The Daily Grind: Steady Momentum - 2025's Gift to 2026 ✨

December has a way of making you reflect, doesn't it? As I roasted these final batches of 2025 on 12/10, something felt different. Lighter. Like the weight I'd been carrying all year was finally starting to lift. On January 2nd, 2026, I'll walk away from the company for the last time, and honestly? I feel nothing but relief and liberation.

This isn't the ending I planned when the year started. But then again, 2025 taught me that the best things rarely follow the plan.

The Roasts That Close a Year

Mexico (Revisited from October) Tamarind brightness meets caramel sweetness, with rooibos earthiness and cocoa depth. Coming back to this coffee after everything that's happened since October feels full circle. This is the same batch I roasted three days after losing Luffy, when I was barely holding it together. Now, two months later, I'm roasting it again from a completely different place. The coffee hasn't changed. I have.

Colombia Pink Bourbon (The New Beginning) Blackberry intensity, strawberry sweetness, and sangria complexity. This varietal doesn't apologize for being bold, for standing out, for refusing to blend into the background. The Pink Bourbon represents everything I'm stepping into: vibrant, unapologetic, and ready to create something uniquely mine.

Both roasted to that medium profile that's become my signature. Because even as everything changes, some things stay true.

What This Year Taught Me About Not Giving Up

Let me be real with you. 2025 tested me in ways I didn't think I could handle. Lost Luffy in October. Faced some hard moments in August that tested my leadership. Stood firm when it would've been easier to bend. Led my team through chaos while fighting to protect relationships and partnerships I'd spent years building.

But here's what I learned about being relentless: it's not about never falling down. It's about getting back up, asking for help when you need it, and refusing to abandon what you truly believe in. It's about team-first approach even when the noise gets loud. It's about standing up for what's right, not what's easy.

I'm leaving the company, but I'm leaving with something more valuable than any title: my integrity intact, my team stronger, and my influence as a legacy that will remain long after I'm gone.

Thriving in Uncertainty: The Next Chapter

January 2nd isn't an ending. It's permission.

Permission to focus on Three Points Coffee in ways I couldn't before. Permission to explore logistics into Canada, the United Kingdom, and other regions I've been dreaming about. Permission to build something that's completely, authentically mine.

Do I know exactly how it's all going to work? No. Am I afraid of the uncertainty? Not even a little.

Because here's what 2025 really taught me: I thrive in adversity. Grit, resilience, and perseverance aren't just words I throw around. They're who I am. And I have an incredible group of people who care, who support, who show up when it matters most.

What This Year Taught Me About Outgrowing With Grace

Here's something I've learned: you can outgrow a role and still leave it with integrity. That's what these last few months have been about.

I've outgrown this position, and the system couldn't adapt to my way of leading. I've always challenged others, set higher standards, made things better. That's who I am. But sometimes the best thing you can do is recognize when it's time to move on, not with bitterness, but with clarity about what's next.

The hard work of this transition actually happened weeks ago. Most people don't see that part: the careful handoff conversations, the transition documents written with real care, the honest support given to my team even as I was preparing to leave. Now it's just about finding my bearings, trusting what I already know, and letting this chapter close the way it should with my head held high.

Being Present: The Real Work of 2026

You know what I'm most excited about? Time.

Time to be present for my daughter in a way that shows I'm aware of how precious and fleeting these years are. Time to grow Three Points Coffee with the care and attention it deserves. Time to find a challenge that actually pushes me, that makes me better, that aligns with the leader I've become.

Nick, my leadership coach, said something that stuck with me: "You're entering this next chapter with calm, steady momentum, which is exactly where you want to be." He's right. I'm not rushing into something new just to fill the void. I'm moving at my own pace, being myself in conversations, letting opportunities come to me instead of forcing them.

Most importantly, I'm taking the recovery time I've earned. After a year like 2025 (after losing Luffy, after August's challenges, after managing this eight-year chapter with steady integrity), I deserve to catch my breath.

What Three Points Coffee Becomes in 2026

Freedom looks like logistics spreadsheets for Canada and the United Kingdom. It looks like showing up to roast with all my energy, not whatever's left after an eight-hour workday. It looks like building something that combines technical skill with real care for people, the same approach that's defined my leadership all along.

I don't have every detail figured out, and honestly? That's exactly how I want it. I thrive in uncertainty. Give me ambiguity, give me a challenge that requires grit and resilience, give me a problem that needs solving. That's where I do my best work.

Three Points Coffee in 2026 means:

• Expanding thoughtfully into new markets
• Building partnerships that matter
• Creating coffee experiences that tell real stories
• Doing all of it without trade-offs between family time and professional growth

This isn't about choosing between being a present father and building a business. It's about finally having the space to do both right.

To Everyone Who Made This Possible

To my team at the company: You made me a better leader. The way you showed up, even when things got hard, even when the noise was loud, that's what kept me grounded. I fought for you because you were worth fighting for. Thank you for trusting my leadership, even when it meant challenging the status quo.

To the Three Points Coffee community: You've been with me from the beginning of this roasting journey. Eight months ago, this was just an idea. Now it's becoming my calling. Your support, your orders, your messages have meant everything.

To my Brazilian camaraderie (you know who you are): Obrigado for being my rock this year. When everything felt impossible, you reminded me I wasn't alone.

To my family: For understanding the days spent at the roastery, the early mornings planning roasts, the mental space this transition required. For believing in Three Points even when it was just a dream.

And to my daughter and my wife: Everything I build is for us. My wife has been cheering me on nonstop through every challenge, every doubt, every pivot. That kind of support doesn't just lift you up; it transforms what you think is possible. It's my job to wake up each day ready to tackle whatever comes, good or bad, because she believes in me without question. My daughter, you'll grow up seeing what it looks like when two people build a life together with that kind of partnership, where one person's dreams become shared dreams, and showing up every day isn't a burden, it's a privilege.

The Final Pour

These December batches represent something bigger than coffee. They're proof that you can honor where you've been (Mexico from October, when everything hurt) while stepping boldly into what's next (Colombia Pink Bourbon, vibrant and unapologetic).

2025 taught me that liberation isn't the absence of challenges. Liberation is choosing yourself, your values, and your vision, even when the path isn't clear.

So here's to closing chapters with grace. Here's to opening new ones with courage. Here's to roasting coffee that tells the truth about who we are and where we're going.

January 2nd, I walk into my calling. But first, let's savor this final pour of 2025.

Caffeinated, liberated, and ready for what's next.

Simon