Guess What This Post is About.

Coffee:

I am asked at least once a week if not daily, "Why do you love Coffee so much." This will of course not be answered in the simple post that this is, but we can at least begin to cover some ground.

My world of coffee is about much more than a simple aesthetic experience on my tongue followed by the rising tide of caffeine upon which I'll surf through my day. Coffee is a lifestyle.



It begins, for me, in relationship. This issue has tentacles which stretch from my heart down the dirt roads and into the small town that dot the belt line of our earth. These towns and huts are bursting at the seems with people whose waking moments are focused on two things; growing amazing coffees, and turning that product into a better life for their families and neighbors.

Did you know:

• A coffee tree produces about a pound of coffee per year
• It takes 5 years of life before a tree produces its first crop
• It takes an extraordinary amount of care to grow a great coffee, including but not limited to seed planting, seedling care, seedling transplant, sapling care, sapling replant, shade tree care, young tree and old tree pruning, watering, feeding, hand harvesting every coffee cherry sometimes up to 6+ times per season, heavy lifting of tons of cherries, disease proofing, pest proofing, proper altitude, proper rainfall, proper nutrition including sunlight, picking only ripes, and the list goes on and on. It is quite extraordinary. More work goes into this product than any other.
• Once the coffee is picked it must be processed, (removing the seed from the fruit and getting it ready to be roasted).
• Once it is processed and shipped to us we must roast it in a way to draw out the coffee's natural characteristics in a way that best demonstrates the "taste of place" while still being approachable to the average coffee consumer.
• If the best coffee on earth is properly roasted it can still be destroyed by poor brewing: too little/much coffee to water, too hot/cold water, in contact with that water for too much/little time, placed in improper vessel, dirty equipment, improperly/non-filtered water, if the coffee is stale etc... Any one of these factors can cause a horrible cup.

You may be thinking that I've gotten a bit off track from the word relationship. I have not. How i present the coffee that has had so much put into to make it unique and amazing is a testament to how much I care about those whose hands have touched it before mine and whose it will touch after. It is more than a drink, it is a story. It connects us in a chain of care, tradition, innovation, progress, work, attention and discipline. All of the sweat, science and care culminate to that last step in the chain: joy. The end goal is not that moment of enjoyment, but how that persons eyes are opened to something beyond their self.

This leads to my second reason for loving coffee so much: Art. It truly is an art. Culinary in nature, but a craft in practice. It juxtaposes science and experience in a balanced way. Just like any art, you get out of it what you put into it. I put my heart into my craft. When preparing a cup I try to think of where that coffee has been and go about exposing that story in the service. Even if I cannot tell the story with words, maybe by presenting this cup in a way that exposes the nuance put there by the farm and farmers I can bring attention to there being something deeper there. I want each cup to stand out and speak on its own. Just like a piece of visual art when gazed at speaks of something deeper, or how picture can awaken the soul, so can a cup of coffee.

The other side of that coin is of course the personal fulfillment coffee brings to me. I enjoy it. I enjoy listening to it. I enjoy the journey each cup takes me on. I enjoy the process, the discovery, the taste. I bubble with excitement when all of the factors that go into this cup build to that perfect expression of taste. I enjoy the look in the person's face who, for the first time or thousandth time, gets it. They taste it. It clicks, like it did with me so long ago.

Reason #3: Spirituality. What?!?! Yes, this catches many off guard. But it's very true. It comes down to how I treat my neighbor, (and who that neighbor is) my work ethic, my devotion to making things better, my drive to bring about a better world than I came into. It points to where I find something of value, and how much worth I put into it. Am I working for peace, justice, unification, human well being, and love? Or am I taking advantage of "the least of these"? Do I associate what I do and how I do it with who I am? Yes. I do. And who am I? Who do I hope to be? My goal is to be a person who brings harmony, life, joy, peace, hope, love, and connection to people I come in contact with all throughout my life. Raised as an Evangelical Christian, I know that this may seem watered down from a "deep faith in Christ". As a dabbler in philosophy, this may seem undeveloped or juvenile to my elite friends. I'm fine with both. Balance and simplicity suit me well.

So is it a religion? No. I do not worship coffee. I consider it a means to a bigger picture. It is through this profession that I touch the world. And, due to this profession I feel I can touch more of the world in any given moment and impact it more profoundly than in most professions. Each cup of coffee is an opportunity the lift the heart of the receiver, to have a conversation with someone who may need a smile, and to present the opportunity to be lifted from poverty for the third world farmer. I can use this cup to tell a business man in the U. S. about a grubby boy in the dirt of Nicaragua who had a tortilla for his daily meal today, if he was lucky. I can talk about global economics, ecological issues, travel, health and wellness, relaxation, art, work ethic, politics, sociology, world news, all things culinary, and a million other things that bring awareness and growth to people,... all over this little cup of coffee.

With so many other things in my head that I'd like to get out, I'd better close this post before it gets convoluted. Please post your comments, critiques and questions. And NO, not all of my posts will center around coffee. Thanks for taking your time to read my thoughts and get to know me a bit more. I know I can be a bit romantic and idealistic. I don't, however, feel these are bad characteristics to have. Enjoy you day!