Sightseer Coffee Roasters was started in Austin in 2021 by Sara Gibson and Kimberly Zash, and it is women- and queer-owned. It buys green coffee only from women-led farms, co-ops and mills: women make up about 70% of the labour force on coffee farms but are often shut out of management and ownership. Its partners include the sisters Hirut and Mahder Berhanu at the Dumerso washing station in Yirgacheffe, the women members of the Soppexcca cooperative in Jinotega, Marta Bayter Montenegro of El Vergel Estate in Tolima and the women farmers of the Forest Academy in Huila. It buys through responsible importers, pays more than Fair Trade prices and is, by its own account, a feminist enterprise.

The coffee is roasted in Austin and labelled by roast level, from light Ethiopian single origins to the dark Killer Queen from Mount Elgon in Uganda. Hellacious is the cocoa and nut espresso blend, and Banshee was created as an “elevated” espresso for the coffee bar. Each bag of the El Prisma Pride Blend carries a donation to Out Youth, a central Texas organisation for LGBTQIA+ youth. Wholesale partners get the coffee with training, equipment advice and no contracts.

The Sightseer Coffee Bar sits next door to Sugar Mama’s Bakeshop, with seasonal drinks and house-made syrups.

Partner cafés

Coffee on the shelf

Photograph: Sightseer Coffee Roasters