the Coffee Workplace.” Panelists included Oodie Taliaferro, Niken Prabanto, Kaitlin O’Brien, Becky Reeves, and Kathryn “Kat” Melheim. Becky and Kaitlin shared first-hand accounts of sexual harassment, and gave advice on how to address it. Becky said, “record everything about an inappropriate situation,” and “note the time, place, context, exact words, and how it made you feel.” Kat stated, “Texas is a single-consent state in regards to recording audio. If you consent to an audio recording, you can record a conversation.” Kat also said there are two types of workplace sexual harassment: quid pro quo and hostile work environments. Head over to (www.coffeepeople.org) to read more about these definitions.

Take-aways from this panel

• If you are in an unsafe situation: get out. No job is worth your safety or sanity. The coffee community is large and will find a safe space for you.
• Employees need to hold their employers accountable. Ask for protection, ask for rights. Employers are liable.
• Know your rights specific to your state
• Give your employees the tools necessary to address sexual harassment in the workplace. Talk about it more often than that one time during on-boarding.

After the second panel, the Cherry Roast Kristyn announced the Cherry Roast finalists. Those finalists then moved on to a triangulation round to determine first, second, and third place. The scores were so close that it came down to the time it took to complete the triangulation. Savannah Childers (production roaster, Boomtown Coffee) won the competition.

The night ended with socializing and celebrating. There are more events like this on the horizon for Texas. Groups such as Dallas Coffee Gxls and SheBrews (Austin, TX) have emerged. They plan to create space for folx and have plans to host events of their own.

Prizes sponsored by: Baratza, Espresso Parts, Slow Pour Supply, Cafe Imports, and Ally Coffee.

Come gather round friends

Wherever you might Be

To sit and hold space for this anthology.

This said story describes ever so lushly

A most compelling breathing with majestic feeling

Felt in your toes to your hair throws

So friends:

1. sit up
2. attune to your breath
3. listen to this decree
4. and leave knowing youre creating more space for the Coffee Tree of Thee.

It starts with the apron

The seed of knowledge

The hint of glassy craft

The worldly connection

The love of green beans at ever long last

The taste

The creation

The fixation

The sensation

The uncomfortable

The confusing

The realization

The 2018 unfolding

The nothings

The everything

The industry

The collective

The human

The heartbreaks

The heartbeats

The solution

The seed …

The seed is first set to spread to the feet

The moving spirit who unites our grand leap

The dancers of the espresso diets

The foundation for the workers to unleash

What is pure

What is true

What is sound …

Will resound like a volcano mound underneath

And fiercely abound at any peak

The fire is hot

The first crack is spoken and heard

Development begins.

The legs of fearlessness standing complete

Arise and align with the heat

Because like steele and stride

How we walk and beat is our alibi

Feel your legs

Love your legs

Be the legs

You must move forward to release our feet

You must want to move forward to be the relief

These anchored columns

These strife times

Hold us to the dear mother earth vibe

When all seems awkward and all so very awry

The center of our coffee core

Is how industry longevity and love will endure

Being built from our genitalia lore

All the way up to our hearts galore

The beat of the chest

The beat of the community

The beat of the unity

It is this community that brings in the nest

It is this community that finds whats truly best

From a strong stance and posture check

What you convey is what you are to direct

With an iron shield of light and grace

It will always take you to the next place

With a desire deep rooted in silent calm truth

You know exactly what and who, makes you, you.

And with that truth the speech humbly decrees

something so beyond words and humility

The understanding that what is spoken is matter

And that all those scars and bruises can heal the tattered

Allow this song to let you see

The composer wands that lay at your golden seat.

Those arms and finger and toes that give you leverage

Can guide and direct others in their own way of the beverage.

How we write

How we unite

How we try

How we do or don’t comply

With a waive of the pen

With waves of the middle appendage

With the strength of all the workers

we lift this heavy burden together

We set fire to this heavy barrel together

Set fire to the shed by speaking from your heart

Knowing that what you say is key

For others to realize how truly we are all free

No means no means no

Yes brings acceptance

Yes brings attention

Yes brings succession

In this binary conforming old world, how can we make room for the rest of whats in store?

The words set forth by this Coffeewoman cry

Can be found all over the world by the genders who can’t testify

Your message is felt in the four corners of the feet

Your journey of unique discovery is how the world can release

As the glittered plastic crowns of shame and guilt fall to the ground

Allow the volcano to absorb it into the mounds

Forgive your blessed and tired feet

Forgive your sworn enemy, for perhaps they truly don’t know how to speak.

Give them their drink created with arms and fingers of love

And allow the water of life to extract into their very own blood

The eyes of change and chains awaken

The ears of damnation and salvation vibrate with realization

The lips uttered in sourly nothings

Evolve into something quite beyond our knowing

They do not know what they do not see

So be the change that allows all the pins to be seen

Be the one that picks them up from their tripped seat.

Oh you dearest tried and true coffee person

Put on the apron transparency and truth

Roast the beans with 100% individual you

Pick the cherry with an eternal view

That everything we genuinely speak say and do

Will always find its way back around

to shine light on the compounds and flavonoids that make us quite humanly brewed.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Raechel Hurd is a coffee educator at Epoch Coffee. She splits her time between rock climbing, hanging out with dogs, and watching latte art pours on Instagram.