Betty coffee

In the cup:

REDCURRANT, MILKY WAY & CHOCOLATE ICE CREAM

SPECIALITY COFFEE: THE FUTURE IS FEMALE

Our Betty coffee is an ode to Betty, the 1955 Probat coffee roaster we rescued from scrap and lovingly rebuilt by hand.

Extract Coffee Roasters is a business with women at every level. Roasters, Directors, Managers, Customer Support, Engineers, Accountants, Marketers.

But female coffee farmers remain a rarity. Extract Coffee Roasters' Betty coffee is about championing global female empowerment throughout the supply chain and sharing the stories of the inspiring women we work with.

She can. You can. We can

Betty will be back for International Women's Day, Spring 2022

Betty espresso will return in Spring 2022, launching in time for International Women's Day. In the meantime you can visit our online shop to shop our latest limited edition coffees and more coffees from female-led farms.

SHOP COFFEE

Gender equity in speciality coffee

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.

WHAT IS LIFE LIKE FOR WOMEN IN THE COFFEE SUPPLY CHAIN?

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.

A picker at Cauvery Peak coffee farm in India. Women here are recognised as more reliable and skilled workers.

Delmy speaking about gender equality in coffee-growing communities

Beyond gender inequality in the 'business' of coffee production, women in coffee growing countries are often at higher risk of gender-based violence.

Honduras hit the headlines for high rates of femicide, something authorities and grass-rotts groups have been working hard to combat since 2017. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, female farm-workers are sexually-assaulted by militant groups as part of their strategy to destabilise the region.

These realities often go unspoken about, especially in consuming countries. As we, at Extract Coffee Roasters, continue our own learning, we want to keep the coffee and conversation flowing by sharing what we learn and raising awareness of gender equity throughout the coffee supply chain.

MEET DELMY, ONE OF FEMALE COFFEE FARMERS BEHIND BETTY

In 2021, we ran a webinar with one of our longest partners and the grower behind Betty 2021, Delmy Regalado from Liquidambar coffee farm. Watch the recording to hear Delmy speak about organic coffee farming, and the work she does to help Honduran women from coffee growing communities.

The story behind Betty Espresso

2021

HONDURAS: DELMY REGALADO

Betty 2021 was a delicious honey-processed coffee, great with milk, alternative mylk 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

READ LIQUIDAMBAR'S GROWER STORY
2020

OUR FIRST BETTY ESPRESSO

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, a blend of natural and honey-process, resulting in a rich and 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.
2020

RWANDA: Epiphanie Mukashyaka

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 female entrepreneurs 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
2020

PERU: Magdalena Lopez and Fredesvinda Granda

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 has a male-dominated coffee industry. 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
2010

WE FIND BETTY THE ROASTER

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.

MEET THE ROASTERS