Our $2 chairs before and after....fabric from Africa, a souvenir from Ryan's trip this summer
Friday, December 18, 2009
Buying Used Can Give You a Rush!
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Coffee Tasting Party
As far as the "winning blend" it was a toss up between "Love Buzz" and "Mind, Body, and Soul". The web-site describes these as:
Organic Love Buzz
Roast: post-roast blend, Full City and French
Aroma: toffee, molasses, pipe tobacco, cocoa, cinnamon, brown sugar
Flavor: complex, chocolate, brownies, chocolate covered strawberries, vanilla, winey
Mouthfeel: velvety, fudgy, ganache
Acidity: pronounced
Aftertaste: chocolate, bitter
and
Organic Mind, Body & Soul
Roast: post-roast blend, Medium and Vienna
Aroma: butterscotch, vanilla custard, pecans, milk chocolate
Flavor: balanced, cocoa, caramelized sugar, malt
Mouthfeel: weighty and thick
Acidity: light sparkle
Aftertaste: dark chocolate, walnut, brown sugar
In addition to deciding on a coffee and name, we are beginning to collect our furniture. We had some recent success on Craig's list for 2 barstools and there was a warehouse clearance on pub table sets and we're picking up 2 this week. We're fine with eclectic but know what we're looking for.
More to come soon! In the meantime, a very Merry Christmas to all, and may the gift of our Savior Jesus come to your hearts in a new way this year! All our love!
-Hannah & Ryan
Friday, December 4, 2009
Rich Experiences
My experiences with coffee have been so rich in the past, that I can't help but wonder what God has in store for me this time. The first time I really thought very much about coffee was when I went to college. There was a great little coffee spot just minutes from my University where I would sit for hours with friends studying or catching up. There was often live music being played, and the coffee and pastries were awesome. That coffee shop became a haven for us away from campus. It's so exciting to think that we could be offering the college students and people in Haviland that same sort of restful, rejuvenating hideaway.
My experience with coffee deepened during my sophomore year of college when I was fortunate enough to join a study tour that sent me to Central America for four months. Coffee is an important part of life for many Central Americans, who make their living growing, drying, transporting, or roasting coffee. During my second month in Central America, I lived with a family in the Mountains of Northern Honduras, the Sagastume family. The Sagastumes made their living from growing coffee. I learned about their ventures in becoming an organic coffee farm, a very involved process. They were among the first farmers in their area to shift to organic farming methods and they often had others come to be educated on their methods. It was extremely important for their farm and others to be organic because their farms were situated above a town whose people drank the run-off water from the farmlands above. With no adequate form of filtering the water, keeping it clean was vital.
The Sagastumes are wonderful people who are very dear to my heart, they live a very humble lifestyle and are yet among the most generous, welcoming individuals I have had the joy of encountering. It is through this experience and others during those four months, that I have engrained in my heart and mind the importance of purchasing fair trade coffee. Coffee that is purchased at a price and through a company that provides for the essential physical needs of the families who give their lives to growing this beverage that those of us who have in abundance enjoy regularly. I am excited about offering a place where people here in Haviland have the opportunity to learn about and be part of the fair trade exchange.
My final and most recent experience with coffee was my time working as a barista in a fabulous coffee shop in downtown Rock Springs, Wyoming. Java Peddler is a one of a kind coffee shop located at the front of a Bike n' Trike (mountain biking) store. The owners are young, ingenuitive and inviting. They are awesome people and awesome parents, who brought their two little boys to hang out in the store from time to time. Our customers loved seeing them, and they were great company for me. We had lots of regulars, those who would stay and chat each morning or afternoon and who I had the blessing of getting to know throughout my time there. There were also travelers, those who were on their way through. It was fun to hear the stories of foreigners here in the states for only a few short weeks and listen to them share about the memories they'd made or the hopes they had for their time. Being located just south of Yellowstone National Park meant meeting people from all over the world.
So, now I am looking forward to seeing what this new endeavor with coffee will bring. I hope that it can be a place of impact, of relationship, of joy and peace for those who come and those who stay. I hope that it can be a place for families, students, friends, visitors, passer-byes, to feel welcome, at home and loved not only by us, but by the One who has made it all possible. ~Molly
My experience with coffee deepened during my sophomore year of college when I was fortunate enough to join a study tour that sent me to Central America for four months. Coffee is an important part of life for many Central Americans, who make their living growing, drying, transporting, or roasting coffee. During my second month in Central America, I lived with a family in the Mountains of Northern Honduras, the Sagastume family. The Sagastumes made their living from growing coffee. I learned about their ventures in becoming an organic coffee farm, a very involved process. They were among the first farmers in their area to shift to organic farming methods and they often had others come to be educated on their methods. It was extremely important for their farm and others to be organic because their farms were situated above a town whose people drank the run-off water from the farmlands above. With no adequate form of filtering the water, keeping it clean was vital.
