Beans Without Boundaries

Despite the controversies, Arielle credits Starbucks for supporting her gender transition benefits-wise. A bittersweet chapter in her life that now fuels her passionate advocacy in transgender and queer communities. Arielle's journey from brewing lattes to consulting and advocacy isn't just a career shift; it's about creating inclusive spaces in coffee leadership.

TL;DL

Support for Trans Employees - Despite the criticisms of Starbucks, Arielle acknowledges the company's role in providing the employee benefits that supported her gender transition, highlighting a complex relationship with the coffee giant.

Inclusion in the Coffee Industry - The...

Hannah Said, a dedicated professional in the realm of diversity and inclusion, has built her career by significantly contributing to organizations such as the State Department of Disability in California, Walt Disney Company, and Lyft corporate.

Her journey took an unexpected turn when she contracted COVID-19 two years ago, which left her in isolation but with a burgeoning idea. Amidst the monotony and boredom of her recovery, Hannah dreamed of reuniting with her loved ones.

This aspiration, combined with her recent acquisition of a high-end espresso machine, inspired her to transform her yard into a...

I have a very special guest who's pushing the boundaries of the coffee industry – Maya Crowley, the passionate and driven owner of Uncommon Coffee in Vermont.

Maya brings a new narrative to the scene with her fresh take on the oft-overlooked Robusta bean and her dedication to carving a space for minority voices in the globally-loved beverage. But it's not just coffee that stirs her soul – Maya is also an aspiring writer, an entrepreneur with a compelling family heritage, and even dreams of outwitting, outplaying, and outlasting on Survivor come 2025.

TL;DL

Perseverance in E...

In this episode, Marissa shares her transition from a barista (who didn't even like coffee!) to becoming the head roaster at Novel Coffee Roasters.

Marissa also delves into the challenges and triumphs of being a woman in a male-dominated field, her push for inclusivity, and her aspirations to connect directly with coffee producers.

Plus, she shares a hot take on her love for gas station coffee and why tasting notes might be overrated.

Follow Marisa on IG!

Buy Me A Coffee

Follow the podcast on Instagram!

2024 Best...

This week's episode features an intimate and thought-provoking conversation with the remarkable Marissa from Tanbrown Coffee in Atlanta.

🌟 Episode Highlights:

- Get to know Marissa, a trailblazer in the coffee industry, and the force behind Tanbrown Coffee, renowned for sourcing and roasting exceptional Asian coffees. Discover the inspirations and challenges that have shaped their journey.

- They dive into the Brewers Cup 2023 experience—preparation, competitions, and the strive for diversity and representation in the coffee competition space.

- Elena and Marissa candidly discuss the nuances of being people of color in a pre...

2024 Best Podcast Nominations

*Best DIY Podcast Finalist - The Ambies, Awards For Excellence in Audio - The Podcast Academy

*Best Coffee Podcast Finalist - The Sprudgie Awards, Honoring The Very Best in Coffee - Sprudge, The Worldwide Leader In Coffee News

Buy Me A Coffee

My intro music is from #Uppbeat: License code: LSMVDPBXNKA1UQST

My outro music is from #Uppbeat: License code: U295XJURUTU70RHZ

My podcast website

Follow the podcast on Instagram!

Copyright 2024 Elena Mahmood

Mentioned in this episode:

In this episode, specialty coffee roaster Areli Barrera Grodski shares the origin story of how she and her husband Leon bootstrapped Little Waves Coffee Roasters in Durham, NC.

She takes us along on recent trips to origin in Brazil and Colombia, detailing learnings about women producers, processing methods, and building relationships. Areli discusses sourcing challenges from the pandemic and her future goals for supporting producers and providing career wages for her team.

Hear more during the post-show banter!

2024 Best Podcast Nominations

*Best DIY Podcast Finalist - The Ambies, Awards For Excellence...

Bonus post-show conversation

Paisa Coffee

2024 Best Podcast Nominations

*Best DIY Podcast Finalist - The Ambies, Awards For Excellence in Audio - The Podcast Academy

*Best Coffee Podcast Finalist - The Sprudgie Awards, Honoring The Very Best in Coffee - Sprudge, The Worldwide Leader In Coffee News

Buy Me A Coffee

Follow the podcast on Instagram!

