August 27/Portland -- Women play a major role in coffee production throughout the world, but they often have little or no control over the economics of coffee transactions. This all changes with the new Harvested by Women certification, which gives women in coffee-producing countries more financial investment in the production process from bean to cup. Boyd's Coffee is the first coffee roaster in the U.S. to purchase the new Harvested by Women Certified coffee. Boyd's will sell ¡ Cafe Libre!, a Costa Rican single-origin coffee, in select grocery stores, as well as on the Boyd's Coffee website and in select foodservice accounts. A 25-cent donation from each retail package of ¡Cafe Libre! goes directly to non-profit organizations in coffee-producing countries, in addition to an initial donation made at the time of purchasing the bulk green coffee beans.

"As a family-owned coffee company, we stand behind a coffee certification that is empowering women to create a more sustainable future for their families," says Katy Boyd Dutt, a fourth-generation Boyd family member. Dutt learned about the new certification at the International Women's Coffee Alliance conference in Guatemala this past winter and expressed interest to Nancy Moore, the certification's co-founder. "The pioneering spirit has been in our blood since 1900," says Dutt. "Boyd's was the first certified roaster to sell organically grown coffee in 1990 and the first U.S. roaster to import Rainforest Alliance Certified coffee in 1999. The new Harvested by Women certification allows women to reinvest in their communities, and that is an economic incentive we can stand behind."