Empowering Women in Coffee: The Story of Mama Sierra

In the highlands of Giraldo, Antioquia, a movement is reshaping the future of coffee production. Led by Sirley Pulgarin, Mama Sierra is a collective of 15 dedicated women farmers working to break barriers and build a more inclusive coffee industry. What began in March 2021 as an initiative by Yessica Parra has since evolved into a powerful force for change, giving women greater access to resources, training, and economic opportunities in the traditionally male-dominated world of coffee farming.

Mama Sierra’s coffee is a testament to both skill and resilience. Grown at elevations between 1,900 and 2,250 metres above sea level, the Castillo and Caturra varieties thrive in the rich soils of Antioquia. The coffee undergoes a meticulous washed process with wet fermentation, bringing out clean, sweet, and complex flavours in every cup. Sirley Pulgarin, now at the helm of Mama Sierra, is passionate about ensuring that the women in her community have the tools and knowledge to produce outstanding coffee while securing financial stability.

The Hydro Process Behind Temanggung's Finest Coffee

Discover how the Kojoyo Cooperative and First Light Coffee use innovative hydro processing to unlock exceptional flavours. This meticulous method of fermentation, drying, and sorting transforms handpicked cherries into rich, vibrant coffee while supporting local communities and sustainable practices.

Nestled between Mount Sindoro and Mount Sumbing lies the home of two remarkable groups: the Kojoyo Cooperative and First Light Coffee. The Kojoyo Cooperative, led by Wahyu Setiyono, represents a community of predominantly Arabica coffee farmers spread across six districts in the Temanggung region. Of these, four districts, with 250 dedicated farmers, specialize in producing high-quality specialty Arabica. Wahyu, who initially pursued theology with dreams of becoming a priest, found his true calling in coffee. His journey began in 2019 when, as a coffee trader, he was captivated by the intricate world of coffee processing. A competition entry that earned him 11th place for his robusta opened the doors to endless possibilities in the art and science of coffee.

SUPERNATURAL coffee is not a ghost. So what is it?

Supernatural coffee is a Natural coffee on steroids. Natural processed coffee is known for its fruity, funky, and boozy flavours, it is sweet, and is relatively low in acidity when compared to washed coffee. To achieve these flavours, the coffee is dried with the coffee cherry fully intact around the coffee bean. As the coffee dries in layers, the fruit slightly ferments, imparting fruity, boozy, and funky notes that you wouldn’t get from washed process coffee. So how could you take this further?

You may have already read my post "Brewing with Dani". In this edition I'll be reviewing equipment for home brewing- Automated and non Automated Espresso Machines. It's an exciting world. My world. Welcome!

A review of Automated, Semi- and non Automated Espresso machines for domestic use. 

Bringing the joy of sport to the overlooked and beyond

Not you're average NGO. We supply LOT61 coffee to KLABU and KLABU supplies sportswear to refugee and refugee camps. 

Hi, I'm Mackie Nene Walker, a Ghanaian who has gladly called Amsterdam home for two years and counting. I work on communications at KLABU - we’re building the world’s biggest and most empowering club by unlocking the power and joy of sports for the overlooked. Starting where it’s most needed: in refugee camps.

Hey, Ray here. I'm co-responsible for the cold brew production at LOT61. I'll try my best to explain everything cold brew, from the production process to bottling, distribution and serving. At the end of my rambling I hope it's clear that cold brew is more than just cold coffee, because yeah.. that hours old, soggy two-and-a-half-scoop morning brew isn't gonna cut it. Hold my hand. Welcome to cold brew land..

We are not a company who wants to have a mission, we come from a mission and then we made a company.

This was the first thing Francesca said to me when we sat down. Today I’m arriving at the LOT61 roastery to interview Francesca Miazzo. Francesca and her business partner Jessica are the founders of a young, innovative company called Foodlogica. They deliver food on bikes. But we’re not talking about the take away kind; we’re talking about all sorts of fresh food and supplies to restaurants, bars and business all over Amsterdam.

Back in 2019 we met Clayton at the World of Coffee in Berlin. It was a good year for coffee. It was pre-pandemic and the festival was bursting with new inventions and creations. We met Clayton at our stand on the first day of the festival and chatted surfing, skating, music and of course, coffee. 

Besides the language barrier we agreed on most topics discussed, think (universal) keywords as Metallica, kickflips and Yellow Catuai. We were determined to one day try his coffee and after a few logistical set backs we finally managed to sneak his coffee in a shipping container coming from Brazil. So, how did São Paulo surfer, Clayton Barrossa, become one of the most exciting specialty coffee farmers in Brazil? Oisín chatted with Clayton to find out.

A rethought way of traveling and staying as a backpacker.

We've all been there, stuck in a much regretted hostel, thinking it was worth saving the money on. ClinkNOORD approach is simple, minimalistic, design originated while functional living for the travel on a budget. 

Office coffee... somehow it's just never been a success... So let me give you some insiders tips regarding equipment so we can change the bad connotation with office coffee once and for all.

A review of Fully, Semi- and non Automated Espresso Machines for your Office. 

Trying to understand how to improve our impact, we met with Lennart Clerkx for an interview. We have been working with Lennart for the last five years. Lennart is the founder of This Side Up, a coffee trader based in Amsterdam. This Side Up’s purpose is to create fairness and progress across the whole coffee value chain. In this interview, we talk about Lennart’s vision for circular coffee: regenerative agriculture and opensource practices; and his reluctance towards organic certification. 

Affectionately known as Indo to those of us who live Downunder and in times gone by, as the East Indies by Dutch explorers, today we know this tropical far-away place as Indonesia. 

