ABOUT

JennChen-10

Hi, I’m Jenn! Nice to meet you.

I’m a San Francisco-based freelance coffee marketer. I’m a digital strategist, writer & photographer in the specialty coffee industry.

On my blog, I share tips on social media marketing & document my personal travels. I’m also a contributing writer on Sprout Social’s blog. I’ve been freelancing for over 6 years and working in coffee for 8 years. When I’m not working, you can find me involved as a:

Writer on the topics of race & gender in the specialty coffee industry on Medium
Vice President of Bay Area Coffee Community, an organization of coffee professionals
Volunteer on the SCA’s Membership & Communications Advisory Council, SCA’s Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion Task Force
Member of Sprudge’s first editorial advisory board

My passions lie at the intersection of multiple industries:

coffee, social justice, writing, photography & technology

Career origin story:

When I was in 6th grade, my teacher asked what I wanted to be when I grew up. I said, “author.”

Four years later, my career choice became “veterinarian.” Because authors don’t make a living. (I have since decided that being an author is pretty cool & a completely valid career choice.)

I now have a degree in Zoology, specializing in Animal Behavior & Neurobiology. This has nearly nothing to do with coffee. I say “nearly,” because my degree has helped me in a qualitative way: I can easily digest scientific texts and “translate” that to common-speak. This is something I do daily for coffee companies.

I believe in gender & racial equity, wildlife conservation & the power of science.

Press & Notables

Press

Contributions & Clients

Sprout Social
Acaia
Mr. Espresso
Coffee Quality Institute
Edible
Sprudge

Even more info about me

Why coffee? How it all began…

There was one cafe on campus in college where many of my friends would gather. At any given point of the day, we would be able to find a familiar face among the patrons. As regulars, we became friends with the baristas.

At one point, I started questioning. How do you make that quad-shot latte that I love? Where did this roasted coffee come from? How is quality maintained?

I started a coffee club at college. Over the course of two years, we learned about the importance of coffee cupping, attempted to make rosettas in a latte art workshop, and threw music events in cafes.

We created a coffee community: it bridged professionals and consumers. That was my first addictive dose.

After going in and out of the coffee industry, I’ve decided to carve out my own niche and take on clients who have the same goals as I do. Building a community involves a lot of sweat & tears, but it’s rewarding work.