Page 56 - #51 English

Culture
Story and Photos by Coffee t&i Malaysia

Inspiring

as Female Professionals in Malaysia

In conjunction with the International Women’s Day, the in the industry, Coffee Quality Institutes research for Gender
team at Coffee T&I decided to focus on some of the leading Equity and so much more.
women professionals in Malaysia as we speak to them about
some of their toughest challenges and experiences in Malaysia Here we see that the female figures are beginning to be
as a feminine figure and also their achievements as a coffee recognized and have increased over the years, more female
professional. champions are made, numbers ofentreprenuers are growing
and female roasters have been increasing in numbers in Malaysia.
In recent months, there have been conversations on the We spoke to some of them recently.
lack of female professionals in the industry and why they aren’t
able to win championships compared to male competitors. In
short, female professionals are often misunderstood as the
weaker species and that is pretty common everywhere in the
world. What you do makes a difference,
As the world coffee industry grows, we now see many and you have to decide what kind
iniatitives in the industry to empower and show the world the of difference you want to make.
source of their coffee, which is mostly made of female pickers
and farmers across the world. There is now the Barista Connect Jane Goodall
(A competition conference for women), The Coffee Women in
Kansas, which focuses on inspiring and empowering women

yip Leong Sum

Vice President - Malaysia Specialty Coffee Association
Beans Depot - Roaster and Owner

Tell us a little bit on how you first began of specialty coffee. I loved how interest-
your journey in coffee and what initially ing and challenging it was to bring out
sparked your interest in roasting. the best in your beans, and personalizing
It was a decade into the corporate roasts to cater to different palletes. In
work life when I first decided to venture conclusion, it made me want to be a
into what I found interest in. I’ve always roaster!
been passionate about coffee as I grew up What are some of the biggest challenges
in Ipoh, the origins of White Coffee here you faced as a female figure in the
in Malaysia. Being so closely associated to industry?
coffee as a child, I was deeply influenced
by my grandparents and mother because To be frank, I’ve never really had a
we always had a kettle of black coffee as problem here in Malaysia due to gender
my thirst quencher! Personally, I strongly inequality. The people in the industry
believe that coffee has loads of benefits, here are really friendly and passionate
hence starting to ponder the process of about coffee. I would say the biggest
bean to cup, cultural difference of how problem I’ve faced is the common pro-
coffee is enjoyed across the world. It was blem of importing green coffee into the
then I took a leap of faith by attending nation, the current currency fall and also
some courses, doing personal researches red tapes concerning approved permits.
with local coffee roasting, learning how This for me, has affected the industry as a
to prepare espressos, single origin brews whole, for we are unable to import at a
and the understanding the true definition competitive price and limiting our expo-
56