I hear you ask what’s Indo got to do with coffee at LOT61? Well its home to our newest single origin, Buntu Ledo. To find out more about Buntu Ledo, we spoke with Lennart Clerkx, a Dutch man and founder of This Side Up; a sustainably and socially conscious coffee trading business, who connects farmers from over 14 countries, with roasters all around the world. 

It was the year 2005. I had just started college. As a teenager in India studying engineering, it was not exactly easy to get a grip on the world's most urgent problems like climate change, in spite of actively living though its consequences. Constant power cuts and regular water shortages were part and parcel of daily life - and the sad part was that society had come to accept it and live with it. There was no real awareness of issues. No desire to change. No hope.

Andres Jara on Food Circularity in Amsterdam

Today I am meeting with Andres Jara, founder of Roots, Rice & Beans which products you can find in specialty shops in and around Amsterdam. Andres is also behind de Stadsgroenteboer, a community supported farm that he created with friends, which brought him to Amsterdam in the first place. Andres collects our coffee chaff weekly, which is the dry skin that comes off the coffee during the roasting process.

Hi, it's Ray and Rory here. Welcome to our once-in-a-while update on new coffees and roasts. Today on 'Rating Roasts with Ray and Rory' (aka RRRR) we'd like to cover Bombora. This blend has practically been with us since the beginning of things and the flavor profile is tricky to get right. "Why change a good thing?" we hear you think.. well, coffee is a seasonal product and harvests only yield a limited amount of beans and bags. It was about bloody time for us to look into new components for one of our favorite blends.

Long-time partner The Hoxton, located in the heart of 'The 9 Streets' district, has been serving LOT61 coffee since the day it opened it's doors back in 2015. Read on as Head Barista Danilo Caracci gives us an update on all things coffee within the hotel.

Long-time partner The Hoxton hotel, located in the heart of The 9 Streets district, has been serving LOT61 coffee since the day it opened it's doors back in 2015. Please read on as Head Barista Danilo Caracci will give us the latest update on all things coffee.

Trends are created by innovators, popularised by early-adopters and destroyed by everybody else. Cafe trends come and go, so positioning your cafe to be on trend is a short term game that needs to be managed with long term strategy.

Photos by M.K. Sadler for LOT61. Copyright.

The drive for innovation is fuelled by individualism. Market disruption is caused by a unique approach to the status quo. There are more cafe operators in Sydney than ever. Customer expectations are high, unrelenting and forever shifting. Defining yourself in the industry is crucial to becoming recognised and acknowledged for your hard work. 

Remaining unique is near impossible, as an established operation you will be a source of inspiration for many. Imitation is the finest form of flattery, and saturation is a surefire trend of failure. To stay clear of this, you need to be creative and forever evolving.

Coffee is an always evolving industry (from the way coffee is being harvested and processed at farm level, all the way to how it's being roasted and brewed) and we have the opportunity to learn new things and work with outstanding coffees all year around. But taking this one step further, we're also keen to pay it forward and share our knowledge with our customers, so they are able to brew a delicious cup of coffee in the comfort of their own home.

We're happy to prepare and organize an array of coffee workshops, designed for starting baristas and hobbyists alike. The workshops can take place either in a group environment at our flagship cafe on Kinkerstraat or privately. We are also open to customize them as needed.

The Crafter of Carecups - Eleanore Troost

The Bombora blend most often consists of two components: Brazil and Guatemala. Let's quickly zoom in on both for a second. The Brazil part of the Bombora is mostly a mix of two Brazilian coffees, one part originates from the Cerrado- and the other from the Santos region. Both regions mixed result in a smooth, clean coffee with lots of chocolate and nutty flavors. This two-bean combo is great to enjoy solo (like here) but really comes alive with the addition of it's Guatemalan compadre. 

It's relatively easy for us to source and keep the Brazilian part of the Bombora strong year-round, as supplies are fairly large and steady and flavors more consistent. The Guatemalan side requires more attention.

After two months of research and tasting we found a great new Guatemalan component in the 'La Esperanza' from the Antigua region. More info on this particular farm and lot can be found here. The flavor profile of this coffee is exactly what we're looking for in the Bombora-Guat: sweet berries (like raspberry and blueberries) with hints of dark chocolate.

Okay, now we covered both components in the Bombora, let's zoom in on the roasting side of things. When new coffees arrive in our roastery it's key to get to know the new bean in every possible aspect. At the roastery we developed a method for this that's unofficially titled the 'go rogue or go home' method. This means we will roast the coffee in the following ways: very light, middle of the road light, middle of the road dark and lastly, dark. Before we do any blending we will first prepare the above roasting styles in every possible way. 

Besides aiming for perfect extractions on both the filter- and espresso end, we also 'go rogue' by extracting very short and long espresso shots in order to get an understanding how this coffee reacts to under- and over extractions. As you can imagine, during the tasting process we often go home caffeinated and buzzed like bugs, but.. it's all for the greater good.

When we all agree on the perfect roast and start blending the new components, we first preserve the old components by freezing several bags of each, followed by a CIELAB-color reading (you can Wiki-read that right here mate). We will keep the frozen bags until the next tasting session comes around.

Well, that's about it for now. Thanks for tuning in to Rating Roasts with Ray and Rory. The new Bombora is live and can be found here. Enjoy!

This year, it’s all about balance. New Year, Same Love for Coffee.

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RRRR: Bombora

Posted in Story

January 19, 2021

Rating Roasts with Ray and Rory

Born in Sydney.

Raised in Brooklyn.

Roasting in Amsterdam.