The New York City Coffee Shop That Brews Gender Equality & Gives Back To Sloths

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Kate here, the resident Most Wanted coffee enthusiast. In my ongoing hunt for new and excellent coffee to help maintain my caffeine eye twitch, I recently discovered New York-based Bean & Bean Coffee Roasters, and was initially drawn to the brands’ unexpected and very cute mascot — a sloth. The sleepy, coarse-haired mammal seems like an odd choice to represent a beverage that promises to bestow energy, so I had to do some more investigating.

Bean & Bean Coffee Roasters was founded by mother-daughter duo Rachel and Jiyoon Han, who opened their first shop in Manhattan in 2008. They've since expanded to four locations, in addition to a roasting facility in Queens, New York. Both founders are Q graders — basically, coffee sommeliers — and have always focused on carefully sourcing only organic and fair-trade certified beans. One of their most significant missions, however, is to bridge the gender gap in the coffee industry. The brand’s website notes that "Despite comprising half of the coffee workforce, women earn significantly less than their male counterparts and lack access to training and resources." Currently, more than 50% of Bean & Bean's coffee is sourced, farmed, and brewed by women, and they're committed to partnering with organizations and producers that share their same values.

From a wide range of coffee beans to brewing gear (and sloth merch) Bean & Bean's website boasts a load of caffeine-related and gift-worthy goods that can be sent straight to your door. And just in time for the Mother's Day gifting sprint, we've secured an exclusive discount for R29 readers. Now through June 30, you can score 20% off the products linked in this story. (The discount will be automatically applied when you cart up Bean & Bean goods through our on-site checkout. Ahead, check out some of the roaster’s offerings that I’ll be adding to my own cart — right here on R29, of course.

Bean & Bean's Indonesia Sumatra roast is seasonally sourced from the Sumatran rainforest by 1,000 local producers and has tasting notes of mild cherry, bold nuts, and cinnamon.

This duo of honey coffee is specifically processed to produce beans that are higher in acidity, but result in a sweeter fruity flavor. The Las Lajas Red Honey roast has tasting notes of strawberry, peach, green apple, and orange while the Las Lajas Black Honey roast has tasting notes of strawberry, vanilla, watermelon, and orange. Both are seasonally harvested by third-generation farmers.

OK, you’ve gotten this far in the story — and you’re probably wondering what is the deal with the sloths. According to Bean & Bean’s website, coffee farming has an unsurprisingly negative impact on sloth populations in Central and South America, thanks to the aggressive deforestation and habitat disruption. That’s why the company has partnered with The Sloth Institute by donating 1% of online sales from their beans to help with the tracking and caring for sloths affected by environmental changes that coffee bean has wrought. They also adopt a sloth every month in order to help orphaned and injured sloths return back to the rainforest. Ahead, check out the brand’s cutest and most caffeinated sloth swag.

Keep your brew cute and cozy with this double-wall insulated mug that's BPA-free and includes a lid for easy on-the-go sipping.

This coffee kit is meant for the traveling type. It includes an Aeropress coffee maker, a 12oz bag of pre-ground beans, an eco handmade tote bag, and two single-serving coffee steeping bags.