In the Dominican Republic, the Coffee Study Program students meet with the organizations that are trying to create a fair, rewarding and sustainable coffee market.
Jia Yi and her friends believe they might provide a blueprint for positive change.
Like most Italians, Jia Yi is no stranger to espresso. A 21-year-old of Chinese heritage, she fully embraces the coffee culture of the Bel Paese.
But, she says, she was only able to fully appreciate what lies behind a cup of coffee by standing among the people of the Aguacate community, in the Dominican Republic.
As she was welcomed warmly by the locals, alongside her three fellow students of the Coffee Study Program, Jia Yi realized that it is in places such as these that coffee is born.