Originally from Canada, Jessie Vandenberg-Molina (she/her) started her coffee journey in Glasgow at the legendary Space Coffee House, becoming founder Connie’s first ever employee and falling in love with coffee through the exploration of taste and curiosity. Most recently, Jessie started working at Oatly as Barista Market Developer almost three years ago, and has since moved into the role of Co-Lead of her team.

In this conversation, we delve into how Jessie’s coffee career got started, and the all-important move to London from Scotland that made her rethink how she wanted to move through the coffee world - including one pivotal conversation where she was asked “What kind of barista do you want to be?” Jessie’s journey is a wonderful, wholehearted representation of what a career moving from a barista role in coffee can look like; and the conversation is full of honesty about the ups and downs of that process.

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Emily Graves (they/them) works as Independents Channel Manager at Union Hand Roasted and is an undeniably passionate advocate for accessibility, diversity and inclusion in the coffee industry.

In this conversation, we delve into Em’s experiences throughout their career from hospitality into specialty coffee, and cover a wide range of topics from barriers to entry and progression in the coffee industry, such as - do entry level jobs in coffee really exist? And are the requirements to work as a barista keeping too high and keeping too many people out of the industry all together?

Emily shares their experiences working with deaf and hard and hearing people at different points of their career, and we discuss ways in which the industry needs to be more accessible, creating spaces that welcome people with disabilities rather than waiting for them to ask for accessibility adaptations.

Theme song by Good News.

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Gene Ke (she/her) is a certified CQI & CVA Arabica Q-Grader, having made her way into the coffee industry long after she got her degree in Mathematics and a masters in Education from Oxford University. The absolute definition of someone who throws herself into every opportunity - especially when she begins to feel stuck - Gene has been carving out a breathtaking career in coffee since 2020 after spending 7 years teaching Maths in schools.

From opening her own coffee shop to trading in the maths education to train wholesale accounts at Curious Roo Coffee Roasters, from competing in numerous national competitions to being integral in levelling up the coffee programme at Joe and the Juice; Gene is a shining example of how to move through the coffee industry and find your place within it.

This episode dives into the twists and turns of Gene’s coffee career; how to keep pushing forward when you feel that you’ve hit the ceiling of progress, navigating the transition between independent coffee roastery and global commercial chain, and the similarities and differences in teaching maths in schools and teaching coffee to coffee businesses – specifically the unconscious biases this can bring to the surface.

Since recording this episode, Gene has set up her own coffee business, Tribe Coffee Workshop, offering coffee events and education as well as green coffee services.

Theme Song by Good News.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.