There is a kind of respect that comes from understanding how much effort it took for something to reach you.
In many Buddhist traditions, food is received with awareness. A meal is not treated as an entitlement. It is the result of soil, rain, labor, patience, preparation, and the work of countless people.
Coffee deserves some of that same attention and awareness. It makes it taste such much fuller and the aroma that much more beautiful.
Before coffee reaches our roaster, someone planted a tree.
Someone cared for it through changing seasons.
Someone picked the fruit, often by hand.
Someone processed it, washed it, fermented it, dried it, sorted it, moved it, stored it, exported it, and carried it across an ocean.
By the time a bag of green coffee arrives, hundreds of decisions have already shaped what it can become.
We think about that when we roast and helps us stay present.
Our job is to pay attention
To use heat carefully.
To respect the work that has already been done.
To be kind, respectful and serve
The craft can be very ceremonial and intentional
Grinding it.
Smelling it.
Measuring the water.
Waiting.
Pouring a cup for someone else.
Hospitality itself can be a small practice of mindfulness.
For a few minutes, the world slows down.
Someone made you coffee.
Someone thought about you.
We like that.
At Common Friends, we sometimes think of this as Temple Coffee.
Not because coffee is sacred.
But because we believe ordinary things deserve our full attention. I highly recommend getting into this mindset the next time you prepare your dinner, or your coffee. Its highly rewarding.
Respect the farmer.
Respect the land.
Respect the coffee.
Respect the person you are serving.
And maybe, for a few quiet minutes, respect the moment you are in and the part you played in the process.