Crafted By Her: From Empowered Hands to Your Canister

My name is Alison Wang, and I am a coffee enthusiast currently in high school. Inspired by the profound privilege of us coffee-lovers being able to savor the subtle flavors and aromas of coffee in its many forms, we celebrate the dedicated women who make this experience possible. Our canisters are made by women, and so are many of the specialty coffee beans they are meant to store. While visiting and getting to know the workers at our canister-making factories and reading stories about the Tianyu Coffee Collaborative, which is founded and run by a Yunnan woman Ye Ping who strives to empower the other women in her community by growing pioneering specialty coffee, I was deeply moved by the high quality of work these women are creating. Many of these women don’t have the privilege to enjoy coffee, yet their hard work is making magic happen. Despite these women’s participation in the supply side of this industry, coffee is still generally marketed more toward the more privileged crowd that can afford to take the time, energy, and money to enjoy the magic of coffee.

As a girl in high school who enjoys drinking, making, and sharing coffee with my community at school as a lead student barista of the coffee club I founded, OutPeak’s youth program has encouraged me to further explore and understand the significance of being able to enjoy coffee. This youth program has inspired and provided me with a platform to support female workers, growers, creators, and entrepreneurs in the coffee industry. OutPeak's factory and company share my commitment and proudly follow this spirit: the factory is now run entirely by women and the company is composed of mostly women. OutPeak is full of women who bring their unique perspectives and skills to every canister produced. By joining this youth program and supporting OutPeak’s business, you’re helping to bring the ability to enjoy this small luxury back to the hands of its creators.