As anyone who has started a new business already knows - there are about 15 things that need to happen (hopefully concurrently) before a business can really be up and running - there are legal issues, finance issues, accounting and book keeping issues, marketing issues, inventory, sales, purchasing, etc.
We are slowly but surely crossing things off our list.
This past week was the "dealing with the building and health departments in the city of Plano" week. No fun. The city has never dealt with a coffee roastery before, so they are not quite sure how to classify us. We are not a coffee shop. We aren't serving coffee by the cup - or any beverage - or any food items. But coffee is obviously ingested, so sanitation is very important. Pinpointing the exact requirements has been a bit of a puzzle for the city. In a way it's good that the city doesn't know what to do with a roastery - it means there's not a lot of local competition. But, we have had to adapt to several building requirements that we weren't expecting. Some of the requirements aren't too costly. Others, however...
The biggest requirement we have had to adapt to was the health department saying we had to install a 3 compartment sink (like in commercial kitchens), a hand washing sink, and a mop sink. That's all on top of a sink we already have in our bathroom. In case you are keeping score - that's six sinks.
Six sinks.
And - all those new sinks have to be in our prep area where - you guessed it - we did not already have plumbing. So, we have been doing our best this past week to keep area plumbers employed during a down economy.
On a brighter note - our big new roaster came in. It's hooked up and our vent stack is installed. The gas company is coming by today to check everything out and turn the gas on. We will start calibrating and seasoning the machine this week.
Very exciting.
Monday, February 23, 2009
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Hurry up and wait
Nothing quite goes like it's supposed to.
Everything seems to take longer than it needs to.
Starting a business is not for the feint of heart. The learning curve is pretty steep. Stress levels get pretty high. Every day is a new obstacle. Some of the obstacles are external - venders who don't return your call - landlords who... don't return your call - coffee roaster manufacturers who... don't return your call - stuff like that. Some of the obstacles are internal. It's pretty overwhelming having to get good at about 10 things at once, knowing that about 9 of them I have never done before. It can get paralyzing if you are not careful. There is a reason why accounting, finance, marketing, real estate, sales, and web design are all professional jobs for professional people. I am in one of those "Am I in way over my head?" stages of life. It's exciting and terrifying all at the same time.
I made an important decision today though. I ordered my first shipment of coffee. I am super excited; we have some great coffees coming in. We have been sample roasting and cupping coffee after coffee over the last 3 weeks. Our goal was to start out with a manageable handful of coffees - with a good mix of Central and South America, Indonesia and Africa. We also want a good flavor mix of: mellow and balanced, buttery and sweet, fruity, deep and dark, along with a great tasting decaf. Above all of that, who we buy the coffee from and under what terms is an issue that is very important to us. We have had the privilege of beginning the process of relationship building both with our buyer who shares our values and the farmers whose coffee we'll carry. Each of our coffees were purchased at or above Fair Trade prices. And, there are some exciting stories of what's going on in those regions as a result of the premiums these fine coffees are fetching - schools being built - standard of living increasing. Cool stuff.
Here are the coffees we will be carrying. You will hear more about these coffees - and the stories that surround them soon. And, when our web site is done - there will be much more there.
1. Guatemala Huehuetenangeo Rio Azul - This is a wonderful, smooth and balanced coffee. It has a gentle nutty flavor that makes you just want to drink it all day.
2. Brazil Mogiana Natural Yellow Bourbon Fazenda Cachoeira - Wow - this coffee is awesome. It is naturally sweet and buttery - like an oreo cookie dipped in heavy whipping cream.
3. Ethiopia Natural Sidamo Gerbichu Lela. Starbucks carries a Sidamo - and it's a crying shame what they do to that coffee. The Ethiopian Sidamo has one of the most prized and distinct coffee flavors in all the world. When roasted right a good Sidamo should taste like a cup of blueberries. We roast it right - it's blueberries forever, dude. If I'm lyin' I'm dyin'. This coffee is flat out incredible. Starbucks roasts theirs so dark that those delicate blueberry notes are burned and (literally) go up in smoke. It's real shame. If you have never tasted a good Sidamo, I can't wait for you to taste ours.
4. Sulawesi Torajaland. This is a deep, dark, heavy, and powerful Indonesian coffee - a good coffee to brood by. It has a long aftertaste on the back of tongue. This coffee has some meat on its bones.
