Happy Valentine's Day! I received a sweet card today from my three year old nephew. He came and gave it to me at the store, and when he was leaving, he looked up at me and innocently asked: "do you have something for me?" Oh my, I felt so bad for not having planned ahead. I told him that I would have something later, and quickly grabbed a piece of red paper, and cut out my signature red heart with a pop up heart inside: a skill from making valentines as a child. I ran out to the car and gave it to him before he left.
He had the biggest smile as I read him my hasty card. A piece of red paper and a pair of scissors saved the day. Sometimes the small joys are the best. This Valentine's Day, I am grateful to have people that I love, and people who love me. I am grateful to be surrounded by a staff who wish each other a happy day and who support each other, every day. I know that this is a day that is traditionally about sweethearts, but the joy on Archie's face reminded me that it can also be about sharing kind words or gifts with anyone.
The last two nights we hosted a coffee cupping for our employees. It was a fun time of learning more about how to taste, describe, and record our impressions of three different coffees. We intentionally chose three distinct beans, so that we could easily distinguish between them. One of the coffees we tried was our new weekly feature: our
Organic Sulawesi Toraja Sapan Minanga. This Indonesian bean comes from the Toraja tribe of South Sulawesi (formerly Celebes). This is very high grown coffee, some of the highest in Indonesia, and the farmers use an unusual process to bring it to market. They remove the parchment before drying, while the moisture content is still high, which gives the beans a distinct bluish tinge. We noticed this at our cupping.
When we tried this
Sulawesi, after a few moments of silence so that we didn't unduly influence each other, the terms that were shared most often were "nutty," "walnut," "chocolate," and "sweet." It has a full body that fills your mouth as you sip. The second coffee we tried was a natural Ethiopian, which had more blueberry and raisin tones--quite a departure from this more caramel-y flavor.
l am privileged to go home tonight to a lovely meal that my family has been preparing for me. I hope that you have people in your life who take care of you in the same way. And I equally hope that you are able to spread cheer to others, even if it's with a homemade card, or a friendly smile. Enjoy your day, and drink good coffee. Cheers!
--Holly Fike
