Betty Espresso is an ode to Betty, the 1955 Probat coffee roaster we rescued from scrap and lovingly rebuilt by hand.
Gender inequality is a challenge in the coffee supply chain. Women often constitute a large proportion of the workforce on coffee farms yet are a tiny proportion of coffee farms are owned or managed by women.
Each year, Extract Coffee Roaster's releases Betty, a limited edition espresso for International Women's Day to champion women making coffee better around the world.
Our limited edition Spring Espresso, Betty, is back for International Women's Day 2024. Wholesale customers can order from 01 March ready to serve Betty from International Women's Day on 08 March.
A big shout out to all the women involved in the Terra Rosa programme, from farming to processing, to export, these women are a force to be reckoned with and they have created an absolute belter of a washed espresso for us!
Known as the birthplace of speciality coffee in Colombia, Huila is full of rich volcanic soil and the perfect coffee growing environment. It’s here that the amazing Terra Rosa Women’s Project operates.
Working as a coffee farmer can be challenging for Colombian women. Challenges include lack of access to funds, time and space. This leads to women feeling less able to speak up, ask for help and participate.
Terra Rosa is a family-run coffee sourcing programme that creates a safe space for these women to get together and support each other, giving them a mechanism to be able to sell their coffee and have something to be extremely proud of. The programme also organises cuppings to educate and promote increased quality in the coffee they grow.
We are so happy to showcase the amazing work the Terra Rosa programme carries out to support women in coffee, creating an inclusive supportive space for all.
We talk a lot about gender equality, but we should really be looking towards gender equity. While equality is the state of being equal, equity is about justness and fairness. Equity doesn't ask us to see everyone as the same or even to treat them the same. It allows us to appreciate people for their differences and accounts for those differences.
From the coffee farm to the coffee shop, there is a striking division of labour and pay. This pay gap generally increases for black, Asian, and minority ethnic women, LGBTQ+ communities generally face significant barriers in the workplace – these issues vary immensely according to the country.
In many coffee-producing countries, women struggle to access education, finance and business resources. Women are less likely to own property, run coffee farms or milling stations and are less represented in decision-making positions. Their income is lower, despite often doing more daily work than their male counterparts.
One of the growers from the Terra Rosa Project in Colombia, with her daughter in amongst the coffee trees.
Beyond gender inequality in the 'business' of coffee production, women in coffee-growing countries are often at higher risk of gender-based violence.
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, farm workers are at risk of being sexual-assaulted by militant groups as part of their strategy to destabilise the region.
Guatemala has one of the highest rates of femicide in the world. In 2021 Guatemalan women protested against domestic violence as part of the #TengoMiedo campaign following reports of 160 femicides and 20,000 reports of violence against women in the first 4 months of 2021 alone.
In Honduras, authorities and grass-roots groups have been working hard to reduce the country's high levels of violence against women since 2017.
These are some of the harsh realities faced by women in coffee-growing countries, but often go unspoken about, especially in coffee-consuming countries.
Betty provides an opportunity to raise awareness of the importance of supporting farms which are owned and managed by women. At Extract Coffee Roasters, we believe this support shouldn't be just for International Women's Day but year-round.
Extract Coffee Roasters has longstanding relationships with women-owned farms, such as Delmy Regalado, from Liquidambar in Honduras whose coffee is roasted year-round in our Organic espresso. Extract Coffee Roasters was the first roaster in the UK to buy Delmy's coffee and have been buying her coffee since 2015.
Our roastery team looks for lots from farms which are owned and managed by women when choosing new single origin coffees as part of our regularly changing coffee offer. Recent examples include the Kirindera Women's Peace Coffee from the Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Buf Naturals from Rwanda, Carmen Coca from Colombia and Chelchelie from Ethiopia.
Read more about equality for women in coffee.
Delmy speaking about gender equality in coffee-growing communities
Terra Rosa is a family-run coffee sourcing programme creating a safe space for women in coffee to learn, support one another and collectively sell their coffee.
