Hidden Heroines of Coffee - Celebrating Women in Coffee
Throughout history, women have been integral to the coffee industry we know and love today. From launching a city's first coffee cart, to creating better brewing methods, and making coffee more accessible, women have been at every stage of coffee's evolution around the world.
Without these powerful women in coffee, much of what we know and enjoy today just wouldn't be here. In this blog series we'll be sharing the stories of women, past and present, who have shaped the coffee industry in the best of ways.
Join as we take a look at three women from coffee's past who, despite great challenges and obstacles, were some of the first examples of women in coffee driving powerful initiatives that we still enjoy and/or use today.
Women from Coffee's Past
Melitta Bentz
You might recognize the name Melitta as a leader in pour-over manufacturing, and that's because it was Melitta Bentz who invented the paper filter we know and love today.
Melitta was a housewife from Germany, who out of an annoyance of the coffee making methods of her time, came up with the solution to brew a cleaner cup. She lined a holed pot with blotting paper, added the coffee and placed it over a mug. It resulted in a sediment and sludge free coffee, and the rest is history!
Rose Nicaud
Do you know how New Orleans French Market coffee came to be what it is today? It was thanks to an enslaved woman named Rose Nicaud. In an effort to purchase her freedom, she was the first woman in New Orleans to open up a coffee stand, and started her business selling to churchgoers every Sunday. She coined the now popular term "cafe au lait" and would often shout this after Mass to alert folks of her coffee cart.
She eventually saved enough money through her coffee cart to purchase her freedom, and also saved money to open her first store in the French Market, where the famous Cafe du Monde now stands. Throughout her life she continued to support other enslaved Black women to start their own businesses as a means to purchase their freedom.
Mary Ellen Pleasant
Mary Ellen Pleasant is coined as one of the first self-made African American millionaires. She was an important abolitionist, often referred to as the “Mother of Civil Rights in California”.
She owned multiple successful businesses, including a coffee shop/boarding house where she hosted many important meetings on politics and social activism. She used her accumulated wealth from her businesses, including her coffee shop, to help enslaved individuals escape through the Underground Railroad.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
At Sueños Coffee Co., our mission is to support and promote women in coffee industry through our monthly coffee subscriptions. If you love coffee and supporting the women that help make your morning cup special, check out our subscription options and sign-up for our newsletter below.
