Vice Coffee Roasters

— THE WOMEN BEHIND THE CUP —

Coffee is king in Australia, but it’s women’s history month and we want to talk to you about the queens behind your favourite flat white.

Vice Coffee Roasters is ultimately a business owned and operated by women and our mission has always been highlighting the hard work of the other women behind the coffees that we roast. Women make coffee possible from crop to cup, and that doesn't get enough recognition. To us, coffee is community and the women in our coffee community don't always get the recognition they deserve.

Did you know that women make up roughly 70% of the labour force involved in coffee farming and production?

Despite this, coffee farms are only between 20 - 30% female owned.

Crazy, right? But here’s what we also know:

When we empower women, they lift up their communities with them. Money is reinvested into their farms, their neighbours’ farms, into their schools, into health, into fairer and more sustainable practices. Cooperation is privileged over competition.

That’s why wherever it is possible, we choose female-produced coffee. It’s not always easy to make your dollar work towards a better world. But this is a space where it genuinely can and does. Over the next few weeks, we want to share some of their stories.

Pictured: Noralba Benitez, owner of El Naranjo Farm in Risaralda, Colombia. This is our second year buying Noralba's coffee and it's a privilege to be able to showcase her hard work.

- INTRODUCING OUR LATEST NATURAL FROM NICARAGUA, BY THE ALBIR SISTERS -

Sisters Martha and Ana ALbir are third generation coffee producers and are doing incredible things in Nueva Segovia. Their family farm and coffee mill are not only dedicated to producing innovative and delicious specialty grade coffee, but their contributions to their own community are equally as thoughtful. Through their mill, they provide milling and exporting services not just to their own family, but 11 other local farmers. Employment is entirely local. They have invested in local education and preschool programs within their community. And they have led the way in Nicaragua with an ecoforestry coffee model which preserves native flora and fauna, protects water sources and biodiversity.

In short, these women represent everything we love here at Vice. Quality coffee by quality humans.

In this cup, you will notice creamy notes of hazelnut praline and juicy Ribena blackcurrant. More than that, we hope you will also taste the labour of love that has gone into every stage of its journey to you. We hope we did Martha and Ana justice. 🩷🩵