Cuvee Coffee

My recent travel schedule has been pretty intense lately. After my time in El Salvador, I hopped the bus over to Guatemala where I caught up with the Roasters Guild Origin Trip (a blog and video are currently in the works). I got home on Thursday and had 4 days to catch up with my family before hitting the road again. I had some work to do and our washing machine was broken, but Connor and Cole wanted to play baseball so I set aside time to do that. Rashelle came down with a cold which made leaving again tough, but I made a commitment.

So now it is 4:00 am in Taiwan and my sleep schedule is obviously off right now. I am here to support my friend, Silence Huang, as he prepares to launch his coffee house and barista training center. Silence and I have known each other three years now. We have shared and learned about coffee and I am honored that he invited Cuvee Coffee to participate at the Ugly Duckling grand opening on Friday.

Today, we visited 3 specialty coffee shops in Taipei. It is a magical time here right now. Even though the weather is rainy and cold, it is the New Year and people are out and about all over the city. Every shop we visit, I am immediately greeted with a cheerful, “happy new year.” I have learned some very basic Chinese, but my teacher (Silence) is so good that when I meet and greet someone, they think that I speak the language and are quickly disappointed that I only have 3 sentences in my vocabulary. The shops were all very pleasant experiences. I was prepared for some very bad coffee (based on what I have been told), but I have been pleasantly surprised so far. Don’t get me wrong, there is still much room for improvement just like in the U.S. but so far I have had some great coffee. The highlights have been a very skillfully crafted pour over tasting of 5 different specialty coffees and a stellar shot of espresso from the 2007 Taiwanese Barista Champion.

The night ended with a visit to Eason’s family owned restaurant where we feasted on noodles, fish, crab, lobster, beer and cognac. Silence’s parents and two brothers where there along with Eason’s parents. The night was magical with everyone welcoming me to Taiwan by hoisting their glasses of cognac and wishing me wealth and happiness in the New Year.

I just woke up and I am not able to get back to sleep, but as I check email and catch up on work I am reminded how important and valuable family time can be. I will have been on the road just over 3 weeks by the time I get home. February will nearly be over and I will have slept in my own bed a grand total of about 8 days the entire month. This is family time that I can never recapture. I know that my family loves and supports me, but one of the things that really drove this home was the look on Connor’s face when he opened the office door last Thursday. I was sitting with Rashelle, at here desk, catching up on the previous 2 weeks when the door opened and I saw the most beautiful, excited, happy expression that I have ever seen. Connor did not expect to see me, but when he did he light up and ran to me for a huge hug. It was a moment that I will never forget.

I am building a business and there are times that require difficult decisions. There are sacrifices and I will need to choose them wisely, but I am constantly reminded that my decisions must be made with purpose. I stumbled across this video and as I watched it, my eyes welled up with tears. I love my work and have goals for my business. I am making a positive impact in other parts of the world and in my own community, but every once in a while I am given a gentle reminder of what is most important.