Social Impact and Origin Trips

Black coffee This is the Cavoya Coffee podcasting network Coffee people talking to coffee people about coffee and things coffee adjacent This episode of Another Cup is brought to you by Cavoya spepecialty Coffee where coffee is always collllaborative Voyage Welcome to anotherother Cup, a blog featuring customers, suppliers, and all the relationships in between. This is episode twenty three and Angela is talking with Caitlyin Higgins from Rebel Dog Coffee about journeys of all kinds in specialty coffee. Angela. Hey everybody. I am so excited because today we have Caitlyin from Rebel Dog in the studio This is just such a cool moment for me. I think we've known each other for about a year and a half since we started working together and you've become, you know, J such a joy and delight and I love working with you. And I feel like this has been a long time in the making. Like I've been wanting to get you in here for forever. So please introduce yourself, tell everyone who you are and a little bit about you. Okay, Hi, I'm Caitln Higgins I work at Rebel Dog Coffee Company in Connecticut. Thank you, Angela for inviting me on another cup. I am so excited to be here and I do feel like every time we talk We talk about me coming on the podcast.. So glad it's finally happening I feel like I still don't have an official job title because I just do so many different things literally Yeah, like what were you doing this morning? at five thirty AM? This morning I was coovering a little baby barista shift at our newest location. U and one of the group like one of the groups just hasn't been working and we thought another group wasn't working.. So I was trying to like tap on the little Ecelenoid bells to see if like Visa had gotten up there and like blocked it. And then one of them was fine, but then someone actually ended up showing up from Shot to actually open up that middle one that we haven't had use of for a while. So I was just staying there to make sure that she didn't need anything else from me. And then I was like re typing up Espresso machine closing instructions for everyone, like cleaning instructions to be like, Leave the screens in. donon't use too much Kfisa. So you know, sometimes that's my job. L Sstems up and Yes, a big part of my job is doing onboarding espresso and coffee training with our new baristas I do our green coffee buying, which is obviously how I know Angela and Cavoya. I do marketing things. likeike I manage our social media, I do email marketing campaigns ome light graphic design here in the.ike you're so good at the graphic design. Thank you Yeah. Canva and a dream, baby. L you're so fast with it? I tried I tried to be T time is quick. but Recently, I've had help now with Linny, one of our baristas doing photos and Carson, one of Harrison's friends doing videos. We're actually about to post a really funny video for our cold Bw. But yeah, so I'm all over the place. Yeah. I feel like by the time I talk it's fun. you're just like, oh yeah, well now I'm doing this and now I'm that. Im my gosh, like what don't you do over there? Colding down before. Yeah. Yeah So let's back up. what were you doing before coffee? and how did you get into this Right after college, I was doing a couple terms of Americor, a public health nonprofit in Waterbury, Connecticut. And while I was doing that, I got a second job. because you need that when you do Americor. Oh yeah at like a very non specialty cafe in Connecticut, like near my hometown in Connecticut. And I really enjoyed it. It was certainly not like we weren't dialing in the espresso. We weren't steaming milk properly for latte art or anything like that. but just It was fun. The community was fun, the customers were fun, the staff was fun. it was a great time And then I ended up moving to London to get my master's degree in communications for International Development. And I think that London is really where I like fell in love with actual specialty coffee and independently owned coffee shops because there's obviously such a high concentration of them there, at least a lot more than in suburban Connecticut in twenty fifteen. Yeah, I just spent so much time in them, whether it was just hanging out with friends studying, writing papers, writing my dissertation like my whole summer, writing my dissertation. I was just in different coffee shops. And then it became a really fun, cool way to be like Where am I going to write today? And I'll go explore a new coffee shop in a new part of the city And then I came back to Connecticut and There was not that experience that v of me anymore. Where am I gonna go to get flowers and my latte? No. Where am I gonna get a flat white in Connecticut in twenty sixteen? Nowhere. And genuine, I think I was just because I was Googling and social media searching so much for any sort of cool coffee shop near me where I could go and work on my resume and work on job applications. I just got like served a Facebook ad for this new coffee shop, a town over for me called Rebel Dog Coffee Company. I was like, perfect, great. This actually like really looks like exactly what I'm looking for. And I go to the website and's like, we' not open yet. But we are hiring. I was like, Okay. I can be a barista again while I apply to quote, unquote real jobs because You'll never catch me saying being a barista isn't a real job, right At the time became a barista while you were looking for a real job. So But at the time that was, you know where my mind was at And I guess a little bit the rest is history.. That was nine and a half years ago, which is really, really wild to think about. Yeah. And you're like a day one reel dog. I worked the very, very, very first shift ever. Yeah We couldn't open the