Muertos Coffee

With my re-branding efforts, I'm working to develop my palate. I need to be able to better taste the products that I'm providing. As a coffee roaster, I need to be able to tell what effects any changes I make has on the bean. The only way to do that is to taste. The hard part is that it's very difficult to distinguish what we taste. Most of us think in cave man perspectives, "mmm, good," or, "me no like." So, with that in mind, I decided to do a cupping with one of the best roasters in town.

I recently had a revelation about my brand. I recently finished Gary Vee's book Crushing It!  and posed a question on how to interact with people and not sound spamy. The guys over at Orange Cactus Coffee replied and then did one a short podcast to better explain their approach. I listened to and the MC referenced El Cantante from Muertos Coffee and it caught me off gaurd. I had actually forgotten that I themed all my socail media.

I was meeting a friend of mine, as I do every so offten. We were only able to make the meeting happen during a time he had his kid, so we picked a place that was close to his house. He reccomended Urban Beans because they sold coffee and beer. Sweet! 2 reviews in one...kind of.

My oldest daughter started her first dance class which is in old town Peoria. The old town area is a neat little place with a park, a massive library and some really old shops. They have recently been working to make this place more of a "charming - old part of town" rather than a "hold you up at knife point and take your wallet - old part of town." One of the newest editions to this area is Driftwood Coffee, an excellent addition that really brings the whole area up.

I've officially decided to start the process of re-branding. What does that mean? Well, to me...that means I'm kind of starting over.

I like to try breweries, but I don't like spending a ton of money if the beer sucks. So, we look for good deals on Groupon, which is a great way to try new places. For Christmas, I got a Groupon for The Shop Beer Co. Not the best name I've ever heard, but the deal was really good. So, we held onto it along with another Christmas gift (a Fox Concepts gift card) and celebrated our 8 year anniversery with amazing food and a brewery sampling.

I've been thinking lately that that I just don't know what I'm doing. I'm kind of just doing what I think is good, then mess up and adjust. I know there is a better way to do it, but I'm not going to know it. I still have a long time left to find partners, but for now, I need some help with starting a business. There are 3 people that I know of and am considering approaching for help. They are:

I'm in a pretty good rhythm with my farmer's market. It's kind of like a 2 weeks on, 2 weeks off cycle that really allows me to have a life. It also allows me to time to think up what to do next. One of the biggest trends that I see right now is having some sort of signature drink.

This last farmer's market was a much better experience then last month. I learned a couple of key elements and have started thinking of things I need to start working on for upcoming months. Lastly, an update on the restaurants I've been trying to to get to sell my coffee.

I know I haven't written in a while, it's been pretty busy for me lately. My blogging is directly correlated to how busy my day job is. We just went through a "restructuring" so my manager is constantly pushing to do more with less. Pretty corporate, I know. There have been a few positive though. A co-worker took my coffee home with her to Tx and her family loved it so much they ordered 6 bags. Also, my website is up and running!

I served my first farmer's market on 1/6. There is a random little restaurant in the middle of our neighborhoods that hosts this market on the first Saturday of every month. It was a bit of a mixed experience.

HAPPY NEW YEAR! I posted a couple of weeks ago on my 2018 goals. I think I'm good with those and will lock them in. But looking back on 2017, there is a lot I have learned and a lot more I still need to learn.

I have been pretty much a die hard v60 user since I started brewing manually. I love that brewer. I love the idea of the spiral and that it requires more skill to use than others. I'm going to start serving at an outdoor farmer's market and had to reconsider my choice of brewer.

Its been a little over a month since I have posted a blog. I know I don't have a rabid audience, but still, I want to be consistent. This is where I work out most of my business. I will say that I have one pretty good excuse for not posting...I had a baby. My second girl arrived on 11/8. I have worked on coffee stuff, but just haven't had enough time or brain capacity to post. With the end of the year approaching fast, I figure I should start working on what I want to accomplish in 2018.

For my birthday a while back, we went to a new BBQ place (it was disappointing, so no free plug for the place). After dinner, I noticed a little bakery that was advertising coffee so we stopped in to try it out.

I have been trying to figure out who I am as a business. I know what I like to do and who I want to be, but I don't know how to put that together in a package and sell it. Customers want to know who the business is because most people invest in other people, not in businesses. I have had people come up and ask me about my company and I just don't have that elevator pitch yet. I need to know who I am before I can tell someone else. With that, I have had on my heart the idea of starting a YouTube show. I have always loved video and did some work there in a past life. I don't know what it would be, but will most likely be some sort of extension of this blog. With all that, I decided to contact my cousin and have a cup of coffee to discuss the possibility of the show.

I've been serving my cold brew for a few months now and thought it was time I shared how I make my cold brew, and recommend how to make your own cold brew just as good.

I've been thinking about my work lately. I don't think I realized how lonely it would get starting a business. Its not just that I do everything by myself, but that every decision, every move, every effort is just me...I'm a social person, so this is hard for me. I want to change this, but I'm not sure how to go about it...

I ran a social media discount at the gym this last weekend. I offered 20% to anyone who would post a picture and tag Muertos Coffee. Overall, it went really well...I did not get the results I expected, but I might have ended up with more.

I'm going to be trying a few more "firsts." My very first promotion and some re-soaked beans. Not sure how either of them will go, but this is my plan.