Patience

As I will always emphasize in this blog, we think success if A then Z, but in reality there are many steps in between. Last night as I spoke to my friend and his parents who operate Caldino’s at the Farmers Market in Brick, New Jersey and other surrounding markets, they reminded me that it takes practice and patience in growing your business. They are known for long lines as people patiently wait for their freshly made mozzarella, and other great Italian specialties, that are made with authenticity like you are in the old country. It wasn’t always this way though. They shared with me, their first batch of mozzarella was too salty for a family member to eaT, and their first days at the farmers market they were lucky to sell 40 units (pounds) of their product the whole day. Now they might do that in 15 minutes on good days.

This brings me to myself and my failures, as I patiently learn through them and what many will reference as learning opportunities. As the opening picture will show, a very burned batch of beans. After my initial love for the Ethiopian Coffee Ceremony, I went to Vietnam. While I was there, I asked a priest whose family owned a coffee farm where I could obtain unroasted beans. In the mix he gave me a large gift of beans which have since become my learning curve for roasting, in addition an authentic souvenir that I share with others from Vietnam, the worlds 2nd largest coffee producer.

As I began roasting in the typical pan I would use for Ethiopian coffee ceremony, which roasts about 2 ounces, I quickly learned I was very limited. With a conservative budget early on, I had no interest in spending too much money as I was testing these waters. I found a peanut roasting drum on Amazon for $20, I went to Lowe’s and purchased a threaded rod, and upon realizing my drum didn’t rotate properly, I used my moms roaster kit that was in a box unused for nearly 10 years. This was now the next phase in my roasting growth, I could easily do 1 pound now, so long as I was patient enough to turn the roasting drum in an old fashioned manner on a moderately heated grill. From here new problems began to occur, like grinding 1 lb of coffee, in something other than a tabletop grinder which can take 10-15 minutes to do through multiple processes. This was a welcomed blessing that challenged me to grown a bit more, while remembering to keep the faith, as a group of monks would be the next ones to influence and encourage my business growth.