day we're supposed to because there was a snowstorm. Classes. So then I worked the opening shift the next day, which was our first day. like, W, I'm still free.. Wow. I mean the journey, right. The journey and it's so special that you've been able to stay in one place for your whole career. I know for me personally, I bounced around so much I can't even fathom, but it's so cool that you've been able to do that. How would you say your sort of like evolution at Rebel Dog happened. You know, you're reset one day, nine and a half years later. you're literally doing everything. Yeah. holding it together. I Yeah, I think it really just came down to The building in Plainville, Connecticut that our first location is in It's still owned by Um Peter Limotis, who is one of the co owners of Rebel Dog, along with my more direct boss, Harrison and Poltrack. Fulln U and Before it was Rebel Dog, it was this fine casual Mediterranean restaurant that Peter owned He comes from a long line of like Greek restaurateurs in like the New York area and He before the restaurant opened in the afternoon, he had this food truck he would pull out in the front parking lot and do like simple breakfast sandwiches and cold brew that he made by roasting coffee beans over the flame on the stove in the kitchen in the restaurant. You can truly start anywhere. Youiter I promise we're we're getting back to me He wanted to start semi retiring. He wanted to still have a restaurant in the building, but he wanted to brick and mortar the coffee It was kind of getting a following. People would be stopping by. that little food truck every morning on their way to work. And so he brought Harrison in as a partner to of head up the specialty coffee of it So certainly that building and Peter and his wife Joan particularly already had this existing community of people who really enjoyed supporting them, knew the space, you know, knew that something new was coming in there, but that Peter and Joan were still involved. And so That was really nice that we, you know, we were a new business but existed in a place Yeah where there was already a little bit of like a built in community. I mean, certainly a totally different venture. It had been before. but yeah Please tell us how the name Rebel Dog came in. This is my favorite for, my best Recollection, have I had no business in naming it because that was what the name of the food truck was. It was Rebel Dog and What I remember being told is that it was Peter and a bunch of his friends like sitting at the bar in the restaurant One night brainstorming, sppitfall and trying to come up with a name and someone said something like, well, dog is the most like Googled or like internet searched word in the world. ot sure if that's true, but maybe it was that? I don I don't know. And I guess they were just like throwing adjectives around. and Rebel Dog stuck, the original logo, I'm sure somewhere I could find a photo of it, but it was like a likeike a junkyard bulldog with a spiky collar like cartoon Ver very different fromically. Yeah, so that changed as we ventured into the specialty coffee world to a more minimalist Yeah, started like food truck literally roasting coffee beans over an open fire in the food truck You know in the kitchen or the restaurant the restaurant's kitchen. yeah Reel Dog, junkyard, spiky collar. And now it's like you guys are rising on a huge larry. Yeah Y your dog is wearing like a collared shirt. Yeah Oh of our dog onene of our little artworks by uses. Yeah those are so cute. Like that's quite the vibe change in R. And I feel like You know, it's just it's so fun to see something go from one thing to another in a span of ten years. And I mean, you've been a part of that too, right? This whole transition Yeah, yeah And like growing. I mean ye, how many locations do you guys have now? We have four, four locations Yeah, plus. amazing roastterry. Yeah, plus our roasty Yeah Anything slated for the future? A you guys like, let's just keep this contained for right now. Let's like really lock in. Yeah, think I think growth is always on the horizon. I think that there's definitely things we want to do to really tighten up our existing operations and just make everything as good as it can be. We get asked a lot to move into new developments or you know the spaces that are emptying out And so like some of our locations like our Farmington location, our second one was We only open that like two years after opening the first one. because it was just a sort of opportunity. I don't think would have made sense to say no to. whereere the location is and everything.. So It's always a possibility. I don know. I feel like it's every year, it's like, oh, we're doing doing this coolest new thing. And I'm like, wow, you guys know this You're just crankking. Yeah. notot a lot. Yeah, it's exciting. There's always something on the horizon. Yeah, I think I think we're really trying to also find oursel find our identity as a specialty coffee roaster. We didn't start roasting our own coffee And because we do have quite a large food program and really offer a lot of different things at our different locations because of that existing restestaurant history in that first building Um Yeah, I think that something I really want to do in like the very near future is really, you know get a footh hold in like the we're a specialty coffee roaster and like you know, more of us coming to the Northeast Coffee Festival every year, starting to go to more events and do more like e commerce and putting ourselves out there Roastter foot forward. tootally So yeah. And like with that too, like one thing that we always love to talk about with each other is, you know, what are we passionate about in the industry? Like we are both