THE NEXT ADVENTURE

May 7, 2015

Three very heavy crates arrived on a truck from Reno today, and we lowered them into a nearby warehouse. There were high fives -- and high nerves; one of the crates nearly tipped over. We spent the rest of the day unpacking crates, roaming the aisles of every hardware store in the county in search of an elusive $2 part, and scratching our heads over instruction manuals. But by the end of the day, we were roasting samples of green coffee on a very handsome piece of equipment. This is our next big adventure.As an adventurer would for any expedition, we have done a lot of planning and research. We have assembled a team, purchased the necessary equipment, and laid out a course of action. And as with any expedition, we feel like we know what we’re getting into, but really? We have no idea what we’ll discover. Over the next two days, we’ll roast beans from 30+ coffee farms around the world. And when we cup them, we’ll taste 30+ coffees we’ve never tasted before.  The mystery has us wired!One of my favorite writers, Joseph Campbell, has written a lot about adventures and quests. He says: the big question is whether you are going to say a hearty yes to your adventure. We are.When the Summit Coffee team set out on the small business adventure back in 1998, roasting wasn’t even on the horizon. 16 years later, after a bunch of climbing, roasting is the next big leap. We say hell yes.We will be challenged and jubilant, frustrated and invigorated; we will make some delicious coffee and probably some that is not so good; we will be in over our heads and we will make great discoveries. And we look forward to sharing it all with you (except for the bad coffee, of course).There will be plenty more to come as the adventure unfolds. Here we go!