From home roasting to making an impact globally, Stephanie's story is one to hear.

Stephanie, the owner of Swelter Coffee, shares her journey into coffee roasting and the origin of the name "Swelter." The name is derived from her maiden last name, Walter, and her shorthand, S. Walter. Stephanie started home roasting about 10 years ago and friends and family began calling it Walter coffee. When she turned her passion into a business, she decided to stick with the name for its personal connection.

Stephanie's interest in home roasting began when she stumbled upon a book by James from Blue Bottle, which taught her how to roast coffee at home. Over time, she developed a taste for lighter roasts and expanded her roasting capacity. Stephanie also started roasting at a co-roasting space in Berkeley, further fueling her love for the process and expanding her knowledge of coffee origin and processing.

Stephanie's idea of owning her own coffee shop became more serious after she had her daughter. She wanted her business to have a meaningful purpose and decided to focus on supporting women coffee farmers. Inspired by a talk on supporting women farmers for sustainability, Stephanie delved into learning about the challenges faced by women farmers and fair pricing.

Despite the pandemic causing delays, Stephanie launched Swelter Coffee in the summer of 2020. The pandemic served as a catalyst for Stephanie's entrepreneurial journey, and she is determined to make a positive impact in the coffee industry by championing gender equity and sustainability.

Stephanie's journey in the coffee industry has been driven by her passion and commitment to making a difference. She emphasizes the importance of building connections with coffee producers and sharing their stories with customers. Stephanie is also dedicated to gender equity and has created a coffee brand with a focus on supporting women farmers.

She has innovative approaches to sustainability, such as her Zero Waste Coffee Club, which offers a packaging solution that reduces waste and energy consumption. Stephanie plans to continue improving and expanding this circular packaging system, with a long-term vision of operating her company in a sustainable manner.

Stephanie's involvement in the coffee community has led her to attend various events and summits, such as the SCA Expo and the Women Powered Coffee Summit. She has felt a strong connection to mission-driven initiatives and emphasizes the importance of collaboration and dialogue across the global coffee community.

Stephanie also discusses the challenges of balancing her role as a full-time mom with running her coffee business and her desire to create a supportive work-life balance for her staff. Despite the difficulties, Stephanie finds motivation in being a role model for her child and maintaining hope and a positive mindset when starting a business.

https://sweltercoffee.com/

2024 Best Podcast Nominations

*Best DIY Podcast Finalist - The Ambies, Awards For Excellence in Audio - The Podcast Academy

*Best Coffee Podcast Finalist - The Sprudgie Awards, Honoring The Very Best in Coffee - Sprudge, The Worldwide Leader In Coffee News

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Copyright 2024 Elena Mahmood

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