very passionate people and we care a lot about a lot of things. L if you're ever just catching me and Caitlin It's always about something. We're both very opinionated, but one thing I love to talk to you about is sort of like what are you passionate about as a coffee buyer You know, you carry a lot of weight in what you purchase and how you purchase. And I would love for you to tell people what decision like what decisions you're making? and why you're making them and just like where you're coming from because I think it's really cool I love the green coffee buying and sourcing aspect of my job. But yeah, I think there is so much more that goes into it and more to consider that I think a lot of people on the outside realize And I think that even since I was a baby barista, starting out with rebel dogs, starting to like take on random responsibilities just to make My life easier as a raist to even, which goes back to ans a little bit answer your question from earlier that I never really answered. my trajectory. But anyway, I think As soon as I started learning more about just and bread of the coffee sector and just how endless it is in terms of the amount of people who are involved at every single point in the process And you know, you could be into agriculture, you could be into biology, you could be into economics and finance and there's something for you in coffee. L when I Wh saying it now, like dub but you know, just kind of when scope is so small. R. And when coffee is just something that is is like a given in American life, I guess in the U S. it You don't think about it necessarily And so that has become something that I'm really, really, really passionate about is connecting that brringing that scope and that depth of like everything that's going on in coffee to the like end consumer, I guess, like our customers at Rebel Dog or, you know whoever is watching our Instagrams or whatever, but Yeah, I think that There's obviously being a coffee buyer now too. I see more intimately the reasons why prices of coffee fluctuate and have gone up. And why certain things are more readily available or why certain things are better than other things. I really want to be like that connector piece between Vike that like, you know, I feel like The coffee shop is the very tip of the iceberg, I guess, and then there's just so much going on underneath that. and I would loveove to find ways to bring all of that other stuff to the forefront for your like the average coffee consumer. Yeah, it's almost like you have to take so much information and so much that's happening. You have to distill it and decide What's going to come through How am I going to present it? I mean, I think that you guys do a really good job at that. I feel that you're welcome. It's like You guys put stuff on your bags, you guys have info cards, like I see what you guys are doing in the Hartford community to just make that demographic more aware about what you guys are doing behind the scenes, right? Yeah. people yeah, it's like you guys have an awesome food program, you guys have all these other things going on. So like what are the things that you're doing to sort of Push forward. Be the connector point, kind of being the bridge between the consumer and what's happening at origin or what's happening within our supply chain Yeah, I think like you said, we we do definitely like make that information readily accessible, I think that We try not to make it too in your face because I do think there is this idea among againgain, the average coffee drinker in the U. S and especially in the more Burban and in some places, more blue collar areas that our shops are in People are just used to buying whatever's on sale in the grocery store And I mean There's in a way, like nothing wrong with that, especially with how high the price of everything is in these days. ye literally in this economy. So I think that there's a perception that specialty coffee or third wave coffee is inaccessible and it's snobby and it's not for everyone Yeah. and I think that something again, that's really important to me and that I'm passionate about is making it more accessible and more approachable to everyone and sort of gently but enthusiastically like welcoming everyone in That's really important to me. So we do have like QR codes on all our bags where if you scan it and go to the product page in our website, it tells you pretty much everything you would want to know about a quote unquote coffee nerd, you know, would want to know like the exact community or farm or region that it's from, the altitude, the varietals of coffee. you know, and then like paragraphs of information about processing and you know if we know if it's a super traceable coffee then about that farm, about that community, the exact people in it, or if it's more of like a regional blend than even just about coffee in that area and and everything. So It' definitely there, it's definitely accessible. I think I would like to maybe push that a little bit more. I'd like to find a way to make it even more readily available, but still without You know, I don't want someone to see a bag and see all this information like listed. L like I overload. Like I like seeing that and I know a lot of people like seeing that but I think For some people, it can be a turn off Yeah, sometimes people just don't even when they ask the question, like they don't really want the full answer. They want bullet points. Yeah. And you know, so like I want it to be there. I don't But I don't w want tona assume people don't want that information. So it's a funny little tightrope to walk. Yeah that I like would love to figure out how to It's cool how like QR codes has really changed the way that people access information. I