San Francisco’s community food space 18 Reasons will be hosting a program called “Women In Coffee: Their voices, lives and dreams from farm to cup” with Equator Coffees‘ Kimberly Easson and Helen Russel. This program will feature a lecture followed by a tasting. More from Brown Paper Tickets:

The class will begin with a talk by Kimberly, widely recognized for her knowledge about coffee and social justice.  Through stories and photographs we will learn about women farmers in South America, Africa, and the USA who are changing the landscape of coffee production, processing, and marketing.  In the course of our conversation, we will explore sensitive and critical topics as food security, housing, health, maternal care, domestic violence, wages/income, and land ownership.  After a Q&A with Kimberly and Helen Russell, we will taste a selection of Equator’s excellent coffees produced by women and poured by Caitlin McCarthy-Garcia, Roaster. Join us!

About Kimberly Easson
During more than fifteen years working in the arena of sustainable trade and development, Kimberly Easson has dedicated herself to making trade work better for women and small-scale farmers, particularly in coffee.  After 12 years working for social justice alongside Equator Coffees co-founders Helen Russell and Brooke McDonnell, she now works with Equator Coffees serving as Relationship Manager building partnerships with coffee farmers and coffee communities worldwide.

She is co-founder of the International Women’s Coffee Alliance (IWCA) and served as its President for five years. Kimberly has also served as Director of Producer Services and Relations at Fairtrade International in Bonn, Germany and on the Board of Directors of the Specialty Coffee Association of America.  She started JavaVentures, a company that fosters better understanding between roasters and farmers by bringing coffee professionals on tours throughout Latin American and Africa.

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Renowned information technology wonk and Google research scientist Alon Halevy spent over two years traveling the world, not in “search of the perfect coffee” or even “the perfect cafe,” but simply to explore and appreciate the differences in cultural approaches to coffee.

The fruits of his labor are now available in charming book called “The Infinite Emotions of Coffee”. The book is, in a word, gorgeous – full of poetry, lovely photography, and glimpses into coffee cultures across the world, Mr. Halevy’s book is an early front-runner for 2012′s Coffee Book of the Year. Here’s some more info from the book’s website:

The Infinite Emotions of Coffee provides a contemporary prism of the drink that so much of the world takes for granted every morning. Technopreneur Halevy’s travels to more than 30 countries on six continents shed light on how coffee has shaped and is influenced by different cultures through the bean’s centuries-spanning journey of serendipity, intrigue, upheavals, revival, romance and passion. With more than three years of field research, over 180 color photographs, and richly illustrated infographics, this book is an immersive experience that brings alive the enduring allure of coffee and the nuanced emotions of both tradition-bound and avant-garde café cultures.

Aside from being a “Technopreneur” and an internationally revered information scion, Alon is something of a coffee man about town in the Bay Area, regularly attending events and frequenting fine cafes. He is also, for what it’s worth, a really sweet guy. We had a chance to ask Alon some questions about his experiences when writing the book, and he graciously provided the following responses:

Sprudge Editors: So Alon, tell us about the most outrageous experience you had when you were out there in the world researching for this terrific book of yours.

Alon: This is a hard choice, but I think it was the evening I spent with the Ferrer family in Iceland. We were at their Summer house which is miles away from any other house on the outskirts of the tiny city of Selfoss, Iceland. There I was, as close as one can get to the edge of the world, sitting with Ingibjorg, Tumi, their father Carlos (who was the reigning Coffee in Good Spirits champion of Iceland) and all of their significant others/spouses, listening to a hot debate about the right balance of coffee and whiskey in the perfect Irish coffee. (Carlos made some killer Irish coffees too!)

Sprudge Editors: We’re big Tumi fans – what’s not to like? So in all of your travels what simply stood out and caps lock AMAZED you?

Alon: The amazing rate of innovation in the coffee world today. Coming from the tech world where the world changes profoundly every 3-5 years, I was expecting a pretty stable and well understood craft. I was so totally wrong.

Of course, I was also surprised by the sheer number of tweets that coffee folks are able to produce!

Sprudge Editors: Hash tag tell us about it. Thanks for the chat, Alon!

Get a digital copy for your Kindle or fetcherself a real one online over here. If you’re in San Francisco you can pick up a hardback copy at Four Barrel in the Mission.

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Nerd Alert! The second Bay Area Coffee People Book Club is meeting up tonight at Sightglass Coffee! Come! Nerd out! It’s gonna be really cool! We swear! Exclamation points!

This really does look like it’s going to be worth your time. One of very few coffee community-type events in the Bay Area, the BACP Book Club is shaping up to be a really exciting meet-up. Hurrah!

What: Bay Area Coffee Pro Book Club Meeting and Fair Trade USA Round Table
When: Nov 29, 5:30-7:00 pm
Where: Sightglass Coffee, 270 7th Street, San Francisco, CA 94103

For the second edition of the BACPBC, the theme is ‘Developments in Fair Trade’.
We’ll discuss the concept, practice, and critiques of Fair Trade, and the recent changes to Fair Trade USA.

But that’s not all… Ever had questions about Fair Trade? Do you have questions about the recent changes to Fair Trade USA? Is there anything else you’re questioning? Now is your chance to have it all answered: a representative from Fair Trade USA will be on-hand for the discussion!

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We’ve since moved away from Seattle, splitting our home base between Portland and San Francisco, so we thought we’d write a little duet of features about the spaces in our new cities we’ve grown to love. Sprudge HQ Bay Area initially found it difficult to locate a spot that had those three qualifications for a great cafe work environment, but fourteen months later we’re happy to share with with you three that are just fantastic.

SeeSaw - Hayes Valley

Serving: Four Barrel Coffee.

Great for: pluggin’ in your laptop, eating delicious Scandinavian foods.

Extra credit: Stroopwaffels! Like being back in Amsterdam, but with fewer canals and an unfortunate lack of Jen Prince.

Stable – Mission (Folsom & 17th)

Serving: De La Paz

Great for: Farm to table lunches, working outdoors

Extra credit: Beer and wine!

CoffeeBar SF – Potrero Hill

Serving: Mr. Espresso

Great for: Drinking rosé, plugging in

Extra credit: Jaw dropping view of the Twin Peaks

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