Our first cupping experience

We have participated to a coffee tasting (Guido Cafe). That introduced us to unexpected and subtle flavours and helped us to identify and appreciate different coffees. Ms.Julia, who is in charge of this cafe, answered us to a few questions.

Ms Julia has a coffee shop downtown Bucharest. She organised a cupping meeting for us.

Rep.: – How did you get your start in coffee?How hard is to run a coffee shop?

Ms. Julia: -My first job in coffee was in Târgoviște working at a coffee roaster called Mug Coffee.. I had gone to Bucharest on a scholarship after earning a Master’s degree in international business. I wanted something more challenging than the classes I was taking at the University of Târgoviște, so I looked for an internship or a part-time job. The opportunity at cafe Jan appeared, and the rest is history! It is very complicated to run a coffee shop in the beginning, after a time it´s starting to work things out. When we started up the Juliastore, we started with a café to sell coffee and salads and sandwiches, then built a farm to grow the vegetables and it grew from there to a few stores open 7 days a week, all selling sustainable products and helping local producers make a good living. When we first started Juliastore, people kept telling me that is very hard for a  women,  but in my business model it was about helping people first and making money was just a consequence of that. When you are attached to your business in advocacy, it becomes your way of life – it’s not about the money, it’s about the difference in impact you can make. That is something you can’t buy. 

Rep.: -Really! Does your work is more suitable for a man?

Ms. Julia.:- No, because in this kind ofindustry of serving people, is more indicated to be a little bit patient and men are not very good at this chapter. Consumers have become more and more interested in the origin of their coffee and the conditions under which it was produced. Incredible how things have changed in this regard.

The intention is to generate lots of synergies across firms doing good work on the one hand, and clients that can fund this work on the other.

Rep.:- That s very clever, but do you think that women have a chance in any world industries? What is your vision of gender equity in coffee 10 years from now?

Ms. Julia:- Currently we have an industry where a large number of women are disengaged, mainly due to gender inequity in the supply chain.  In most coffee-shops  much of the work is done by women, yet the men are the ones who have more access to the land and resources.  

Gender equity is a key link that brings so many sustainability issues and business issues—climate change, food security, health and education, disease mitigation, coffee quality and productivity.  So many of these issues are positively impacted when we work together as equals and women have a true voice and valued position throughout the industry. In my experience of working with men and having men work for me, I find they are more focused and task-oriented. Women on the other hand are multi-taskers.Women tend to get down to the details more

Rep.: Thank you very much!

cupping session (Enhanced) (Enhanced) from nichita on Vimeo.