International Women’s Day: Meet the Woman Responsible for Your Cafecito (and Other Latina Changemakers)

You can thank a woman for the cafe con leche that fuels your fire. In 1908, Melitta Bentz, tired of having coffee grinds in her morning brew, hammered holes into a brass cup and lined it with blotting paper from her son’s notebooks. In so doing, this German housewife invented the first modern coffee filter and caffeinated generations to come. Ingenuous? Yes, and also brave. She founded the Melitta Bentz Company and continued creating household inventions throughout her life.

Today, on International Women’s Day, we remember that Melitta is not alone. Though confronted with adversity and misogyny, so many women are creative and daring enough to persist in the male-dominated food industry. Sam Leotta, the Senior Brand Manager of Macallan said it best in our 2016 interview: “Although I have faced instances of discrimination and gender bias in the past, I believe this is finally starting to change, as we see more women in positions of influence making an impact… But we’ve only scratched the surface and must continue to poke our (biologically superior!) noses out there to create change and ensure women continue to lead and inspire.”

And who are these change-makers, leaders, and inspirations? Women like TV personality, chef, cookbook author, and one-woman-empire Marcela Valladolid. Women like author, physician, Managing Director of Bodega Catena Zapata, and owner of Luca Winery, Laura Catena. Women like mother, cookbook author, and MasterChef Winner, Claudia Sandoval. 

These entrepreneurial women, among many others, had to face countless obstacles to become who they wanted to be. They surprise the world with their leadership and their determination. With their example, many more women are feeling empowered to take action and follow their dreams even if their profession has been a man’s world until now.

So the next time you take a sip of cafe, try to imagine what a day without women, their contributions, and their examples would leave you.