About Me
Hi! My name is Meagan
You can also call me “Coffee Meagan”, a name which I inherited from my dear friend and legendary conservationist, Dr. Jane Goodall.
How I met and became friends with her is a long story—one I’ll save for later—because the most important thing about our relationship is that we work together on a sustainable coffee project that regrows forests in coffee regions on a mass scale to mitigate climate change.
It’s a dream come true to work with my childhood hero, and I wake up every day fueled by great coffee and inspiration from this amazing woman who dedicated her entire life to justice for animals, nature, and people; and who has a keen sense for identifying the good in this world.
More About Me
- I guess you could say I’m a coffee expert
But what does that really mean? The coffee industry is full of opinions—many of them conflicting—and I feel that it’s important to keep in mind that the vast majority are driven by the motivation to sell products. I have over a decade of experience working in coffee; Engaging in all parts of the supply chain, including growing, sourcing, roasting, cupping, “barista-ing”, retailing, and educating consumers. By now, coffee is in my blood. I wouldn’t say I have deep expertise in any particular part of the coffee supply chain, but that my expertise is more “full picture” and is informed by my critical thinking training, having studied journalism. My passion for coffee lies, not just in perfecting my morning cups, but in understanding the social, environmental, and economic issues related to coffee’s production and world trade, in order to know how to act on and inspire much-needed positive change.
—And by no means am I perfect. Like any human, I make errors. But being a naturally curious person and a lifelong learner, the idea of having constructive coffee discussions, finessing my knowledge, and correcting my mistakes excites me. - I’m also an environmentalist … and an artist
I work with scientists, engineers, and coffee farmers on a sustainable coffee project, and aim to spread awareness about the fact that coffee is a leading cause of deforestation in producing regions, making it a significant contributor to climate change. In my spare time I make coffee art that relates to my consumers awareness endeavors.
About My Mission in Coffee
As a ripened coffee- and nature-lover, I’m most concerned about the connection between our coffee habit and climate change. The way most coffee is currently produced has a big carbon footprint that contributes to climate change. And warmer, dryer weather in the tropics (due to a warming climate) is also bad for growing coffee.
After all I’ve seen, if I could make one consumer demand it would be this: I want coffee that doesn’t contribute to any more deforestation!
Every year, in Central America alone, more than 16,000 acres of forest is used to dry our coffee and consumers are largely unaware. Above, is a typical woodpile used for drying coffee that’s harvested from nearby tropical forests. And it’s not just woodpiles being used to process our coffee. Primary forests are being cleared, even in the high elevation mountains, to grow coffee out in the open where it’s exposed to pests and requires pesticides and chemical fertilizers, and these high elevation tropical forests are the some world’s most important remaining biodiversity hotspots.
