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Francesca “Frankie” Volkema, the world’s youngest licensed Q-grader.
Francesca “Frankie” Volkema, who a year ago became the world’s youngest Q-grader at just 13 years old, launched Joven Coffee to support the future of the coffee industry by providing financial stability to young farmers in at-risk regions and raising awareness of the opportunities for young people in the industry.
Joven (which is Spanish for “young”) features coffees that score a composite 84 or better and are produced by farmers under the age of 35. Joven’s initial line will consist of two single-origin coffees, one originating from a collective of young farmers in Cauca, Colombia, and the other from a group of young female farmers in Burundi, Africa.
An unprecedented first for the industry, Frankie passed the “Q” at 13 years old, a highly difficult series of tests from the Coffee Quality Institute (CQI) to become the world’s youngest Q-grader. “The Q is tough, and to have a very young person like Frankie show interest in the exam and pass it was fun to see and a positive sign for our industry’s future,” said Q instructor Willem Boot.
Frankie set out to create coffees that not only taste good but also have a positive social impact. On a visit to Colombia with her father Tim, who owns and operates Sparrows Coffee and Schuil Coffee in Grand Rapids, Michigan, she saw firsthand the lack of young coffee farmers (average age of a Colombian farmer is 57). She decided to buy coffee from Cafinorte’s Young Coffee Producers Program, which supports 200 young people from Northern Cauca to become sustainable coffee producers. Due to the Covid-19 global pandemic’s effect on specialty coffee, it is more critical than ever for farmers to operate knowing their whole crop will sell at a sustainable price. Frankie’s commitment to Cafinorte, as an example, includes purchasing almost half of their annual harvest for Joven.
“These experiences – from passing the Q, to visiting Colombia and talking with young farmers, to creating my own coffee line – have been so much fun and an incredible learning experience for me” said Frankie. “I’m excited to support these farmers in Cauca and Burundi and inspire more young people to become involved in the coffee industry.”
You can follow Frankie on Instagram @kidqgrader.