Mahsa Niyayesh: Coffee Insurrection Hero Chapter #26

Published by Tanya in Coffee Insurrection Hero · 1 October 2021
Tags: Mahsa_Niyayesh, Iran, Interview

1_ Introduce yourself: who are you, where are you from, where do you work and what’s your job.

I'm Mahsa Niyayesh from Iran and Tehran; I'm the founder of the Women's Association of coffee in Iran, and now I'm the director.

2_When and why did coffee become important to you?

I worked in a series of great chains as a barista girl, something beyond the coffee world.

3_ Do you remember the first coffee you had that was more than “just a cup of coffee”?

Yes, it was a long time ago, when I was preparing coffee for customers, and they said “This cup is more than a cup of coffee”. At that moment I realized that coffee can be so much more.

4_ What’s your favorite thing about going to work in the morning?

I come to my office every morning and read amazing stories of other women that work in the coffee world here in Iran. We support them, sharing the wonderful stories of these powerful women, so they always win.

5_ What’s your favorite brewing method and why?

I 've always said that syphon is the best coffee: for me it’s simply delicious.

6_ Which is the best coffee you ever tasted?

The best coffee I've ever had was the one made by the hands of my best friends, and it always is. Everytime.

7_ Is there a country of origin that you tend to favor coffee from? Why?

I like to travel to the farmers’ countries, they work with the women of the farm, and each has a great deal to say, I’ve always admired these women and I’m eager to meet every one of them.

8_ Suggest us a roastery to check (not the one you working at/you use at work).

There are lots of roasters in Iran that I can tell you, Girifin and Harpag among the others. They work with experts, and I know them well.

9_ What’s the most important things you’ve learnt while working in the business?

The most important thing I've learned in my work and my business is that the women's activity in the coffee worlds is really important; because often men think mostly about income-making, while often women love their job, and they work with the goal of preparing something beautiful and perfect.

10_ How your work and the specialty coffee world are coping with Covid and the new challenges for hospitality ?

For a long time, coffee shops closed and restaurants shut down, and the unions set up a variety of notifications, such as the prohibition of movement and closure of the business, but we are trying to get out of this crisis. Often businesses became online, and that’s why I’m pretty sure we would see each other online.

11_ How do you see the specialty coffee scene in 10 years?

I can see something really beautiful happening to specialty coffee in 10 years: new discoveries, new flavors… It's going to be wonderful.

12_ Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

I hope that in the next 10 years I’ll have travelled to all the coffee plantations and collected a lot of information. I'm always searching for new things to learn, especially, because the coffee world doesn't end.

13_ Any last word? Any tip or suggestion you wanna share with someone that want to start this path?

I tell all the people who start this way “Don’t let any barrier block your goals. We're in Iran and we don't have coffee plantations, but we have tea plantations. We have internal problems and we have not left the disease behind yet, but we continue to work with coffee”. Plus, remember to always keep yourself in sync with the expertise in the world. Go on and be strong.