The curses, hexes and vexes we endure along our various journeys in life offer perspective after the fact. Certain undertakings require massive movements in time and energy that can leave one exhausted and depleted.  In the wake of such monumental milestone achievements, its great to reflect on all the bitter aspects associated with that success.  The ‘sweetness’ is coming and will taste much more so because of the hardships and ‘bitterness’ associated with the journey.

As serendipity would have it, and after a tumultuous build-out process, the Source Coffee Roastery went live April 30, 2022, just in time for my 42nd birthday.  Like many other small business owners during COVID, we lost our initial business endeavor, a humble cafe operation in Bastrop, after being open only 7 short months.  The culmination of 20+ years in the industry, big dreams and financial blessings from a few angel investors went up in the proverbial smoke.

But where there is smoke, there is fire so, we decided to roast coffee beans in it. We purchased our IR-1, converted space on our property into a roasting facility and, after some painful months of preparation and challenges outside of our respective wheel houses, the wife and I breathed new life into our business model and brought Source Coffee Roastery online.

The journey is far from over and I suspect there will be more scrapes and bruises along the way, but as this entire post has suggested, you can’t have the sweet without the bitter. And in the world of coffee, both are required in balanced amounts for that ‘perfect’ cup.