love them so much. I do too. I know a lot of people don't, but Really I put them on every Yes. And I love them' I don't like QR code menus. No No I hate those too. Oh my God, people get mad at me all the time. I'll go to a restaurant and like they want you to QR code and I literally every s there's no service. paper menu doesn't load. Yes. And then like they'll come over the ser, this is our only paper menu. We need it back. And I'm like, yeah, yeah, no, I know. I need it. I hear me looking at my phone this. I know. yeah personally I don't know what the rest of the Rebel Dog team wants to do, but like I think like a A retail coffee bag redesign is in the pretty near future. Okay. We started it as being like very simple, very basic. And I think that if we could reimagine something that is still really approachable, easy on the eye, like but also eye catching on grocery store shelves or on our retail shelves. but then just For more information like accessible on our retail shelves, there's a lot to think about. I can't wait to see what you do. Me too. Now that you've said it out in the universe, you're gonna have to do it. I know, I know. Sorry guys. I hold you accountable. They're harrison. I'm not sorry Never sorry. Another thing I like really would love to ask you about, you know, as a woman in coffee There's so many women who work in coffee, but there's always very few women who are in decision making roles I think it's really cool at Rebel Dog. you know you have so many women in decision making roles. I know for me and myself, the majority of who I work with are men. like you are one of the very few women that I work with and work very closely with. And I think that's why There's like so much magic in our relationship because it's like it's girl to girl. in this industry that, you know, feels like you're always in a room with men or talking with men. I would love to hear your perspective on what it's like to be a female buyer in this world. Yeah, I mean, like the highlights, the pain points, struggles, like anything you want to talk about Yeah It would be cool because I think there's a lot of women out there who would love to get into this and would love to be a buyer or You know, anything, right? So yeah. I think one way to Really promote that is to talk about it. Yeah, definitely. Yeah. Yeah. I think that I think that I have been really lucky in that I have not had the common experience of a woman in coffee Yes, like the owners of the company I work for are men and There's lots of male staff members and manag like store managers, but Even since the very beginning, like there were five of us original baristas and four of us were women. So like that was very cool. So then it was very natural that then store managers would most likely be women. Yeah I think too, just when I do meet another woman in coffee like you or our first head roaster at Rebel Dog Jenny. L I just like latch on and I'm like we're We're going to make magic happen I used to think I was really bad at like networking and being outgoing, but It's it seems so easy in coffee because I do think we are all actively seeking out and just like craving that relationship with other women in the industry There have been times where I definitely do feel like I have stereotypical experiences where I'm feeling man explained to or just my perception of peopleople in the industry makes me hold back Yeah like with traders, you know, with other like several other importers that you would that we've bought from or even just been in contact with, like I feel like I can't ask questions because they're going to think I'm some like stupid silly little girl. And so this is me project like this that's like absolutely no reflection on those individuals at all But it's just having gone through life as a woman and being in an industry where I do know and see other women having experiences where they are down to or, you know, not taken seriously because they're a woman. Yeah etcetera, etcera So just having I really I really remember telling Nicole, my colleague, like our head roaster now, like when you reached out to us and I think I like I was like, oh, immediately, the vibes were immaculate. I was like, I know that I can ask her anything Yeah. and Even if you do think I'm a silly, stupid little girl, I'm not going to feel like that, you know? L like like I just felt like there was an immediate just like camaraderie and Like I just felt really comfortable even before we actually met in person for, you know and even now I feel like I bother you now so much, which is another woman thing I have to get over because I always think I'm bothering people. but always feel like you know, I'm in this space, but do I really belong here? Oh my gosh, I can't believe I'm actually doing this. I mean, of course I go through that as well. and a lot of women I talk to go through that. What do you do to sort of get yourself out of that. Is it like a pep talk or is it like Let's take a nap and forget about it. Like what do you do That's a really good question. I I feel like I haven't had that feeling in so long, which is amazing amazing because Yeah, I work with you. I like our trader Like aa like Serena like so I think that Jenny I have to like give Jenny like all those Jenny Benson. I have to give her all the flowers. She was our sales rep and service tech when we wholesale from Irving Farm, and then She started our whole roasting program Yeah. and I've before right? her and I had a little bit of overlap. Y. and that kind I feel like we to talk about too is like we've been like orbiting each other for so long.. But I think like having Jenny is essentially my first real like mentor in coffee just set me up So well and her then being the one who then Peter and