About Café Femenino Greece
You may not know it, but your morning coffee connects you to millions of women coffee farmers across the world. While these women have always played a vital role in coffee production, they weren’t recognized or directly compensated for their work.
In 2003, a few women in northern Peru decided to change this by co-founding Café Femenino alongside Organic Products Trading Company. For the first time, women were recognized as coffee producers and paid for the coffee they produced.
Since then, Café Femenino has grown into a foundation empowering women in remote coffee-growing regions in nine countries. The Café Femenino project ensures that when you choose Café Femenino, you’re choosing more than a specialty coffee. You’re choosing to help women take on leadership roles, obtain the title to the land on which they farm, and earn an extra premium for their high-quality coffee beans.
In these way by selecting Café Femenino you’re choosing to stand by women coffee farmers fighting for the credit they deserve and the voice they need to empower themselves and their communities.
The Quality of Café Femenino Coffee
Our coffee is sourced from nine different origin countries, in which Café Femenino Foundation works continuously at organizing and educating women coffee producers in the structure of cooperatives in nine origin countries: Peru, Colombia, Bolivia, Nicaraqua, Guatemala, Mexico, Brazil, Dominican Republic, Indonesia.
One of the factors which contribute to the outstanding quality of Café Femenino coffee is the education of women producers regarding the harvesting and the processing of the coffee. All Café Femenino coffee is Arabica coffee and handpicked and 90% is wet-processed. It is cultivated on high elevation, giving coffee cherries a slower maturation. Flavor-wise this can be portrayed in a large amount of sweetness and clean subtle acidity which one can enjoy when consuming our coffee.
All the Café Femenino coffees are graded under the SCA standards of 84 points and above, and 90% of the coffee is Fairtrade certified and organically grown. All Café Femenino coffee beans are screen size +18.
The roasting level of our coffee is medium roast, aiming to concentrate on the genuine primary characteristics of the coffee itself, retaining its subtle acidity and sweetness.
The Story of Café Femenino Foundation
Women have always played an extremely important role in the harvesting and processing of coffee in origin countries. Until very recently they had no financial or ethical returns connected to their work and efforts. As a result, women remained always dependent as they couldn’t contribute to the family’s income.
In 2003 a small group of 464 courageous women from Peru, decided to act and separate their coffee crop from that of the mens’ of the community for the first time in history. These 464 women created the Cooperativa Cecanor, which partnered up with the US company OPTCO, creating the first Café Femenino program in 2004, representing women coffee producers around the world and empowering them in their efforts.
The Café Femenino Foundation supports the women of the cooperatives in the nine origin countries mentioned above by offering education, financial consulting, mentoring, and sponsoring the particular financial needs of the different cooperatives.
The Mission of Café Femenino Greece
The mission of Café Femenino Greece is to financially support the women of the cooperatives, which take part in the Café Femenino program in the 9 origin countries. This is achieved by paying the extra premium on the price of the green coffee which goes directly to the cooperatives as well as by committing to paying 0.025 euro per cup of coffee sold in the Café Femenino stores to the Café Femenino Foundation, in order to sponsor certain projects each year in origin countries.
Its aim is to raise awareness relating to the mission and vision of the Café Femenino foundation initiatives in the European continent and to support women in business and women's entrepreneurship in Greece by including women-made products in the Café Femenino stores.
Even further, Café Femenino Greece supports financially selected Greek women’s NGO’s by offering 0.025 euro per cup of coffee sold in the Café Femenino stores.
