The Boys' Club in Coffee: Why Men Stay Silent (Isabela Raposeiras) | EP1703 Part 3 of 5 | Map It Forward
Advertising Sponsor
Want to join our Map It Forward Monthly Community Discussion Group? Head to https://patreon.com/mapitforward to join the community by signing up for the "Roasted Coffee" tier for 20 USD per month. Find other like-minded people in the coffee industry. This community is open to all stakeholders in the coffee industry
Episode Description
**CONTENT WARNING:** This episode contains discussions of sexual assault, rape threats, death threats, harassment, misogyny, intimidation, and workplace discrimination. Some personal experiences shared may be distressing for listeners. Please use your discretion when listening.
This is part 3 of a new 5-part series on The Daily Coffee Pro Podcast by Map It Forward, hosted by Lee Safar. Our guest on the podcast for this series is returning guest Isabela Raposeiras, founder of Coffee Lab in Brazil.
The theme of this series is "Being 'Not a Man' in Coffee," and in this episode, we're examining the boys' club in the coffee industry: the informal networks of loyalty and influence that can protect men from scrutiny while leaving women unsupported when they experience intimidation, harassment, or professional exclusion.
Isabela discusses what she describes as a culture of patriarchy in Brazil's coffee industry, including her experiences of damaging rumours, attacks on her professional reputation, and what she believes were attempts by competitors to undermine her business.
Lee shares a deeply personal account of launching Elixir Specialty Coffee and receiving rape threats, death threats, and sustained online abuse. She discusses the emotional and professional consequences of public criticism and the failure of industry colleagues to challenge threatening and degrading comments made about her.
The conversation includes Lee's experience involving a video published by coffee content creator James Hoffmann, the abusive comments she says followed, and her attempts to address the situation. Lee also recounts that Hoffmann subsequently removed the video after she contacted him again.
Together, Lee and Isabela explore how professional influence can amplify harmful behaviour, why people who privately acknowledge harassment may still refuse to intervene publicly, and how silence can leave women feeling isolated and unprotected.
Isabela also describes receiving threats after choosing to pay higher prices to coffee producers in Brazil, while Lee recounts an incident in which a male colleague aggressively confronted her during café service as other employees watched without intervening.
The episode concludes with a recent incident at Coffee Lab, where Isabela says an employee witnessed a male customer taking inappropriate photographs of a woman. She explains how her team intervened, and how subsequent online reactions illustrated the attitudes they're challenging throughout this series.
This conversation is not about blaming all men. It's about examining the responsibility that comes with influence, leadership, and being a witness to unacceptable behaviour.
Because the boys' club doesn't only exist through the actions of those who behave badly. It can also be reinforced by those who see what's happening and choose to remain silent.
In Part 4, Lee and Isabela will explore what constitutes unacceptable behaviour in the coffee industry and why conduct that has historically been dismissed or minimised needs to be challenged.
Connect with Isabela Raposeiras and Coffee Lab:
Coffee Lab: https://www.instagram.com/coffeelab_br/
Isabela Raposeiras: https://www.instagram.com/isabela.raposeiras/