musings of a coffee ragamuffin.

First off, let me say, I don’t have any people I hate or despise. I dig everyone, in their own way, for different things. And I love my coffee community, despite things that happen within it that frustrate me to no end. Lately, I’ve said some things that I thought I’d regret, but, nope. Not at all. I’ve noticed that in our insular niche community, whenever someone says something that someone else doesn’t agree with, battle lines are drawn, people are set on fire and led through town for all the world to see. Heck, maybe I’ve been guilty of it myself. I sure hope not, but can’t rule it out.

I think we all have room for differing ideas, opinions and thoughts. I think what’s normal for me, in my area, may not be normal in other areas. I can accept that. What I can’t accept is not feeling like I can share my opinion for fear of some sort of retribution. Again, I don’t hate anyone. There are people who I’ve disagreed with over the years who I admire and respect. I’ve had some disagreements with Doug Zell, but I sincerely admire and respect the guy for what he’s done, not just for his company, but for our industry. I don’t always agree with Nick Cho, but I respect the guy and love him like a brother. And that’s okay. I’m not in high school anymore. I’m 36, and tired of that BS. This isn’t Glee. It’s the real world. I don’t care for, or agree with President Obama. But I not only respect his authority, but my friends who do, like Sarah Allen, or Trish Rothgeb. Their opinion of him has nothing to do with our relationship.

So, let’s get past this place where people aren’t comfortable to post their thoughts and ideas without fear of retribution. Please. There’s a lot of great thoughts and ideas out there that need to be challenged or thought about more fully. I know I’m listening.

Now, to the community piece. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, community is our greatest commodity. Especially in the coffee community, because we are so small. We all need each other. Different roasters need each other. Baristas from different shops need each other. Trainers from different companies need each other. I am now glad to be back in Atlanta, an area I grew up in, after being in Charlotte for many years. There’s a great coffee community here, with amazing baristas like Ben Helfen. There’s great shops like Octane, Aurora, Dancing Goats, Element, etc. But, there is definitely room for improvement. Different companies don’t work together, although I will say I am breaking my back to try. We are represented mostly by three major coffee companies around here, and besides the events they are directly involved in or benefit from, the other two are not that active, if at all. Yeah, they’re busy. Heck, we’re all busy. I work full time plus, am the BGA’s new vice chair, and am on the SCAA’s Professional Development team. But I still find time to host and be involved in local coffee community events.

Why? Because community is important. It’s not just a taking, it’s a giving back. One roaster who has a presence here, does nothing here, besides show up to events. They don’t host things, attend things, or anything. And, they’re one of the largest roasters in the country. So, what does that say about their value of the community at large? Not very much. And that may or not be true, it’s just what’s being shown here. So, when Ben Helfen says the staff at Dancing Goats would get more respect if they were more active in the community, it’s a hard pill to swallow, considering the amount of respect other companies get, unless it’s attending something they sponsor or one of their accounts. It’s just not right. And again, I go back to what Intelligentsia, MadCap and Alterra have done up in the Great Lakes region. They’ve come together on events, and the area’s baristas have benefitted from it. Community’s a good thing.

I will say this. I’ve benefited from this community in immeasurable ways. From people who work for not just the “specialty coffee triumvirate”, as Nick Cho called them, but from lots of other companies like Kaldi’s, Alterra, Jittery Joes, and even my current company, Batdorf and Bronson. I’ve learned better ways to brew from Sarah Kluth, better dosing for my Clever from Nick Cho, better branding from Alterra, and better passion from Mike Marquard from Kaldi’s. And here in Atlanta, there’s lots to learn from people like David LaMont, from Counter Culture, and Chris Clements, the super nice guy from Intelligentsia Coffee here. There’s lots to learn not just from Ben Helfen at Octane, but John Cole and Jordan Chambers. There’s lots to learn from Ryan Robertson, Chandler Rentz, “Moose” Harrell, Matt Davis and Eden Marie. We all need each other. That’s community. Let’s push each other upwards, not down.