The Spirit of the Coffee House.

The Spirit of the coffee house is something that can only be created by the people who work there and the Guest in which it receives. It doesn't even need to be " Third Wave".  Actually I am even unsure if it really matters about the Quality of the coffee as long as there is passion put into the each cup and friendliness passed on with a smile. And it makes me very sad when I see the Spirit of a coffee house starts to die.

As you see, I used the word Guest instead of the word customers.... Every coffee shop can have customers. However its not the customers that keep the coffee house alive. Its the Guest and the people the receive those guest. The employees of the coffee house. When you treat people as guest they will want to come back again and again, they will want to bring their friends. When you treat your employees as trust worthy knowledgeable people, they will also become your guest. It becomes a safe place.

Now lets talk about "Third Wave".
At one point in and time in my life I was really into the whole "Third Wave movement". I saw it as a way to educate people about coffee, where it comes from, how its grow, and what makes each bean special. Now I see "Third Wave" as some think they know it all hipster that scoffs at the idea of drinking coffee anyway other then its purest form.

I will Rant about "third wave" later in another blog... so keep posted! :D

Back to the spirit of the coffee house.

Now onto the Staff of the coffee house. The staff is like a little family, and really this is true about any place you work. So if everyone in this little family treats each other with respect, the guest will pick up on that and in turn will treat other guest with respect, be friendly. And then something beautiful happens, when guest and staff speak freely with each other as friends, the spirit truly is formed!

When it dies.... When the spirit of the coffee house dies, the guest and staff can see it. The guest no longer feel as if its their safe place, and the staff no longer cares if the guest are comfortable with each other. The smiles fade or fake off, and the magic that happens inside each cup becomes dull. There can be many reasons why the spirit dies, however the biggest reason the Spirit dies is to many changes at once. If the coffee house changes values, it must be slow. If the staff changes, it must be done gently. If the ways of coffee making changes, it must be consistent. If all this happens at once, the spirit is broken.

Which makes me sad.

"Why does it make me sad?" You might ask... well it makes me sad because, of what coffee means to me and those around me. For some its warmth, for others its energy, maybe both.

Warmth and Energy make up the happy spirit in any ones life not just a coffee house.

However, the Spirit of the coffee house can be brought back, with time, the right people in place and a smile on every ones face.

Until next time.... Happy sipping!