Harrison would have to defer to to ask questions about this thing they really don't know the ins and outs of and having to just have that built in like, yeah, we trust you because first of all, you know what you're talking about, but like also You're the one building this whole program. And so I think that in addition to her just setting us up really well, technically with roasting and buying like She just like laid the groundwork for other people in our company to be like, Yeah, these women in the roaster know what they're talking about. like we trust them. We you know, like Yeah, I mean, I think having a female mentor as a female is so powerful. You know, obviously like I have a lot of male mentors here at Cavoya and I love them dearly and we get along fantastically But growing up as a barista you know, I had some female mentors as well and there was a difference in being able to talk to them and be like, hey, yeah,ahah,ah versus like your male mentors where it just it's like There's like almost like this like unknowing knowing between women. like, okay, this is this is what we're going to do. Yeah, which I think is really special. Yeah. What advice would you sort of give You know, we talk a lot about mentorship here You know, in the coffee industry in general, how do you find mentorship Yeah. How do you get access to that? Yeah. It's almost like everyone wants it. there's no clear path Yeah Where do you get it from? Yeah. L It's something that we think a lot about here on ouravoya of just like, well, how How do we create this environment where people feel like they can seek out mentorships from people? You know, when I lived in Seattle I mean, I'm obviously really extroverted and I ask a lot of questions. So I would just go up to people and be like, Hey, you do this thing and I would love to know more about it. Can you talk to? Can you teach me? And it always blew my mind how people were just like Oh, sure. Yeah. Yeah yeah, yeah, let's set let's set up a day time and let's talk. I would never believe people when they would say, people love talking about themselves. Oh yeah. And like they'll be really excited if you go up to them and like I mean, obviously not everyone, but like I'd be like, no. L you're just saying that because that's what you're supposed to say about networking and mentorships. And now I'm like But o no, like that's like that's true. and I mean for myself, and'm like if someone When people do ask me a questions, I'm like, Oh my God, ye, I feel so special. But yeah, I think that I used to either not consider myself to be extroverted or outgoing O Um I my personality has just changed a lot, you know, in the last ten years or so, but Yeah, and I'm not as good as you at in person, like going up to people I know you're laughing at me. I'm not laughing. just I'm in od. I turn around and I just see you giggling.ical. just make friends with you Um, I have I mean, even like the sort of connection that brought me really down into the rabbit ho of spepecialty cooffee and deciding like, yeah, I'm gonna to make my career here was I messaged fluzy coffee roasters in Australia because they they just like came up on my Instagram feed and They source coffee. they like they prioritize sourcing coffee from women or cooperatives or farmers who like they know the exact benefit that like their purchase that coffee is having to women. So they really like celebrate women coffee producers And I just like found them and I just like messaged them on Instagram or emailed them or something and was like, hey I'm like just getting started in specialty coffee and I think I'm really interested in eventually roasting and like sourcing cot. Like this was like wow, maybe like a year, a year and a half. into me being at Rebel Dog. So really like way before we were roasting And I was just like, this is so cool. And I It gave me that like aha moment of like, oh, like all my degrees won't be useless in this space because working and sourcing and doing these really meaningful, like sourcing coffee really meaningfully. And I just like I either emailed or messaged them on Facebook and got connected with Sil, who is one of the founders. I don't believe she's with them anymore. but And then we just ended up having this like front professional friendship, wherever she connected me with like IWCA and I did like I helped out with some research with them. And so I think just like Go for it. That is so I had no idea did that. That's am Yeah. and then even onene of our like longtime regulars at Rebel Dog who follows me on Instagram. She I like posted about coffee a friend in LA sent me from Go Get him Tiger. Oh yeah. And she messes me. She's like, my sister in law works there. Wow. And I just was like, you know what? this might be really unprofessional or uncouth or something. but like Do you think you could like send a message connecting us, even just like on Instagram U and she did. And then I like went out there and like this is Jamie Lao. She's amazing. She does so much cool stuff in the like spepecifically LA coffee scene. Yeah But yeah, so I was just like I right? It's just like it's like kind of going over the w blow. Yeah. like, oh waitness this is a connection. And I think especially in this industry, like we were just talking about like you overlapped a little bit with Jenny. L you're not from this area, but like you worked in Connecticut for a while. Like crazy. So I think especially in this industry and especially with women in this industry They're so it's like a small little world. L it's not. It's obviously hoge but There are so many little threads to start pulling at that will like get you so far, so fast sometimes, honestly I mean, like again, here I am with my like imposter syyndrome. I'm like, what