You might have seen the rainbow cupping spoons by Umeshiso on Instagram. Apart from being super fun and colourful, they're also part of a bigger mission. To make cupping or coffee as a whole more inclusive and less scary. Umeko is a licensed Q-Grader who spent many years working in specialty coffee where they often felt looked down upon or excluded by CIS white males who are largely running the industry. Marginilised people across the world are often being excluded or underrepresented despite coffee being largely produced by black and brown people.

Umeko who is a queer, trans person who also suffers from a disability wants to create a space for everyone to feel welcome and get the mental health they need to thrive, and they do that through their hilarious Instagram account, gay spoons and a non-profit organisation called Get Psyched. In this episode, we talked about Umeko's journey from novice cupper to business owner, how important mental health is for service industry workers and what is on the cards for Umeshio's future.

Disclaimer: We had a few unexpected interruptions caused by a low battery and a lawn mower but you probably won't notice this. The only technical issue we had was the sound in the first 10 minutes of the episode. After that, things went swimmingly.

You can follow Umeshiso on Instagram and also find their upcoming fund raiser there.