Did you know that women are the majority of coffee growers in many countries? According to the International Coffee Organization, women make up 70% of the workforce in coffee cultivation worldwide, yet only about 20% of coffee farms are managed by women. Often, women have fewer opportunities to market coffee at better prices directly due to family obligations or lack of access to necessary pre-financing to buy fertilizers and pay harvest workers. Part of our green coffee buying philosophy is to support groups that have been historically marginalized. That’s why we are especially thrilled to add two new coffees by women producers in our offering.

Bean Voyage’s support to Women producers

Bean Voyage was founded in 2016 to support women producers in accessing the specialty coffee market and helping them achieve better prices for their coffee. Bean Voyage provides holistic support to these women with training, financing, and marketing as they work to build sustainable business.

Arleen and Maria Jimenez : coffee processing specialists

Through Bean Voyage, we have connected with three women producers from Costa Rica. Arleen and Maria Jimenez are sisters who lead the complex processing of honey and natural coffees at their family’s processing station, Beneficio La Angostura, while their father, Don Mario, manages coffee cultivation at Finca Mario Jimenez Gamboa. Their farm is situated between 1,700 and 1,900 meters above sea level in the beautiful mountains on the edge of Tarrazú, Costa Rica.

Arleen and Maria have been longtime partners of Bean Voyage. In 2021, they filmed their own short documentaries in partnership with Needle and Frame. You can find the “Stronger than Coffee / Más que un café” film series on Youtube.

We are excited to introduce Angostura Espresso, a Black Honey Catuaí, as our first coffee from Arleen and Maria Jimenez.

Arelys Monge: A modern approach to sustainable coffee production

Arelys Monge has also been working with Bean Voyage for a few years now. Arelys is a systems engineer by training. After the death of her mother, Arelys took over the family’s coffee farm, Finca Sabana del Roble, which has been cultivating coffee since the 19th century. She planted new coffee trees, renovated and modernized the entire farm with the goal of producing specialty coffee in an ecologically sustainable way.

Part of Arelys's approach includes processing only natural coffees to save water compared to washed processing. This year, Arelys exported coffee to the specialty market for the first time.

The journey wasn’t without challenges. Initially, we planned to purchase 140 kg of Arelys's coffee. However, at the end of the harvest, Arelys was robbed by an employee who stole not only essential farming equipment but also most of Arelys’s coffee. Only 31 kg remained. To help mitigate the loss, we paid a significantly higher price for the remaining 31 kg.

This means that only a limited amount of Arelys's Higuerones Natural coffee is available.

We are very happy to work with Arleen, Maria, and Arelys and are already planning our next order for the coming summer when coffees are typically shipped from Costa Rica.