could I possibly have to offer anyone? But like I would love to hear from people who, you know, want advice or mentorship or connections or I don't I don't feel like I'm connection, you know, like like like I would be so happy to hear from people, you know, and like I think just there are a lot of also like actual professional like Networks and groups too. L the names of them definitely like escape my mind. but Sot your shot. Yeah, did I say? shhoot your shot what's the last that can happen. They don't respond someone doesn't respond or whatever. But I never know. Most of the time you will. L Speaking from experience Yeah, I think ye you're an incredible resource. Thank you. Yeah too. Thank you. I love talking to you because it's like information flows both ways Y. Yeah, which is really fun. You know, it's never one sided Yes. It's like always weird when it's really one sided. you're like, no, no I come learn from you too. Yeah. You open my eyes up to a lot of things which I learned something. I learned so I feel like my You're like my third like aha moment, like doors have been unlocked and opened like in my specialty coffee career because There's just been things where I was like, you can do that. Yeah. Yeah, you can do, you know, we're like, let's do that. Or I think that something is like so complicated and like murky and whatever and you're like, well, actually, X,YZ. Yeah. And I'm like, well, it's just this. Whoa. yeah. ye. And yeah, it's so cool. to be able to like, yeah, like just have like free flowing conversations. I feel like this is literally just how we talk all the time. I feel like it's just us hanging out but with microphones and know right? sometimes Oh my gosh. Like I've my Literally, one hundred percent of my specialty coffee career has been with one company. Yeah. And you have like the opposite experience. Sound and straight up bouncing around. You know, it' I've never I was never with one company that allowed me the growth that I needed at the time that I felt that I needed it. Yeah. And I'm the kind of person that needs to move fast. Y. And I need a challenge and I need to figure things out, right? If I'm not figuring something out, I'm feeling pretty useless So I really enjoy this process of like Oh my gosh, here's this thing that I'm up against and I need to figure out how to do this and then I need to do it and execute it and complete it. and then I need to find something else U so I think that's a huge reason why I bounced around a lot. Also, I just I'm a little bit physically untethered. I love to explore new places, I love to explore cultures. I just enjoy it all. and so It sounds so just crazy. I think a lot of coffee people are like this though. Yeah I know in our space, this is very normal You kind of hear like the winds of change calling you. Yeah like, okay, it's time for me to look for a new opportunity But When I first started out as a baby barista, it was just u It was life saving for me because I loved it so much and Ive just got to talk to people. I made coffee, which I thought was so much fun And then I learned about specialty coffee And I tell this story every once in a while. I'm not sure if I've told it on the pod yet, but When I first learned about specialty coffee and how it could have these really cool tasting notes, like fruits and you know, whatever I literally thought that you had to roast coffee over like different kinds of What That smoke b. like literally smoking meat in my head. That's hows. Yeah, that's a logical jump to make if you don't know. Gir all lured at me and she was like, no. I was like, what are you talking about Just my exposure up until then was like Starbucks or like you know really dark roasted, Italian roasted coffee. So it just my comprehension level was just not there. And then I just thought it was really interesting And so I just literally made a spur of the moment decision and moved to Seattle. crashed in my friend's room And then we got an apartment together. That's awesome. Yeah, shout out, Staceacy. Thank you girl and we just like ripped through the Seattle scene together and we had a lot of fun And learning learning how everything worked, especially you know, it was like twenty fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, in Seattle. A lot of third wave shops were, I mean there were so many. Yeah It's just so funny how I'm sitting in the seat now where You know I'm a trader, like I'm working at importing, like I'm doing all these cool things, but literally my comprehension of specialty coffee started with me thinking that you were Roasting coffee over different types of wood, and that's how they gott their favorite profiles In Seattle, I was exposed to a lot of women working in coffee who were doing really cool stuff. know, Rast Magazine, Connie, Layla, Cheroe Street she was still working there and u They just knew so much And they created a lot of opportunities for me to learn and created a lot of spaces and invited me into spaces. Yeah that, you know, I had to be pretty vocal about it. I was like, Hey, this is what I want, this is what I'm writing for When I learned about like sustainability and development and I learned about the disparity between, you know, coffee producing countries and communities and the consuming countries and communities, it kind of Really that's where my passion really sparked. Yeah. Yeah, my background's in socioculture anthropology, so I care a lot about social systems and cultures and how they impact each other. And I just felt spepecialty Coffee was one of those spaces where you can be in it and you can create a lot of positive change and any role that you're exxactly right. Yeah. In your Barista, you can connect with your customers and talk about those things. And