The Daily Grind: March, April & May - Keep Building ☕

March, April and May didn't feel like headline months. They felt like work. The good kind.

It actually started a day after I stepped away from my tech leadership role. I had my eye on a batch of Chelchele, Yirgacheffe, Ethiopia. 33 lbs of green coffee I wanted for the January menu. My wife looked at me and said, you better go get it. So I did. I had no idea what that decision would set in motion.

Coming off February's reset, I could have coasted. Instead, the question became: now what? The answer was simple. Keep building.

March changed everything. The cupping results came in. Three roasters selected out of 22 Bay Area submissions, double blind. No names, no brands, just the coffee in the cup. The Chelchele, Yirgacheffe, Ethiopia medium light profile, clean finish, complex notes. It held up. That was enough. And the batch that won? It traced all the way back to that first 33 lbs my wife told me to go get.

What made it extra special was that my wife was there for the roast that ended up being our submission. Her first time seeing the full picture. The sourcing decisions, sorting green beans, running the Loring, all the way through packing each bag. She saw what actually goes into every cup. That moment meant more than the win itself.

April was heads down. With the Chelchele locked in for CoRo, I needed to keep the Shopify side fed. That meant doing my homework, spending time looking through Unblended, Forest Coffee, and a few others, getting a feel for what was coming in, what the market looked like. I wasn't forcing a decision. Just staying informed and ready for when the right lot came in. That ended up being the Sidama, Ethiopia from Nguisse Nare. A washed process, clean and bright, and a completely different story from the Chelchele. Two Ethiopians, two processing methods, two expressions of the same origin. That felt intentional.

May was about delivering. Multiple roasting sessions. The first 45 lbs delivered to CoRo on May 4th (May the Force be with you) and the final 45 lbs on May 18th. 90 lbs total for their spring menu launch on 5/31. It's a privilege to be featured alongside Flower Child Coffee and Hydrangea, two roasters doing incredible work. What I didn't expect was a DM from Shibru Dube himself, the producer behind the Chelchele, reaching out after seeing the post, asking about the 2025/2026 harvest. That moment stopped me. This is why we do it.

Through all of it, the roasting sessions, the sourcing decisions, the logistics with Jared, Joel and Bryan at CoRo, the goal never changed. Keep building. Recharge for the next adventure. Stay present for my daughter and my wife, and keep pushing forward on the home renovation.

Staying active, checking in on people, being human and being kind. That has always been the key. To my former team and colleagues who have been following this journey from day one, this one's for you.

Five months in, I have no regrets.

Lift heavy things. Let them make you stronger, not knock you down.

Stay hungry, stay humble, stay caffeinated, and be relentless.

Simon