Mike Mowry, Coffee Quality Coordinator, and Beth Ann Caspersen, Quality Control Manager, are in Ethiopia for two weeks. Here Mike talks week one and gives us an overview of what's still to come for the two travelers.
I often think about how we are changing the world through trade - with relationships and the belief that everyone has rights, no matter where they are from. It's easy to get overwhelmed by the complex issues spanning the globe, from myriad protests to governmental conflicts to human right abuses. Look at a place like the Democratic Republic of Congo - a war-torn country in Central Africa with a devastated economy and massive sexual violence against women and girls of all ages. Did you know that the D.R. Congo has been called one of the worst places on earth to be a woman?
Recently at Equal Exchange, we received the question, "Is it true that coffee dehydrates you?" Water is one of the most essential nutrients for your body. So, pour yourself a glass of your favorite chilled Equal Exchange drink and read on!
Over the last few years I have written about shifting gender roles in the coffee industry; how women are moving into different positions of power and influence within their own communities and co-operatives. The change is slow, but I believe this systemic change begins with individual women and the opportunities that are available to them.
For many years, the specialty coffee industry has drawn parallels to the wine industry. The most widely used comparison is in the way we describe the flavors we taste. Consumers are familiar with wine labels that boast specialty flavors like mango or plum, bright acidity, and a host of other flavors.
Mike Mowry is a Coffee Quality Coordinator at Equal Exchange. It's his job to taste coffee.
At the Tierra Nueva coffee and honey co-operative, some new initiatives are helping women to improve their economic standing. Gender roles in Latin America, as in most parts of the world, are inequitable.
During the five days I stayed in San Fernando, a coffee-farming community remotely located 6,000 feet up in the Andes Mountains of Peru, I only started to understand the complexities of rural life for the farmers and their families. Because of my academic background in gender studies, I was particularly interested in the breakdown of gender roles in San Fernando. 
Everyone is born with the ability to be a specialty products taster. In fact, we have thousands of taste buds in our mouths, but most of us are just learning how to describe the sensations we experience with everything we eat. The key is to relax, take a deep breath and enjoy the tasting!
