I'M NOT A BARISTA: Voices of the Coffee World

Meet Jodie Williams (@jodiealicia), one of Britain’s top talents in the coffee and track industry. Jodie has been a predominant voice in the coffee industry for 6 years, and it all started with a cup of iced latte.

She is a 2-time Great Britain Olympic athlete, with her most recent competition in the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, where she participated in the 400m final. This has been a long time coming, since recovering from a hamstring injury in 2012.

She is a longtime advocate for the rights of women in coffee farming communities, especially how they are affected by low wages and a lack of opportunities for leadership and management.

She believes she is #morethanjustanathlete as she has developed multiple passions and interests outside of sports, including coffee and her YouTube channel.

“If you're passionate about something, learn everything you can about it and find a community that is equally as passionate! This will bring you unparalleled joy and a deep sense of acceptance in a space that truly aligns with who you are.”

How do you think women in coffee farming communities can be supported? We’d love to hear your thoughts.

Read the full story here
https://notabarista.org/jodie-williams/

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Meet Agricultural Engineer, Juan Angel Welchez.

Juan grew up with coffee running in his veins; Juan Angel Welchez is a third-generation Honduran coffee farmer. Juan originally got into the coffee industry after his grandfather—a fellow coffee farmer—passed away. He said,

 “I wanted to be a coffee farmer to keep my grandpa’s legacy alive.”

Read the full article here
https://notabarista.org/juan-angel-welchez/

Article by Emma Niro

Read more coffee stories here
https://notabarista.org/coffee-stories/

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Andrew Jay’s coffee story is a unique one because…well…he couldn’t steam milk to save his life. The world of coffee baffled Andrew. Nothing ever fully clicked until he had his first sip of a V60.

Do you also think you’ll never know everything about coffee? Were you in a similar predicament to Andrew when the pandemic hit? Let us know.

Story by Emma Niro

Read the full story here
https://notabarista.org/andrew-jay/

Follow us on Instagram for more coffee stories
https://www.instagram.com/iamnotabarista/

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Throughout Vivito’s coffee journey, he feels extremely blessed to have had the opportunity to learn and build relationships with many educated and accomplished people from all over the world. 

We are positively inspired by his resilience, diligence, and commitment to not only his work but also his family. We’ll leave you with one last piece of advice he offered: “Those who work hard; win the race.” 

Read the full story here
https://notabarista.org/vivito-yeptho/

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I’M NOT A BARISTA is happy to bring back Pack Sompetch Katisomsakul, the owner of the coffee business 50 Milk Street. We were fortunate enough to sit down with Pack after his success with the Coffee Wristbands Charity Program.

Read the full article here
https://notabarista.org/pack-katisomsakul-50-milk-street-raised-750-through-coffee-wristbands-and-bought-coffee-trees-to-help-farmers-in-thailand/

Coffee Wristbands Charity Program
https://notabarista.org/coffee-wristbands-charity-program/

Order Wristbands here
https://notabarista.org/product/coffee-wristbands/

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Lars Aaen Thøgersen is the Chief Innovation and Circular Transformation Officer at Löfbergs, and Head of Communication at Peter Larsen Kaffe. Lars’ primary mission in the coffee industry is to determine what is needed to innovate businesses in a way that gives back value to coffee farmers in a sustainable way. 

Read the full coffee story here
https://notabarista.org/lars-aaen-thogersen/

Story by Nathierah Fredericks

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Meet Michalina (Instagram: @coffee_that_gives_a_puck)!

After fifteen years in the hospitality industry, what can Michalina not do?

From barista to teacher to Youtuber to yoga fanatic, she has done more than what many might do in their lifetime. 

After up and leaving her entire life in Poland to spend eight years in New Zealand (during the lockdown!!!), Michalina has gained great insight into who she is and what she wants out of her career and life. She believes that:

“If you have a certain passion and you want to evolve…

you will find your way and you will follow the path that you want.” But she also believes in taking a break and focusing on yourself, which is why she stepped away from the hospitality industry. 

Subscribe to Michalina’s Youtube channel “Coffee that gives a puck” and get ready to go on the most educational and entertaining journey into the coffee world than you ever imagined!

What are your thoughts on the hospitality industry? Where do you think it can improve—as either an employee or a consumer? Let us know !

Read more coffee stories on
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Order Coffee Wristbands and support I'M NOT A BARISTA's charity work
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This bucket hat-wearing, art-loving, UAE Brewers Cup champion, Mariam Erin Pinza (@mariam.erin), has brought huge recognition to herself through her outstanding performance in recent coffee competitions.

We had a chat with her recently, she enlightened us about the coffee community in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), how trends play a significant impact on the coffee scene and her tips for anyone who wishes to compete in coffee competitions.

Listen to this short audio coffee story, and get to know Mariam.

You can also read the full article on our website here
https://notabarista.org/coffee-stories/ 

Read more coffee stories on
https://notabarista.org/

Order Coffee Wristbands and support I'M NOT A BARISTA's charity work
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As you know, I’M NOT A BARISTA was designed to help baristas in need and make a social impact. Well, if it’s a social impact we’re after then we needed an additional way of sharing the voices of those in the coffee community. 

We want to ensure that their voices are heard in many ways and we want to take this opportunity to introduce our new way of sharing stories - audio stories. 

Behind the scenes: This Monday, we had a meeting with our content writing interns brainstorming the new way of empowering coffee people, and we came up with the idea of audio stories. 

It is different from our regular podcast and coffee articles, it is a new, easier way to share the stories with you. The audio stories are shorter, often less than 5 minutes long and they’re read by our content writers who wrote the stories.

 You will hear the voices of our content writers from Africa, The United States, and more. Just like a short bedtime story, are you ready? 

Turn up the volume, get your favourite earphones, and listen to our very first audio story from Fausto Russo, story written and read by our new content writer Emma Niro.

Do you often listen to audiobooks? What do you think about our the new audio stories?

Read more coffee stories on
https://notabarista.org/

Order Coffee Wristbands and support I'M NOT A BARISTA's charity work
https://notabarista.org/product/notabarista-coffee-wristbands-2023/

In this episode, we're joined by two of our very own volunteer content writers - Vasileia and Maximillian. If you've been following us for awhile, you must've read one or more of their articles. On the podcast, we talk about coffee culture in both Greece and Singapore.

As ex-baristas, they still enjoy brewing coffee daily. Vasileia is currently working as a freelance content writer, her works include articles written for Barista Magazine (@baristamagazine), Perfect Daily Grind (@perfectdailygrind), and Coffee t&i (@coffeeteaimag). Max recently graduated and is working on a coffee project called the Singapore Coffee Collective (@coffeeinsg).

If you are travelling to Greece or Singapore in the near future, make sure to drop them a DM @the.wandering.bean or @messymerlion to get insider info on the best coffee spots in town!

Read more coffee stories on
https://notabarista.org/

Order Coffee Wristbands and support I'M NOT A BARISTA's charity work
https://notabarista.org/product/notabarista-coffee-wristbands-2023/