FARM: TERRA ROSA PROJECT, COLOMBIA
PROCESS: FULLY WASHED
IN THE CUP: COMING SOON
Betty 2023 is a delicious coffee from Virunga National Park Coffees produced by the Vughole Washing Station, managed entirely by women.
FARM: KAWA AMAHA WOMEN'S COFFEE COOPADE
PROCESS: FULLY WASHED
IN THE CUP: BLACK: MAPLE SYRUP & POMEGRANATE / WITH MILK: WHITE CHOCOLATE & MIXED SPICE
Betty 2022 was a delicious washed coffee with sweet custardy notes that make an epic flat white. The coffee, La Morena, was produced as part of an exciting initiative which saw 25 women working in partnership to produce this delicious coffee.
REGION: HUEHUETENANGO, GUATEMALA
PROCESS: FULLY WASHED, SUN DRIED
IN THE CUP: CASHEW, CUSTARD, PEAR DROPS
Betty 2021 was a delicious honey-processed coffee, great with milk, alternative milk or straight-up black. The coffee was from Liquidámbar, an organic farm in the San Marcos region of Honduras which Extract has supported since 2015.
The farm is co-owned by Delmy Regalado, a champion of organic coffee farming and women's rights in Honduras. Delmy was president of the International Women's Coffee Alliance Honduras Chapter for 5 years and is heavily involved in projects to train and educate Honduran women, giving them a route to financial independence.
You can read Delmy's grower story here or watch our Behind The Beans video interview where Delmy discusses organic farming, climate change and her work on gender equity for women in Honduras.
FARM: LIQUIDAMBAR, HONDURAS
PROCESS: HONEY PROCESS
IN THE CUP: REDCURRANT, MILKY WAY & CHOCOLATE ICE CREAM
2020 marked 10 years since we discovered and restored Betty the Probat roaster. We celebrated by launching a new coffee. Our first Betty Espresso launched on International Women's Day. Betty 2020 was a blend of natural and honey-processed coffees. A rich, fruity espresso with the acidity of soured cherries and the sweetness of chocolate bourbon biscuits. Delicious both black and with milk. Here are the stories of the incredible women behind this coffee.
After Epiphanie Mukashyaka was widowed during the 1994 Rwandan genocide, she chose not to leave her family's small coffee farm. With help from local aid project, PEARL, Epiphanie founded Buf Café, and her incredible story is now inspiring other women throughout Rwanda's coffee sector. The level of care that Epiphanie takes over the processing of her coffee is impressive. The coffee we used to make Betty Espresso 2020 is a pulped natural process using 100% Red Bourbon coffee cherries and most of the cherry sorting is done by hand, by women.
FARMS: BUF CAFE, RWANDA
PROCESS: PULPED NATURAL
The second coffee in Betty 2020, Peru La Osa, meaning 'the female bear', was grown by Magdalena Lopez and Fredesvinda Granda. Their farms are nestled between the Andes' western and eastern ranges where a unique microclimate creates perfect coffee growing conditions and a haven for wildlife such as jaguars, spectacled bears, and peccaries.
Traditionally, Peru's coffee industry is dominated by men. Women have always been crucial to coffee production, whilst men held economic power. Cooperatives such as Frontera San Ignacio in Peru provide women like Magdalena and Fredesvinda resources and financial support to increase coffee quality and encourage innovation, such as this honey process.
FARM: FRONTERA SAN IGNACIO COOPERATIVE, PERU
PROCESS: HONEY, EXPERIMENTAL LOT
In 2010, we found Betty, a 1955 cast iron Probat roaster. In need of complete refurbishment, the restoration of Betty was a huge undertaking bug co-founder David lovingly restored and rebuilt her by hand. Read more about the restoration of our vintage coffee roasters.
Take a look at our latest coffees, freshly roasted and available to buy online now.