ESTHER-HOPE GIBBS

SUSTAINABLE COFFEE SOLUTIONS & PROJECT MANAGEMENT

Featured as 30 under 30 in the coffee industry for Caffeine Magazine, Top 5 Innovators within the coffee industry by Brita Water (alongside James Hoffman!), Entrepreneur in Residence at Cardiff Business School

OVERVIEW:

With a remarkable career spanning over 15 years in the coffee industry, Esther has established a reputation as a visionary and leader in the world of specialty coffee. From crop to cup, Esther’s expertise encompasses every aspect of the coffee supply chain, ensuring the highest quality and sustainability in every cup.

Esther has worked in coffee since 2009, from pot-washer to barista, management to operations director, and for the past 4 years has worked as a consultant and trainer helping other coffee businesses grow.
Her passion for coffee is rooted in its people—those who grow it, handle logistics, serve it, and enjoy it. Coffee is integral to our lives, whether it’s for waking up, conducting business, socialising, or sustaining livelihoods worldwide.

She believes a people-focused approach is vital for the sustainability of the coffee industry. This means sourcing coffee ethically, ensuring fair prices for producers, and honouring the hard work along the supply chain through training staff to deliver an exceptional experience to the customer. This approach guarantees that we can continue to enjoy coffee for years to come

DIRECTOR/CONSULTANT - JANUARY 2020- NOW

Hope Espresso brings a holistic and ethical focussed approach to coffee business growth, covering the whole supply chain. Working personally with coffee growers globally and connecting them to the UK market with transparent trading relationships Developing and scaling up over 200 coffee businesses including sourcing sustainable direct-trade coffee (> 1000 tonnes), training (roasting, QC, business dev), sales (securing large contracts including TK MAXX & Morrisons, Asda, catering tenders)

- Set up and launched over 60 coffee businesses including roasteries, cafes and green coffee importing. social enterprises (in prisons, with homeless people, refugees)
- Whitelabel training packages for large roasteries including catering contracts, hotels, cafe chains
- SCA trainer in roasting, sensory, barista for over 600 people
- Sales and maintenance of new and refurbished espresso machines, bean 2 cup, grinders and roasters & other coffee equipment
- Curated HACCP & Quality management plans securing roasteries: 5 rating in all Hygiene Inspections

MANUMIT COFFEE ROASTERS

Set up social enterprise roastery employing survivors of modern slavery and human trafficking.
Full-time operations director sourcing coffee, growing sales, managing roastery and customer service and account management as well as supporting staff
Ensured growth of business to be able to employ more survivors of slavery
Sales exceeded 6 figures in the first year. All profits went to modern slavery projects.

EXTRA CURRENT EXPERIENCE:

  • Entrepreneur in Residence at Cardiff Business School

  • Tiktok 18k followers

  • Writer for MTPAK Coffee Roasters Education Site / Perfect Daily Grind

  • Brand Ambassador: Minor Figures, Besca Roasters, Green Coffee Collective, Huskup, Algrano

  • Speaker/Lecturer/Host at Coffee Events (including Edinburgh, London, Brighton, Bristol Coffee Festival) and Cardiff Business School

QUALIFICATIONS:

- Q Arabica Grader - Coffee Quality Institute - RECALIBRATED in January 2023 for another 3 year licence
- SCA AST in Barista, Roasting, Sensory (Also have brewing foundation, intermediate and professional) - renewed in Jan 2023 European Specialty Tea Association Trainer
- BA Hons 2:1 Joint Honours in Anthropology and Cultural Studies - University of Sussex (2014-2017)
- Professional Certificate in Tackling Human Trafficking- Centre of Parliamentary Studies - June 2017
- Portable Appliance Testing - High Speed Training - June 2022
- Level 3 Hygeine - High Speed Training - January 2022
- Introduction to HACCP for food safety - International Culinary Studio - January 2022
- Ending Slavery- Strategies for Contemporary Global Abolition- Nottingham University - October 2016

AS THE COFFEE INDUSTRY CONTINUES TO EVOLVE, ESTHER REMAINS DEDICATED TO PUSHING THE BOUNDARIES OF EXCELLENCE AND SUSTAINABILITY. WITH A STEADFAST COMMITMENT TO QUALITY AND A PASSION FOR INNOVATION, ESTHER IS POISED TO CONTINUE MAKING A SIGNIFICANT IMPACT ON THE WORLD OF COFFEE.