Why Coffee People?
(Written September 2018)
Hello, Coffee People!
Welcome to Coffee People - a zine about coffee, creativity, and community. It was written for coffee people, by coffee people. The main purpose of this zine is to display the artwork and creative endeavors of coffee professionals. It was begun to give a platform to baristas, roasters, and other coffee professionals to display their talents, passions, opinions, hobbies, and points of view. Many coffee people are creative in realms outside the café, so let’s share what we do with each other! Let’s support and encourage one another. Coffee People is meant to entertain and inform. So . . .
WHY COFFEE?
I love coffee. Just ask anyone who knows me.
“Kat loves coffee a lot.” -Friends and Family
See? I have been a barista for nearly 5 years, and started roasting coffee around a year ago. In the time I’ve been in coffee, the Denver scene has grown a lot. Delicious and unique coffees can be found all around town; beautiful cafes have been built out from Fort Collins to Colorado Springs, Aurora to Lakewood (and beyond!); and the community of coffee professionals has expanded and, at the same time, become more tight-knit. Likewise, the camaraderie of baristas, roasters, importers, farmers, and other coffee folks throughout the United States and across the world has become an integral part of this industry. Which brings us to . . .
WHY PEOPLE?
Coffee is great, sure, but it’s the people involved in the coffee community that really make the experience complete. It’s the baristas who engage you with a new coffee they’re excited about. It’s the roasters who pour over their machines, tweaking each roast to exhibit the best qualities in each bean. It’s the competitors who sacrifice their time and energy (and money) to perfect their craft. It’s the regulars at each shop that make getting up at 4am every day bearable. It’s the farmers and laborers who hand pick each coffee cherry, rake the fermenting fruit over and over until it is ready to be processed, and carry 69kg bags of green coffee on their backs into containers to be shipped to us. It’s the importers who orchestrate the barges and legal paperwork so the green coffee can enter our country. I could go on and on. Coffee is an amazing product, but it would be nothing without the people behind it. I also wanted a term that would be inclusive to all folks while upholding feminist ideals, striving to advocate for human rights on the basis of our equality. After all, we are all people. And then . . .
WHY A ZINE?
I’m a fan of physical products. I’ve never fully made the switch to digital and online things. My schedule book is paper. I prefer to read out of a real book than on a tablet or screen. It’s the tangible aspect of holding a physical object in your hand. Sure, a website can theoretically reach more people, but I believe a booklet can be more enjoyable, and more impressionable. I like the grassroots feel of a zine. I like how they’re associated with subcultures and independence and feminism and free thinking and local communities. I like how they can be about anything just because someone wants to write or draw about it. And heck, why not make a zine?
It has been so much fun creating this publication, from brainstorming with my best gal pals, to receiving submissions from fellow coffee lovers, to figuring out how to make it all happen in print form. I hope you enjoy reading this half as much as I enjoyed putting it together. And thanks.