In an age where time with others is a precious commodity–not entered into lightly–it’s hard to think that for so long, we took it for granted. We didn’t have to think twice about seeing the ones we love; it was natural and easy–a given. For the past 21 months, we’ve retrained our instincts to ask questions, think about the places we’ve been, and calculate risk in a certainly unprecedented way. That has completely wrecked and rebuilt my appreciation for and understanding of connection.
From its most elementary definition, all of life is connection–beginning anew each morning. We are connected to the earth that we walk on; we are connected to the rhythms of nature and our bodies; we are connected to our world’s natural resources; we are connected to people that built our homes, grew our food, and stocked the shelves of our local grocer. The depth of connection is just beginning, and you’re not even out of your house yet.
Millions Of Meanings
Morning connection is a huge part of life for all of us, as it sets the tone for the day ahead. If you’re like me, my day doesn’t always begin with acknowledging the deep connections I have to be grateful for. When my feet hit the floor at 5 am, I’m headed to pick my toddler up from the crib and deliver him to the real connector of our household, his Mother. And from that moment, our mornings tend to spin out of control, and I can easily lose the sense of connectedness that I wish I were more mindful of.
After that initial stumble through the scant morning light to my child’s room, coffee habitually and harmoniously enters my mind. Even the thought perks my senses and relieves the early aches of the semi-sleep from the night before. And altogether at once, coffee and its long string of connections present itself. Without the hundreds of hands that touch coffee before it enters the filter of my brewer, I would likely live my life in an even more disconnected way. Coffee has a sense of grounding my morning and setting my mind straight for what’s ahead. And to think of how deeply coffee is connected to my own little world, I can’t even begin to imagine its meaning for farmers, roasters, cafes, retailers, and the millions of people involved in the coffee industry.
Grounded In Coffee
As the pandemic hit and a lot of us were able to peek behind the curtain to see what matters to our world–our corner of the coffee industry remained relatively stable. Don’t get me wrong; there are myriad issues affecting coffee farming families, coffee farming communities, and coffee farming in general that suffered incredible, devastating effects from the pandemic. But because of the way we’ve laid the groundwork of our business for 25 years, our supply was solid, the transportation was mostly effective, and farmers still ended up selling Peace Coffee record amounts of green coffee at fair prices with the promise of reinvestment in their communities from the Climate, Carbon, and Coffee project.
I’m not saying that our way is the only way, or the best way, or the way that makes perfect connections that are beneficial, but I do know that the heart of what we do is about true connection:
- Connection to the earth through purchasing only organic coffee.
- Connection to our farmer-partners through paying fair wages for their coffee and forming long-term trading relationships (some as long as 20 years!).
- Connection to our staff that have been the hands of our operation in the most challenging of our 25 years.
- Connection to you, our customers that depend on quality coffee, roasted with love, to be mixed with hot water and poured into a favorite mug to make each day a little better.
- Connection with our community, as we seek to support equity in our neighborhood and uplift organizations doing essential work around the clock to make us all better.
The next time you drink a mug of Peace Coffee, whether during your morning cook-a-thon or your piece of pumpkin pie after the meal, pause to appreciate the connection in your cup. It’s not without great work that the coffee made it there, and we are so grateful that you play a huge role in helping us deeply connect with our pocket of the world.