The Sagastumes are wonderful people who are very dear to my heart, they live a very humble lifestyle and are yet among the most generous, welcoming individuals I have had the joy of encountering. It is through this experience and others during those four months, that I have engrained in my heart and mind the importance of purchasing fair trade coffee. Coffee that is purchased at a price and through a company that provides for the essential physical needs of the families who give their lives to growing this beverage that those of us who have in abundance enjoy regularly. I am excited about offering a place where people here in Haviland have the opportunity to learn about and be part of the fair trade exchange.
My final and most recent experience with coffee was my time working as a barista in a fabulous coffee shop in downtown Rock Springs, Wyoming. Java Peddler is a one of a kind coffee shop located at the front of a Bike n' Trike (mountain biking) store. The owners are young, ingenuitive and inviting. They are awesome people and awesome parents, who brought their two little boys to hang out in the store from time to time. Our customers loved seeing them, and they were great company for me. We had lots of regulars, those who would stay and chat each morning or afternoon and who I had the blessing of getting to know throughout my time there. There were also travelers, those who were on their way through. It was fun to hear the stories of foreigners here in the states for only a few short weeks and listen to them share about the memories they'd made or the hopes they had for their time. Being located just south of Yellowstone National Park meant meeting people from all over the world.
So, now I am looking forward to seeing what this new endeavor with coffee will bring. I hope that it can be a place of impact, of relationship, of joy and peace for those who come and those who stay. I hope that it can be a place for families, students, friends, visitors, passer-byes, to feel welcome, at home and loved not only by us, but by the One who has made it all possible. ~Molly
Thursday, December 3, 2009
The Plot Thickens
We are a couple months down the road and the stage is being set. The LORD has provided a building at a perfect location on Main Street in the business block, within walking distance from the college. It even has a refinished brick wall, a must for a coffee shop, or so I'm told (we love it, anyway!) LeAnn, Molly, and I have met several times, with frequent emails to communicate together. I so appreciate that we're all relying on the LORD to direct and provide for this endeavor. We were given a bunch of discarded cabinets and cupboards that just need cleaning and repainting to be used. The go-ahead was given to use some signage on the highway at a super affordable price, and my dad (a sign artisan) is willing to do all of our signs for us (they will be fabulous). And then we've also met with a Kiowa County SBL advisor, a friend at our bank, an accountant, and another friend who says she'll help me get my books up and running. I am so thankful for each of these gifts and that other people want to be a part of helping the shop to succeed.
Speaking of other people, we've sent out a survey on campus to discover the wants/needs of our primary clientele. The feedback has been so encouraging. We also are having our first coffee tasting on Sunday with the Fair Trade coffee offered by Equal Exchange. There will be 16-20 friends stopping in to try out the options, giving us their opinions and descriptions. They will also give us some advice as to our shop name. We need to settle on it soon, for all the formal business reasons as well as signage.
So, things are moving right along. I am taking comfort in Proverb 16:1, "To man belong the plans for the heart, but from the LORD comes the reply of the tongue." We can make our plans, but the LORD has the final say. That is so comforting to me, especially when I begin to get nervous about just what it is we're doing. Another scripture, Psalm 116:7, "Be at rest once more, O my soul, for the LORD has been good to you," reminds me that the One setting the stage is good and can be fully trusted. In that I can truly rest.
-Hannah
Speaking of other people, we've sent out a survey on campus to discover the wants/needs of our primary clientele. The feedback has been so encouraging. We also are having our first coffee tasting on Sunday with the Fair Trade coffee offered by Equal Exchange. There will be 16-20 friends stopping in to try out the options, giving us their opinions and descriptions. They will also give us some advice as to our shop name. We need to settle on it soon, for all the formal business reasons as well as signage.
So, things are moving right along. I am taking comfort in Proverb 16:1, "To man belong the plans for the heart, but from the LORD comes the reply of the tongue." We can make our plans, but the LORD has the final say. That is so comforting to me, especially when I begin to get nervous about just what it is we're doing. Another scripture, Psalm 116:7, "Be at rest once more, O my soul, for the LORD has been good to you," reminds me that the One setting the stage is good and can be fully trusted. In that I can truly rest.
-Hannah
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