Hello, Coffee World!
I have a dream of owning my own coffee shop one day. This blog is my first step.
I was first introduced to coffee by my father and his "Cowboy Coffee." When we went camping my father would scoop coffee directly into the bottom of a coffee pot, fill it with water and put it in the coals. As a child, I normally opted for hot chocolate. As I got older and it became more difficult to wake up before sun rise, I started taking coffee. This is where I coined the phrase, "Crunchy Coffee." The coffee was strong, thick enough to float a horse shoe (as my father would say) and had a lot of grounds in it (no filter).
When I was in my early 20's I got a job working at Starbucks. I loved this job. I had been working in restaurants since I was 15 and love service industry. Starbucks allowed me to connect with people in a different way. I also learned that I love the process of serving customers. I eagerly accepted the challenge of 120 drinks in 30 minutes while maintaining no more than 1.5 minute customer wait time. This is where I really learned about how we experience coffee, what it takes to have a good experience and how coffee is a big part of our community.
Surprisingly, I was fired from Starbucks by a manager who hated men (seriously, she fired all the men in the first month). When I gave my manager my apron, one of my team members started to cry. She was basically homeless, living on friends couches. She didn't have enough money for food on a regular basis, so I let her have some of the sandwiches we were throwing away each night. This was against SB policy and I guess others were just throwing it away, knowing she was hungry. It was then that I realized how much of an effect we have on those around us. Coffee is a tool to help both the people who drink it and serve it, as well as the farmers and their communities.
I am now at a corporate office, where my friend has built his own coffee station that allows us to use make both pour over and aeropress coffee. We get teased from our co-workers as we try to determine if our brew was perfect or if we need to tweak this or that. Now we are discussing roasting. He has used the popcorn popper, but I want to try an old school pan roast. We visit different coffee shops and discuss the coffee, atmosphere and customers experience. If you sneak into my cubicle, you will most likely find me reading about coffee beans, shops and roasts.
My company is good to me, but I long for the fast pace, community connections and watching people enjoy the work of my hands. This is why I started this blog. I am going to blog about coffee I try, coffee shops I visit, my trial and error with roasting, and also the development of my mythos and theme. All of which, I hope, will culminate into an awesome coffee shop.
I hope you follow my journey and I encourage comments, as good coffee is a community effort.
I have a dream of owning my own coffee shop one day. This blog is my first step.
I was first introduced to coffee by my father and his "Cowboy Coffee." When we went camping my father would scoop coffee directly into the bottom of a coffee pot, fill it with water and put it in the coals. As a child, I normally opted for hot chocolate. As I got older and it became more difficult to wake up before sun rise, I started taking coffee. This is where I coined the phrase, "Crunchy Coffee." The coffee was strong, thick enough to float a horse shoe (as my father would say) and had a lot of grounds in it (no filter).
When I was in my early 20's I got a job working at Starbucks. I loved this job. I had been working in restaurants since I was 15 and love service industry. Starbucks allowed me to connect with people in a different way. I also learned that I love the process of serving customers. I eagerly accepted the challenge of 120 drinks in 30 minutes while maintaining no more than 1.5 minute customer wait time. This is where I really learned about how we experience coffee, what it takes to have a good experience and how coffee is a big part of our community.
Surprisingly, I was fired from Starbucks by a manager who hated men (seriously, she fired all the men in the first month). When I gave my manager my apron, one of my team members started to cry. She was basically homeless, living on friends couches. She didn't have enough money for food on a regular basis, so I let her have some of the sandwiches we were throwing away each night. This was against SB policy and I guess others were just throwing it away, knowing she was hungry. It was then that I realized how much of an effect we have on those around us. Coffee is a tool to help both the people who drink it and serve it, as well as the farmers and their communities.
I am now at a corporate office, where my friend has built his own coffee station that allows us to use make both pour over and aeropress coffee. We get teased from our co-workers as we try to determine if our brew was perfect or if we need to tweak this or that. Now we are discussing roasting. He has used the popcorn popper, but I want to try an old school pan roast. We visit different coffee shops and discuss the coffee, atmosphere and customers experience. If you sneak into my cubicle, you will most likely find me reading about coffee beans, shops and roasts.
My company is good to me, but I long for the fast pace, community connections and watching people enjoy the work of my hands. This is why I started this blog. I am going to blog about coffee I try, coffee shops I visit, my trial and error with roasting, and also the development of my mythos and theme. All of which, I hope, will culminate into an awesome coffee shop.
I hope you follow my journey and I encourage comments, as good coffee is a community effort.
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