My podcast website

My intro music is from #Uppbeat: License code: LSMVDPBXNKA1UQST

My outro music is from #Uppbeat: License code: U295XJURUTU70RHZ

C...

How did an archaeology degree lead to overseeing quality at a decaf facility? Stacey shares her love of coffee competitions, robustas, and the exemplary cafes she experienced in Australia. She explains Swiss Water's process for ensuring decafs match the original.

Stacey cups each coffee decaffeinated at Swiss Water to ensure all our coffees taste as wonderful as we expect. Stacey stays involved in the coffee community outside of Swiss Water, and is a former Coffee in Good Spirits finalist and a member of the Barista Guild.

Here is the link to the postshow bonus chat.<...

Hyacinth talks about their barista journey through the world of specialty coffee, from getting their first job at Starbucks to competing in national barista championships. Their passion for latte art and deep knowledge of coffee shines through as they describe bouncing between shops, attending throwdowns, and making connections in the industry.

The ups and downs of working in coffee, finding community among fellow baristas, and always striving to improve their skills make for an inspiring story.

Link to bonus post-show chat!

As mentioned before the podcast, there was a discussion about world events...

Buy Me A Coffee

Follow the podcast on Instagram!

Bonus conversation!

2024 Best Podcast Nominations

*Best DIY Podcast Finalist - The Ambies, Awards For Excellence in Audio - The Podcast Academy

*Best Coffee Podcast Finalist - The Sprudgie Awards, Honoring The Very Best in Coffee - Sprudge, The Worldwide Leader In Coffee News

Copyright 2024 Elena Mahmood

My intro music is from #Uppbeat: License code: LSMVDPBXNKA1UQST

My outro music is from #Uppbeat: License code: U295XJURUTU70RHZ

My podcast website

M...

Follow the podcast on Instagram!

Buy Me A Coffee

2024 Best Podcast Nominations

*Best DIY Podcast Finalist - The Ambies, Awards For Excellence in Audio - The Podcast Academy

*Best Coffee Podcast Finalist - The Sprudgie Awards, Honoring The Very Best in Coffee - Sprudge, The Worldwide Leader In Coffee News

Here is a link to the post-show convo!

Follow the podcast on Instagram!

My intro music is from #Uppbeat: License code: LSMVDPBXNKA1UQST

My outro music is from #Uppbeat: License code: U295XJURUTU70R...

Andrea Rubi, a second-generation coffee producer in Honduras, shares her journey into the world of coffee in this transcript. Initially disinterested in coffee, Andrea was persuaded by her family to join the family business. Through hard work and education at a cupping school, she developed a passion for quality and began leading the harvest of their specialty coffee.

This led to a successful relationship with a roaster who expressed interest in purchasing their entire harvest of commercial coffee. Andrea discovered that by applying quality control measures, their commercial coffee achieved impressive cupping scores. She emphasizes the potential...

Tanya Rao, owner of Kaveri Coffee Works — a small-scale, independent roasting business in Berkeley — coffee has been a family tradition for more than half a century. The Raos’ connection to coffee dates back to 1941, when Tanya’s grandfather, M.V. Rao, opened India Coffee Kiosk in Bangalore, India, in the Karnataka region — known for being the country’s largest coffee producer.

When M.V. could no longer run the family trade, he passed it on to Tanya’s father, Mohan Rao. Ever since then, coffee has defined a sense of home and purpose for the men in Rao’s family.

From home roasting to making an impact globally, Stephanie's story is one to hear.

Stephanie, the owner of Swelter Coffee, shares her journey into coffee roasting and the origin of the name "Swelter." The name is derived from her maiden last name, Walter, and her shorthand, S. Walter. Stephanie started home roasting about 10 years ago and friends and family began calling it Walter coffee. When she turned her passion into a business, she decided to stick with the name for its personal connection.

Stephanie's interest in home roasting began when she stumbled upon a book...

Buy Me A Coffee

Follow the podcast on Instagram!

