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And while it is important to have initiatives like Cxffee- Kore Directive are just a few examples of how the community
black that focus specifically on the black community, it is also is starting to take matters into their own hands and create the
important to have initiatives that have a wider focus, like The change that they want to see. To paraphrase Phyllis, creating
Kore Directive. The Kore Directive is a UK-based coffee com- change starts with revealing to ourselves what it is we can do.
munity of feministic diversity allies fighting for inclusivity and Recently, the global coffee industry has also seen a rise
accessibility within the specialty coffee industry. They host in LGBTQIA+ coffee businesses, like queer-owned and -oper-
both physical and virtual events for those who support their ated Food for the Gays Café (FFTG) in Quezon City, Philip-
cause with the aim to make the coffee industry representative pines. Opened in late 2021 by queer couple Nariese Giangan
for all. They identify both as LGBTQIA+ & POC (People of and Chippy Abando, FFTG is a safe space for the LGBTQIA+
Color) friendly. community, offering not only great coffee but also a place to
Founded by London coffee professional Sierra Bur- unwind and relax. The shop has a dominant rainbow theme,
gess-Yeo, The Kore Directive aims to specifically address the with the colors of the Pride flag incorporated into the decor
Coffee Asians is an Instagram account and support group
disadvantages, overt or otherwise, that womxn face in the and branding. During a 2021 interview with F&B Report,
dedicated to promoting and celebrating Asian coffee culture.
specialty coffee industry in the U.K. During a 2018 interview Giangan explains that her aim was for people who come into
The account features profiles and interviews with Asian coffee
with Sprudge Magazine, Burgess-Yeo explains how she person- the cafe, to be amazed and feel comfortable right away, “I
professionals, as well as educational posts about coffee culture
ally experienced marginalization, “Earlier this year, I left a job wanted them to feel at home. We don’t allow homophobic and
throughout Asia. Following the spring 2021 shootings in Atlan-
that compounded a lot of the issues I’d faced during my time rude people inside the shop. I want our customers to be them-
ta, where six women of Asian descent lost their lives, Marissa
in the industry — lack of welfare, mental health support, re- selves, to be happy. We can laugh about anything but not at
felt the need to do something to support the AAPI (Asian
sources for a POC, progressional opportunities and further the expense of other people.”
Americans and Pacific Islanders) community. The account was
training, and certification. For a long while, I festered in re- There is a global movement happening in the coffee in-
created as a space for all Asians in coffee to share their stories
sentment and anger at my inability to do anything about it — dustry, and it is one that is long overdue. From a lack of diver-
and experiences, while also educating others about the rich
until I questioned if I could. That was how The Kore came sity to systemic discrimination, the coffee industry has a lot of
coffee culture of Asia.
about: out of my desire to affect individual and intersectional work to do in order to become more inclusive and representa-
While chatting about this new momentum within the
change to combat what I perceived as widespread, systemic tive of the people who make up the community. It starts by not
industry, Marissa also mentioned the fact that people with
gendered discrimination.” only asking the right questions but asking them to the right
Photo / Joyce Yong
marginalized identities are realizing that coffee is grown where
Coffee Asians Meetup at the 2020 Specialty Expo black and brown people are, but the industry in the West looks Coming back to what Marissa said regarding the realiza- people. Asking the community what they want and need is a
in Boston. The event was held in collaboration with overwhelmingly white. “It creates confusion for them. There tion by people that they haven’t been served very well by the great first step, but it is only the beginning. The coffee industry
Maya Nguyen and Go Fund Bean. broader coffee industry, Coffee Asians, Cxffeeblack and The needs to continue to listen and learn from the community.
are a lot of people who wish to learn more about their roots and
their community through coffee and I’ve seen that grow recent-
ly. So, there is a weird dynamic there that people see and are
starting to question” they explain.
A recent example of this is the establishment of Cxffeeb-
lack, a social enterprise in Memphis, working to reintroduce the
black history of coffee and help reimagine its black future. In
an Memphis Business Journal interview, founders Bartholomew
Jones and Renata Henderson explained that the idea was to
Creating Momentum connect the Black community to coffee. “The more I learned
about coffee’s origin, coming from Africa, I thought it was
In recent years, we have seen marginalized people with- strange that there weren’t more black people included in the
in the coffee industry creating communities of their own. industry. As I’ve done more research, I realized coffee has been
Sometimes it is just a social media group, other times it’s a new colonized and stolen and planted around the world from coun-
organization, a non-profit like CCRE, or an already established tries that didn’t originally grow coffee.”
business that shifts its focus. During a conversation with Ma- When the duo set out to learn about coffee production in
rissa Childers, the moderator of Instagram group Coffee Asians, Africa, they turned to crowdfunding to finance their trip. They
we discussed why these initiatives are starting to appear. raised US$10,000 in just 24 hours, which allowed them to not
“I think a lot of people are finding their voice. A lot of only conduct research but also document their journey through
people are also tired. When it starts with one person and then footage that would later become the basis for their debut doc-
it grows, it becomes something where there is more momentum. umentary “CxffeeBlack to Africa.” The film premiered at the
And when there is more momentum, more people want to be Specialty Coffee Expo in Boston on April 9, 2022. Cxffeeblack
a part of the movement and find their own ways that they can is providing an opportunity for the black community to learn Photo / Joyce Yong
serve their communities. It comes hand in hand with the real- about themselves through coffee. In a way, they are showing
ization that they haven’t been served very well by the broader that coffee is not just something grown by black people but for
coffee industry,” they say. them as well.

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