Barista Magazine Spends “10 Minutes With” the NKG PACE Partners
Barista Magazine Online recently spent time getting to know the 2022 NKG PACE Partners — Porttia Portis, Jayy Terrell and Charles Umeano. We hope you’ll check out this special series of “10 Minutes With” interviews and get to know them better, too!
When asked by Barista Senior Online Correspondent Vasileia Fanarioti about her experience to date, Porttia shared:
It was the first time I truly felt seen while working in the coffee industry. It was validating to meet other Black coffee professionals with different yet ultimately similar experiences of being met with resistance at every turn. We were all stubbornly committed to our careers in coffee in order to create spaces for others like us, and it felt like a huge weight off of my shoulders to finally receive support on an institutional level.
Porttia Portis in the sample library at Neumann Gruppe USA headquarters, in Hoboken. Jayy Terrell, when asked about their favorite part of the job so far, described becoming calibrated with the InterAmerican Coffee team in San Diego. They shared:
We are all bringing vastly different experiences to our cuppings, different preferences, and length of time in the industry, so getting to a place where we are speaking a common language has been so gratifying. Before I got here, the thought of cupping a full table of coffees and scoring them within a point or two of everyone else seemed daunting, yet somehow—through the work we’re doing—we’re figuring it out! It’s been great to feel myself grow more confident and to feel my team recognizing that growth, and to see that happening for the other PACE partners as well has been amazing.
Charles, when asked to share advice with anyone considering applying to the NKG PACE program, offered:
Do it. It is only a year-long commitment, and in less than six months I have already gotten so much more out of the program than I expected (and I had really high expectations). It is challenging, but it is most definitely a coffee-driven program for people who eat, sleep, and yes, drink coffee. … Mostly, I hope that folks who have done the hard yards in coffee and might now have one foot out the door will apply for this program because I believe it could rekindle that spark.
Charles Umeano in the Hoboken lab, which is shared by InterAmerican Coffee and Rothfos Corporation. Our warmest thanks to Barista Magazine for shining its light on the Partners and the NKG PACE program, and for all it does to advance equity in the U.S. coffee industry!
Considering applying to NKG PACE? Applications for the 2023 program year (which begins April 26) are due by Dec. 1 at 5 p.m. ET. Have questions? Comments? Please get in touch at nkgpace@nkg.coffee. We’d love to hear from you! •