Kape Catorce website

Bonus post-show chatter

2024 Best Podcast Nominations

*Best DIY Podcast Finalist - The Ambies, Awards For Excellence in Audio - The Podcast Academy

*Best Coffee Podcast Finalist - The Sprudgie Awards, Honoring The Very Best in Coffee - Sprudge, The Worldwide Leader In Coffee News

My intro music is from #Uppbeat: License code: LSMVDPBXNKA1UQST

My outro music is from #Uppbeat: License code: U295XJURUTU70RHZ

Copyright 2024 Elena Mahmood

In this episode, I get to talk to Emirati-native Zainab Al-Mousawi, owner of "To The Moon and Back", who gives us insight into her journey from when she first experienced drinking coffee to the journey from Melbourne and back to Abu Dubai, in effort to establishing her cafe during the COVID pandemic.

A woman of strength, talent, and courage, she goes into her difficulties of operating under extreme measures and wanting to create a place of inspiration, community, and empowerment for women following their passions and dreams.

"To The Moon and Back" is a lifestyle an...

Bonus post-show chatter

Ruth Ann Church, founder of Artisan Coffee Imports, comes on this episode to share her love for economic development, interest in the developing the underdeveloped Decaf-coffee scene, and her relationships she made on a leap to Rwanda. Ruth brings appreciation for women-led communities and producers and internal development pre-existing in Rwandan communities.

Buy Me A Coffee

Follow the podcast on Instagram!

2024 Best Podcast Nominations

*Best DIY Podcast Finalist - The Ambies, Awards For Excellence in Audio - The Podcast Academy

*Best Coffee Podcast Finalist...

Starting at the age of 14 in Columbia, Macarena has been entrenched in the coffee industry. As she states, coffee has opened her world and her eyes to the world. I talk to her about how she's taking a stand for what is right and wrong with the coffee culture.

Buy Me A Coffee

Follow the podcast on Instagram!

As always, bonus after-show chat.

2024 Best Podcast Nominations

*Best DIY Podcast Finalist - The Ambies, Awards For Excellence in Audio - The Podcast Academy

*Best Coffee Podcast Finalist...

Amaris Gutierrez-Ray shows a slight autobiography in this episode of what coffee means to her, how she found her identity and connection to her heritage, her love for knowledge, and how the coffee world has evolved her connection to her family.

She has played many roles over her journey within the coffee production industry, but is currently the Director of Coffee for Joe Coffee Company.

For more info on her non-profit organization, see below:

Women in Coffee Project

The takeaway from this episode is to stay hungry for information and stay...

Camila Khalifé (she/her) was born and raised in Quito, Ecuador. She holds a BA in Graphic Design & Communication and has worked in the coffee industry for 8 years now.

She started as a barista and coffee educator, and later on specialized in coffee quality.

She is a Q Grader and a certified WBC Sensory Judge.

She’s also the founder of Botanica, a café, quality lab & training center based in Quito. Camila has experience sourcing and processing Ecuadorian coffee and has had the opportunity to work closely with producers from all over the coun...

On this episode, I have Alexandra Lisbeth Zepeda, a current Q grader for Volcafe Specialty Coffee, and a proud El-Salvadoran born Bronx New Yorker. She's coming in hot like a firecracker and stripping the romantic scene off of coffee farming and letting people know the nitty gritty.

Unapologetically herself, she keeps to her truth and explains the frustrations she's dealt with over the course of her coffee career. And her main passion towards creating a safe environment for BIPOC and women to learn more about the industry.

https://volcafespecialty.com/

Buy Me A...

Baylee began her career in specialty coffee as a barista in the Great Seattle Area in 2009, but just 7 years later, she found her passion - roasting.

Now she is the Director of Marketing and Engagement for #shestheroaster and is proudly involved with GlitterCat Barista as a Mentor and 2020 Roaster.

From micro-roasters to macro-roasters, she roasted on machines with a five-hundred-pound capacity all the way down to machines with a five-hundred-gram capacity.

It's what she loves to do. And it shows during my interview with her.

A couple of key questions I...

Did you know only 23% of coffee roasters are female?

Isn't that wild?

Just think about that. All of that work, all the things that we don't have a lot of opportunities to do. 23% of women are doing it. This means that these are pretty strong women to talk to. These are pretty strong women to figure out what was the strategy.

As a female coffee roaster myself, it's really important to know that, like, hey, these women are kick ass. Every episode will leave you wanting to learn more and have a conversation...