when you're a manager, you can connect with your Baristas and talk about those things. And now I'm in this role where I can connect to people with really cool social projects that we'out doing, which I'm super passionate about Yeah. And that for me is like the coolest thing ever've he is like I get to be here and I get to work with people who align and want to do the same things and then we can do them together. Yeah, which I love. So that's sort of been my journey. Yeah likeike bobbing around a lot of different things, I just I needed to cut my teeth to learn how to do stuff. And the only way to learn it is to do it. Yep No one can really teach. peopleeople can teach it to you. People can sort of guide you through it. But like you have to really know. Yeah. So I purposefully made myself uncomfortable many times and put myself in positions where I was like, I have no idea what I'm doing. I'm totally gonna to figure this out.. And that's sort of been my journey. Yeah. And I like I know, I love it. And I feel like it is so funny how onn paper, I feel like it looks like we have very different paths that we traveled to get and obviously we don't have the same job, but like I'most like, No, that's literally exactly I feel like our story thing always really they're very parallel and It's so fun. I love it. I'm like I'm very grateful that I've been able to sort of have that similar experience with just one company. and like there's obviously a little of like luck and timing with like falling into it. I would have loved to have stayed with me. Yeah. I'm like a really loyal person and I reallyust myself. and so it's always hard kind of being like, well I've ran out of room to run here. Yeah and I need to keep running. Yeah. So I think that's like And I think it's like even the few times where I've been like, like I want a little more. I want I'm going to like interview for jobs to be like educated and then like dog will do something. I'm like I'm back I'm back in now. I'm so bad now. And now at this point I'm just like, Yeah, you're have to shut me off I don't know I'm like college Like I was always like, I want to be different places I want to be like. So even when I had been a Rildog for like a few years, I was likeow crazy about I we. T girl. Yeah for real, but I want to go back to, you mentioned like now that you're here at Cavoya, and you really love that you can connect people with different social programs at origin feel like we can't And this pck is with talking about Guatemala and Blue Aarza because that made things feel so full circle for me and I feel like the circle is just like getting bigger and bigger now So Angela when so Rebela we decided to host a thriller throwdown last October. So fun a Halloween party thr latte throwdown. And we're like, okay, but like Anytime we do a throwdown we want part of it to be a fundraiser So I reached out to Angela and I was like, Hey, like you know, I know of a bunch of coffee related organizations that you know would be great. to support through this, but like can you think of any in particular. And you're just like, yeah, here's something like nonprofits NGO's' like, But. If you want something really specific, you could donate the money to our social programs in IRSa and in Huueiwi, right? too. Yeahah. know it's in Santa Rosa. No, but because the kindergarten stuff are in different areas. Yeah. and the clic. But yeah, and I and Like that coffee was already one of our absolute favorites. It was the first coffee that you hadd ever bought from me. Yes. Oh my yes. That' I forgot b that. So it's even more full circle. Yes. The Blue IR is a natural process U Yes, because we needed to replace the natural processed coffee in our Dark Rse blend. and we Loved it And So I was like, absolutely. let's do that. And then You and Sam sent me so much great information about those programs and You sent me stuff that Byron had sent you, which I'm like, oh yeah, like that was that same v Yeah. Oh that guy. that guy I know him now. but I just have so much fun. and that's again, where I like being that little connector piece and like we're having this throwdown and now it's going to be an annual thing. and like it's always going to be for AyARza. and hopefully just gets bigger and bigger. And so we're spreading the word more and more and we're selling more Bue AyARza coffee, which also helps to continue funding these things It was so cool. It's so I love, like you said, just like being the person who's then telling our staff and our customers and people who come to these events about health clinic and the coffee kindergartens and camps and then also now like the really cool composting and other like sustainability initiatives at the Ayarza Mill And then of course, getting to go there with you in February and see it. And I was just Like I'm still process it's like, it's a far month far far five months later and I'm still processing it. and then and now like moving to like forward booking this coffee because we know it's always going be good. you know. And I like I remember telling Haris so in Nicole, like No, I met Byron, like he's the guy who's always like putting his stamp of approval on these things and I trust him implicitly. like he's never got know Yeah, I think that's something that goes back to somethingomething that's important to me as a buyer is longevity and continued relationships with producers and so this is just like a mill. so it's a community, but still just just say like committing to continuing to support No, it's like when you were down to do that, it was I was just I was like I can'tve this is happening. This is so cool because You know,, on the Cavoyia side, like we invest a lot of money into these programs to, you know, keep the clinics