Coffee Project NY Launches Women Roasters Scholarship in Medellín; Applications March 1

Coffee Project New York is moving its Women Coffee Roasters Scholarship to Medellín, Colombia for 2026 and will accept applications March 1 through March 31, 2026. Six female-identifying coffee professionals will be selected to complete the Specialty Coffee Association Roasting Foundation course, with course fees covered, and recipients are expected to be announced in April 2026.

The program’s stated purpose is to “provide resources and opportunities where aspiring roasters face employment obstacles at the hands of dated gender stereotypes.” That line comes from QSR Magazine’s coverage of the scholarship and reflects CPNY’s pitch for the program as an annual initiative to uplift women within the global coffee community. For 2026 the move to Medellín is described by reporters as an effort to center origin countries and reduce travel barriers for applicants outside the United States.

BaristaMagazine frames the scholarship against hard industry numbers: “While gender inquality is a pressing issue within the coffee world at large, coffee roasting in particular remains one of the most male-dominated sectors of the industry. According to Cafecita Coffee, over 75% of coffee roasters in the U.S. are men, with women roasters earning 16% less than their male counterparts on average. In an effort to combat these statistics, Coffee Project New York offers an annual Women Coffee Roasters Scholarship, an initiative they plan to take to Medellín, Colombia, in 2026.” The magazine also notes that roasting is a clear pathway to leadership and higher wages within specialty coffee.

The 2026 course will be instructed by Chi Sum Ngai, Coffee Project New York’s co-founder and Head Roaster, according to reporting by BaristaMagazine and QSR. BaristaMagazine also reports that recipients who pass the SCA course exams receive official SCA certification. Past cohorts have totaled “over 20 recipients” since the program began, and previous scholarship winners have come from El Salvador, the Philippines, Vietnam, Guatemala, Mexico, and other countries.

Alumni examples underline the program’s real-world reach. Native News Online identified Andi Anquoe-Parnacher as a 2023 scholarship recipient and reported she “has the distinction of being acknowledged by the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) as the first female First American coffee roaster.” Native News Online also quoted Parnacher: “Coffee Project New York offers educational opportunities for self identifying women,” and “The thing about the coffee industry – and roasting in particular – is that it’s a male dominated field. They want to break the stigma of women roasters.” The outlet adds that Parnacher traveled to New York to complete SCA’s three-day premier roasting classes.

Logistics differ from last year’s program. Coffee Project New York ran the 2025 class in-person at its Premier Training Campus in Long Island City and explicitly stated it would not cover travel costs for 2025 recipients. For 2026, reporters emphasize the Medellín location to expand access, but none of the sources confirm whether CPNY will cover travel, lodging, or per diem costs for the Medellín cohort. The organization’s blog has historically asked recipients to describe how they will give back to their communities: “While this is not a requirement for application, we ask our scholarship recipients to describe how they intend to give back to their own communities and share skills gained from this class.”

Applications open March 1 and close March 31, 2026, with six seats available and recipients to be announced in April. For application details and updates, check Coffee Project New York’s website.