Our Story

Hi! We’re Denise and Zach, the founders of Empower Coffee Roasters. We’re so excited to share with you a little bit about our company and our journey.

We started Empower Coffee Roasters with two main purposes: First, to give coffee drinkers an exceptional experience with some of the best coffees around the world; and second, to empower women through education and opportunity. We believe in providing women with the opportunities necessary to succeed, especially in areas like coffee farming and STEM education. We wanted Empower Coffee Roasters to not just be another coffee roastery, but sought for it to be about something greater than ourselves. 

While Denise was working on a PhD in chemistry, she realized that there was a great need for more opportunities for young girls to learn about careers in STEM. Many young girls are not encouraged to pursue careers in STEM, and those in disadvantaged schools are not always exposed to the excitement and power of science that would make them dream of becoming a scientist or engineer.

While Denise was completing her PhD and figuring out how she could contribute to solving this problem, Zach was trying to make a difference working in politics. As he advanced in his career, Zach realized politics was just one of his many passions, and he began exploring other ways he could impact our community.

It was during this time that we discovered our passion for quality coffee, and we dove headfirst into home roasting and brewing. Denise loved how much chemistry was involved in coffee roasting and how her scientific background could improve the roasting and brewing processes. Zach loved playing with fire, even if it meant needing a fire extinguisher a few too many times. 

Together, we realized that we could combine our passions and create a unique company that made supporting women a core part of our business. We formed Empower Coffee Roasters as a women-owned business that seeks to support other women. Our goal is to involve women-owned businesses and organizations in as many facets of our company as possible. We seek to source our green beans from women-owned and run farms, and we respect the coffee value chain by ensuring our suppliers at origin are compensated fairly and are committed to empowering their own communities. In turn, we will use portions of our profits to invest in our own community, and we will work with local women-run businesses to improve our operations.

We are also committed to supporting organizations that help women and girls succeed and make their dreams a reality. We hope to hold classes for young girls to get them excited about STEM and work with women who are trying to jump-start their careers.

We are excited for you to join us on the journey ahead, enjoy some delicious coffee, and make a positive impact in the lives of others! Welcome to the Empower Coffee Roasters family!