What's Brewing

We are fortunate to live in a coffee-friendly world these days, but things have not always been that way. Throughout history and across different cultures coffee has been a meeting point for politics, economics, and societal expectations. This meeting point is a quite interesting place as it is where we get to see what people from the past thought of coffee and how they related to it.  This list compiles laws that nowadays we would consider bizarre, but to rulers of these times and places, the laws made sense. Most of them revolve around roasting, growing, and policies around where...

What is a better person? While we all may have different values and cultures, it is interesting to think that our understanding of what a good person is does not vary too widely. Perhaps that is why the Romans and the Greeks have become The Classics, given that their pursuit of virtue is universally understood as the core of being a good person. Life can be distracting but in the simplicity of the coffee farms there is plenty to learn on how to become a better person.  Humility The Chinese thinker, Confucius once said "Humility is the solid foundation of...

I’ve never considered coffee simply a morning drink. Coffee is a constant companion and there’s room for it in pretty much any special and non-special moment of our day. On that note, have you tried a coffee cocktail? While not a new invention, coffee martinis are at a popular high at the moment.  Espresso Martini This classic drink originated in the late eighties. It was composed by the legendary bartender Dick Bradsell and it was originally called the vodka espresso. The drink became widely popular across bars in the nineties and then all of the sudden it went almost extinct....

Life in a coffee farm may not be perfect, but coffee farmers enjoy lower levels of stress and depression compared to people in the big cities. This treat is not a natural consequence to their environment but the result of their lifestyle and overall attitude towards themselves and life in general. Here are a few tips on things we can learn from coffee farmers. Early Mornings Coffee farmers wake up as early as 4am. Depending on their commute (which is usually a long walk) and the season. There is something about the early twilight and transitioning into the day at...

It was 1955, when Phil Greinetz, the owner of a neck-ties company was struggling with his employees' work efficiency. The job required long hours of focus and it was very draining to complete. Consequently, the resulting amount of mistakes and the overall efficiency was very low. In addition to that, employee retention was difficult because everyone was burning out so fast that they would either quit or stay but be unhappy, unhealthy, and unproductive. This situation was equally bad for the employer and the employees and it was in desperate need of a solution.  We don’t know how exactly how...

For most of history, coffee has been a luxury. It takes about a year from the moment we plant a seed to the moment we can brew it and enjoy it. That is a whole year of taking care of a plant, annually collecting beans, and ultimately processing them before roasting. There is no doubt that growing coffee is no small feat.  The industrial revolution opened the doors to cheaper ways to grow coffee. The quality of the beans suffered but it also made coffee more readily available for consumers. Nonetheless, industrialization divided the coffee industry in two. Specialty coffee...