CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Mattie Finch is blazing a trail for coffee connoisseurs, and now she’s getting recognized in the "Women Who Lead" mural recently unveiled in South End.

What You Need To Know

  • Sharai Lavoie started the “Women Who Lead” campaign last year, spotlighting bold women who inspire other women to lead in their careers and everyday life
  • Mattie Finch, owner of Sage Marie’s Coffee and Tea, is featured in the “Women Who Lead” mural, unveiled in South End last week  
  • Finch traveled the world to find the best coffee beans and learned they originated in Ethiopia, according to the National Coffee Association

She’s known affectionately as the heiress of coffee, thanks to her mom’s love for the drink. Finch left her career as a musician over 10 years ago to become a curator of coffee, opening Sage Marie’s Coffee and Tea, which is an online coffee boutique.

It's a dream her mom planted in her subconscious as a child. She says her first memory of coffee is watching her mom wake up at 5 a.m. to roast coffee beans in the oven. 

“I think you were using a cast-iron pan at one point, and then a flat cookie sheet. And you would keep the beans in the freezer,” Finch said to her mom. “That was my earliest memories, and I would watch and I’m like, 'what is she doing?!'”

Inspired by the matriarch of her family, Finch is now gaining recognition as an inspirational woman in Charlotte herself.

Local artist Dustin Moates featured her in the “Women Who Lead” mural recently unveiled in South End. Finch says it’s a reminder to young ladies to chase their dreams. 

“Be true to yourself, and whatever you want to do in life, it will come to you. A lot of girls struggle with trying to figure out what that is,” she said. “Find what it is that you’re good at and stick with that, and you can make it a career.”

Finch started trailblazing in the coffee industry in 2011, leaving a world tour as an R&B singer to travel with a different intention. She soon adapted the "coffee ceremony," native to Ethiopian culture, which is a time to fellowship and make traditional coffee with friends and family. 

“Immersing myself in the coffee world, and trying to find out everything I could find out,” Finch said. 

She traveled the world to find the best coffee beans, and learned they originated in Ethiopia, according to the National Coffee Association.

Sharai Lavoie, owner of the finance company Lavoie CPA, started the “Women Who Lead” campaign in 2021, spotlighting bold women who inspire other women to lead in their careers and every day life.

You can find the “Women Who Lead” mural at Nebel’s Alley on Worthington Ave. Moates says he intentionally left most faces blank so young girls can envision themselves.