On 8th March 2023, International Women's Day we hosted a ‘Celebration of Women in Coffee’ and what a night it was! An inspiring evening shared between 50 passionate women across the coffee industry in Scotland and beyond. Here’s some thoughts from the event, now that we’ve had some time to reflect.
So why did we create this event? In what is typically a male dominated industry, we wanted an event where women in coffee could network, have a safe space where we could share what it's like to be a woman working in coffee. An opportunity to share our stories, our successes and our challenges whilst simultaneously empowering one another.
Then evening took the form of welcome drinks and a photocall. Introductions were made by all before inviting our guest panelists to inspire the room, which they did! More drinks followed, with food, some coffee swaps and gifts from origin. Some time to get to know one another better brought some high energy conversations and an invite to a local cocktail bar for anyone who didn’t want the night to end!
WOW! Talk about goosebumps. There was a buzz in the room. The atmosphere was electric! The energy in the room was filled with passion and camaraderie. It was super important for us to create a welcoming space where we could feel comfortable together and we think we achieved that.
A huge thank you has to go out to our speakers, Estelle McGilp (Matthew Algie), Gillian McIntyre (Mayze), Kangni ‘Connie’ Dai (Space Coffee House) and of course our host Lisa Lawson (Dear Green Coffee Roasters). Each spoke openly and honestly about their experiences within the coffee industry. The stories told were not only inspiring and motivational, but also up-lifting.
To all of the amazing women who took the time and made the effort to join us, thank you! We appreciate every single one of you. We’ve received several messages from people who attended the event. We think this message from Rosie Lowery (La Marzocco UK) sums up the evening perfectly:
‘With the most genuine sentiment, the empowerment created by walking into and being a part of a an entirely female event, completely made up of women who work in the coffee industry in different capacities was phenomenal, and I’m still quite overwhelmed by the sense of solidarity, inspiration and incredible community created by just spending a few hours together and hearing each others stories’.
This was the first event for women in the coffee industry in Scotland and we’re pretty confident that it won’t be the last!. Everyone’s contribution to making this event a success has inspired us to keep this network alive! Thanks to all of our guests, all of our team and most of all, everyone who showed up and brought those positive vibes!
Creating these events would not be possible without the support of brilliant industry partners who sponsored the event. A huge thank you to La Marzocco, Minor Figures and Pasteis Lisboa for keeping us topped up with drinks, pizza and natas. We’d also like to thank Cafe Imports Europe and The Coffee Bird for the awesome gifts. Special mention to Marilena Vlachopoulou for capturing the evening with her photography skills!
If you’d like to taste the amazing women produced coffees that we served on the night, you can get our ‘All The Ladies’ bundle here.
Until the next time! Keep on supporting, encouraging and inspiring women right along our coffee supply chain!
Lisa, Anna, Stine and Martha
