Color of Coffee Collective Interview with Andrea Arana

Interview with Andrea Arana on the Color of Coffee Collective:

What is the Color of Coffee Collective?

"For those that don't know, the Color of Coffee Collective is an organization that works to bring together people of color within the coffee community and supporters of people of color in the coffee community. It was a symposium where people came from all over the United States, as well as Canada and Africa. So we really got to share our experiences—as different as our experiences are, there were similarities. There were different panels. There were techniques taught. A pour-over [technique] taught in Spanish. My best friend did diversity, equity, and inclusion. So it's an opportunity to celebrate our culture and our love for coffee."

How did you become involved with the event?

"I actually heard about the Color Coffee Collective last year. I was visiting my grandma, so I missed it, and I was so mad that I missed it. So then, this time around, I actually got involved because my friend Victoria met Keith, who is the founder of Color of Coffee, and she talked about my brand to him. I reached out to him, and we met up for coffee— I actually invited one of my best friends, Tiffany—and we kind of talked about our perspectives—hers within nonprofit and mine, my brand. He really loved the perspective of both of our career paths. And he invited me to be on the panel."

Were there any particular speakers or presentations at the event that stood out to you?

Yeah, I mean, obviously, my best friend was one that I was really happy and proud to witness. She did a whole presentation on diversity, equity, and inclusion. And we started the seminar by meditating and equalizing the room to find common ground and share our experiences and our identities for a minute straight. The other person is not allowed to ask follow-up questions or respond. You're just saying, like of all the things that create who you are as a person. Which one do you identify the most with? So I think by doing that, you really learn about people's perspectives from, for instance, the person that I was working with. She wants to be a lawyer. And so, the thing that she identifies most with is education.

What were some of the main takeaways or lessons that you hope attendees gained from the Color Coffee Collective event?

I think the main takeaway is that no matter where you came from or what obstacles you've encountered in your life, if you have a dream and a mission, especially specifically because I am a business owner, there is a community out there of people who want to support you because of your story and what you stand for, and that persistence and hard work will truly be the driving force for your success.

How do you think events like this can help to promote positive change and progress in the culture of the coffee industry?

I think that having events like this is amazing, but I think people feel like sometimes coffee, people can have blinders on because all they care about is perfecting their craft. So I think it's very important that we're not just working on making really good coffee but also working on being good people. So I think that goes for everyone. So whether you are a person of color or not, it's important to not just be perfect at this one element of your career but also think about your impact on a bigger scale and what you can do with whatever platform you have to make it a more inclusive space for everybody.