5. Tanzania Peaberry Songea. Grown in the acidic soil and shadow of Mt. Kileminjaro, this is an exotic flavor that we just had to carry. It has a subtle tart fruitiness - like a dry red wine. It's really a great coffee.
6. Peru Mountain Water Decaf. This is an all natural and organic decaffeinating process - not too dissimilar to Swiss Water process. Having cupped them side by side, however, I think the Mountain Water process they do in Latin America retains far more subtle coffee flavors than Swiss Water. Swiss Water decafs have always tasted a bit "thin" to me - like the flavor left with the caffeine. Not so this Peru. This is a wonderful coffee that you would swear was not decaffeinated.
That's what we are starting with. They should be here in a week or so. I'll let you know when we are open for business.
Everything seems to take longer than it needs to.
Starting a business is not for the feint of heart. The learning curve is pretty steep. Stress levels get pretty high. Every day is a new obstacle. Some of the obstacles are external - venders who don't return your call - landlords who... don't return your call - coffee roaster manufacturers who... don't return your call - stuff like that. Some of the obstacles are internal. It's pretty overwhelming having to get good at about 10 things at once, knowing that about 9 of them I have never done before. It can get paralyzing if you are not careful. There is a reason why accounting, finance, marketing, real estate, sales, and web design are all professional jobs for professional people. I am in one of those "Am I in way over my head?" stages of life. It's exciting and terrifying all at the same time.
I made an important decision today though. I ordered my first shipment of coffee. I am super excited; we have some great coffees coming in. We have been sample roasting and cupping coffee after coffee over the last 3 weeks. Our goal was to start out with a manageable handful of coffees - with a good mix of Central and South America, Indonesia and Africa. We also want a good flavor mix of: mellow and balanced, buttery and sweet, fruity, deep and dark, along with a great tasting decaf. Above all of that, who we buy the coffee from and under what terms is an issue that is very important to us. We have had the privilege of beginning the process of relationship building both with our buyer who shares our values and the farmers whose coffee we'll carry. Each of our coffees were purchased at or above Fair Trade prices. And, there are some exciting stories of what's going on in those regions as a result of the premiums these fine coffees are fetching - schools being built - standard of living increasing. Cool stuff.
Here are the coffees we will be carrying. You will hear more about these coffees - and the stories that surround them soon. And, when our web site is done - there will be much more there.
1. Guatemala Huehuetenangeo Rio Azul - This is a wonderful, smooth and balanced coffee. It has a gentle nutty flavor that makes you just want to drink it all day.
2. Brazil Mogiana Natural Yellow Bourbon Fazenda Cachoeira - Wow - this coffee is awesome. It is naturally sweet and buttery - like an oreo cookie dipped in heavy whipping cream.
3. Ethiopia Natural Sidamo Gerbichu Lela. Starbucks carries a Sidamo - and it's a crying shame what they do to that coffee. The Ethiopian Sidamo has one of the most prized and distinct coffee flavors in all the world. When roasted right a good Sidamo should taste like a cup of blueberries. We roast it right - it's blueberries forever, dude. If I'm lyin' I'm dyin'. This coffee is flat out incredible. Starbucks roasts theirs so dark that those delicate blueberry notes are burned and (literally) go up in smoke. It's real shame. If you have never tasted a good Sidamo, I can't wait for you to taste ours.
4. Sulawesi Torajaland. This is a deep, dark, heavy, and powerful Indonesian coffee - a good coffee to brood by. It has a long aftertaste on the back of tongue. This coffee has some meat on its bones.
5. Tanzania Peaberry Songea. Grown in the acidic soil and shadow of Mt. Kileminjaro, this is an exotic flavor that we just had to carry. It has a subtle tart fruitiness - like a dry red wine. It's really a great coffee.
6. Peru Mountain Water Decaf. This is an all natural and organic decaffeinating process - not too dissimilar to Swiss Water process. Having cupped them side by side, however, I think the Mountain Water process they do in Latin America retains far more subtle coffee flavors than Swiss Water. Swiss Water decafs have always tasted a bit "thin" to me - like the flavor left with the caffeine. Not so this Peru. This is a wonderful coffee that you would swear was not decaffeinated.
That's what we are starting with. They should be here in a week or so. I'll let you know when we are open for business.
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