open, keep the kindergartens open But really the only way we're going to be able to ever grow it and, you know, pop more of them in the regions that we work in because, you know, as you saw ye, we went to a whole lot of different places. We did. Yeah.pas, Santa Rosa. Yeah Peling where the dryvill is. you know, we are really invested in a lot of regions. So IGRars is where we started this, but we want to grow it. We want to build more and we want to do it more and the only way we can do it is with like roaster support and roaster partnership.. So you guys just wanting to do it over. It's like coolest thing do because it's like it literally helps us do more. Right So thank you so much. partart of it is yeah. ye, No, it's great and even like In Connecticut, I feel like we have a very collaborative Oh ye coffee scene. like Taly and Branna literally started the Connecticut Coffee Coaborative. And that's what another kind of like lo based to network and like get mentorships, like Start a coffee collaborative in your community. Lerally work together, not against each other. Exactly. Yeah. But now me being like, you guys, like this coffee is really good. You should also buy it. Everyone get it. Like every've just been like this anaerobic. And then I think than going to that roaster in Omaha, Nebraska that also had it. And I was like, tellelling the roaster there, I was like, Yeahah, and we did all this to like help. And I went there and saw all of these programs that this coffee helps fun. So you should definitely also keep buying it yourself. I love you for that. No're like I am. I'm Bluey the biggest hype man. Literally. We gotta bring her back It's funny, one thing that I always when I go to origin, you know I'm always like, wow, I've read so much about this. I've watched videos, I've seen pictures. I you go there in person. it just Yeah in a way that it never cl. It's like how How many coffees have I really dove into the information about it from Kavooya, from Sukafina, from cafe imports, wherever, you know you know, how How many books have I read? How many articles have I read how many videos have I seen And they truly it sounds Yeah, I don't know. like it just but then you go and it is It's all of those things that you've you know about and you're like, ye, I get it. you don't get it. Well coffee at its core, it's such a tangible experience. Exactly, ye. You experience it sensorially and there's no other way to experience it. And so touching each part of the process. like, this was my first time Touching coffee that was, you know, a honey process that' still dry. I was like, I can't believe how sticky it is. L Well, of course it's called honey. L right Yeah, it's just going through all of that and it really made everything. It really made processes It really made my brain finally like understand processing methods. Yeah. It's like, o okay, got it. Yeah, yeah, yeah, heard, heard chef. I'm never ye, again, like I'm never gonna forget this experience and you know, like the same way not related to process But like when Anna did her like defects cupping last year at NECF, like I'm never gonna get those tastes out of my mouth.. Like they're all they're lo Yes. But it's like just one of those, again, sensorial, like those memories are so strong. Yeah. and those experiences are so strong. Yeah. got to do that together. It is really a fun, fantastic trip Yes, I really want to do a A more in depth AARSa trip. Oh yeah. with the crew. with the whole crew. Yeah. Dear Byron, we're coming. prepare. Prepare now. You're not ready. We've got the six months But yeah, that Well, did we do it all? I you think so? the thing. I think I said about one percent of all the stuff I word vomited in my notes, but I gave a lot of flowers to a lot of other women in coffee and I want to make sure I like really drive home how much I love and appreciate my colleague, Nicole and how I don't exist without her. I wish she was here today. so sad She' not doing this with us. We're gonna have to do this all again. Nicole. and Ashley like there's I haven't met yet. at Yeah. crazy All of the everyone at Rebel Dog like truly But I love hing out you guys It's the most fun. And but yeah, Nicole and I but I don't know if it's a joke that we like share a brain cell. like we're like a like package deal. like Which is like part of it is just because like we love each other and like trust each other and everything, but like we kind of like split Jenny's responsibility. So like we do everything. Step by step together. Yeah, L stem Yeah. ye, it's just like it's so great and like huge reasons why I'm still there. Yeah I loveugh you Micle. I wish you were here. I miss you And you know, thanks to Peter and Harrison for yeah. Letting the girls run shit. Amen. Well, thank you so much for doing this with me. Thank you so much for having me on. I'm so glad we finally did it. And I'm so glad the world gets to hear more about you and what you're doing in Reble Dog, what Reel Dog is doing and the Connecticut scene in general, it's just It's just so cool to see it grow It's been a lot of fun. Yeah S anarbibiz. Be You've been listening to another Cup, part of the Kooya Coffee podcasting network, where the executive producer is me Mike Ferguson. Our theme music for this episode is Coffee for twowo by Valerie Starfell If you've enjoyed this or any show on the Kavoya Coffee podcasting Network, please do all the things. Like, subscribe, review, don't keep us a secret, and take our Listener survey at the link in the show notes Finally, remember two things. You can email me with thoughts, ideas, kind words and limerics at mic. ferguson atcoavoyidot com And black coffee is performed by the one the only Llla Fitzgerald. G, another a I that I like to my crazy eyes