Why Do I Work in the Coffee Industry? – Part 1: “It’s Just Coffee”

This weekend at the World of Coffee Expo in San Diego, I spent time reflecting on this question. I don’t take what I do for a living lightly, and I think this is part of the reason for my desire to define what it is that draws me to this work.

There’s a saying in our industry that helps many of our people keep their anxiety about work at bay – “It’s just coffee.” This is often followed up with “We’re not saving lives.” I think this is an important thing to keep in mind for two main reasons: 1) It’s a reminder that making mistakes is OK. We need to continue to push ourselves, to always be learning and striving to become the best coffee professionals we can be, but no one’s going to die when we inevitably make honest mistakes. 2) It keeps our egos in check. I have friends and family that I’m close with who work in the medical field, and it’s literally their job to save lives. We sometimes need a reminder that just because we can dial in a juicy shot of anaerobic Honduras espresso, pour immaculate latte art, bring out the delicate floral nuances of that Panama Gesha in a roast, have won competitions, brought in millions in sales for the company, or started a business from the ground-up, no one’s losing their life when we have a bad day at work.

With all that said, the truth is that it’s not JUST coffee for me. Yes, coffee is a product, but it is a product that I love quite profoundly. I love looking forward to my first coffee of the day. I love being around the cupping table with other coffee people and getting excited about a coffee that surprised me. I love serving a well-crafted beverage that makes a guest’s day better. I love educating people about coffee’s “seed to cup” journey and how incredibly hard everyone works all along the supply chain. I love advocating for people and organizations that do amazing work and affect people and communities in positive ways.

Coffee is how I’ve decided to make my living, and that’s something I take quite seriously. When I was managing cafes in Chicago, I felt so incredibly responsible for my teams of baristas. They are human beings who come in for hours every week and exchange their time and labor for a wage so that they can pay their bills. If I failed them as the manager of that space, then that means I was negatively impacting a part of their life and potentially putting into question how they were going to make their living in that moment. My worse days of work I’ve ever had were when I felt like I had failed the people I was supposed to be leading. 

What we do in the coffee industry matters. We make people’s days better when we succeed, and we let people down when we fall short. How are we choosing to use our time in the industry? What kinds of connections are we making? What kinds of products are we promoting? What are we advocating for? 

How do our values line up with the work that we do every day?

(To be continued in Part 2)