In this month’s edition of “The Importance of Being Urnex,” Erika Koss talks with two of 2025’s national barista champions from Canada and Mexico, Ben Put and Jenny Borrego, going deeper into the need for gender equity and for deeper cleaning.

In The Importance of Being Urnex, #3, Dr. Erika Koss visits Jingbo Deng, founder of Bicerin Coffee Lab in Ontario, Canada—a women-owned, SCA-certified coffee lab and roastery. Jingbo was one of the co-creators of SCA’s Barista Skills course, so Urnex products are an essential tool of her teaching and cuppings.  As Jingbo emphasizes, “Cleaning is the most important part for a barista!” 

In a male-dominated coffee world, UK roaster Girls Who Grind Coffee is flipping the script—sourcing 100% of its beans from women producers and redefining what “quality” means. Founder Casey Lalonde isn’t stopping at coffee—her next venture is a women-led beer brand, proving that your purchase can fuel real change across industries.