Brewing up social change in a cup

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 18/11/2019 (2122 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Shoppers at St. Norbert Farmers Market (3514 Pembina Hwy.) can enjoy a hot breakfast with a warm crepe cooked and served by Ker Breizh, chased down with a steaming cup of a Jacked Up Jill Coffee blend.

The two booths are located next to each other under the canopy that shields market vendors and shoppers from the elements. It’s a perfect match according to Jacked Up Jill owner Louanne Vermette.

“It doesn’t matter how much we brew, we can’t keep up,” Vermette said as she and her niece Annike Everhardus were giving out small samples of her company’s coffee blends as well as selling cups of coffee and bags of beans and ground coffee at the market on Nov. 9.

Vermette, a Headingley resident who works as a school guidance counsellor, said she and partner Jenette Heinrichs established their business about two years ago. Part of Vermette’s motivation came from wanting to get a firsthand sense of being a female business owner — an option that she discusses with the young women she counsels. As well, she saw it as a way to financially support women’s shelters and resource centres in Winnipeg.

“I want to give back to girls and women locally,” Vermette said. On Nov. 9, she was collecting tips to donate to Willow Place and the company regularly donates its coffee to two shelters and three resource centres.

She also wants to support women in trades as they now only make up about five per cent of the workforce in that sector.

“I’m looking for partners to help me promote this,” she said, adding that help could take the form of a scholarship for young women entering the trades or offering a workshop to introduce girls to careers in trades.

Vermette says she and Heinrichs rent space at Sunstone Coffee Roastery (361 Cameron St.) in Headingley. She is also apprenticing with roastery owner Cheney Wright to learn the skill of roasting various type of coffee beans.

Jacked Up Jill now offers five core blends including a signature blend named Cuppa Jill, French roast named Dame De Pique, mocha java called Mrs. and Mr. Jill, Velvet Hammer espresso, cold brew called Chill Jill, and Unjacked decaffeinated, as well as a variety of others such as a holiday blend named Glitter Not Bitter.

Vermette is proud of a blend called Scarlet’s Muse containing beans grown at a women’s collective in Costa Rica.

The collective is operated by a mother and three daughters whom Vermette met in person. She said she hopes to be able to directly source other types of beans grown sustainably by women.
She and Heinrichs started selling their blends at local markets almost two years ago, but are restricted to evenings and weekends at this point. They first came to St. Norbert Farmers market about a year ago.

“I love the social aspect at the market of meeting directly with our customers.” Vermette said.
Their products are also available at Headingley Foods (8515 Roblin Blvd.), in Winnipeg at Fromagerie Bothwell (136 Provencher Blvd.), Decadence Chocolates (70 Sherbrook St.), Little Tree Hugger Soap (776 Corydon Ave.) and Ray Level Up Gift and Thrift (415 Graham Ave.), as well as in Steinbach, Man. at Nature’s Farms (5 Life Sciences Pkwy.) and the Old Church Bakery (145 Main St.).

“I want to say how much I appreciate my community of Headingley for being so supportive of our coffee. We have many regular customers in the area and it means a lot to us. Headingley Foods was the first store to carry us. (Owners) Val and Greg support local small businesses,” Vermette said.

Jacked Up Jill offers corporate and private labels for those wanting to use Jacked Up Jill coffees for promotional or special events.

For more information on Jacked Up Jill Coffee, see https://www.jackedupjill.com