My Coffee Journey to COI
Hello! For those of you who haven’t met or heard from me yet, my name is Kristopher Swanson, and I’m the new gringo face at Collaborative Origins! Gosh, what an honor it is to be here. Today, I’m excited to share a bit about my coffee journey and my early days here at COI!
As I’ve heard from many roasters, coffee for me started as a hobby. Through high school, before even getting into the taste of coffee myself, I began home roasting with my Dad - shout out to you, Kerry! He started it all for me. With our humble home setup - a Whirley-Pop popcorn maker, a Coleman propane stove, and some tiny bags of beans ordered online through Sweet Marias - we began roasting what I now look back upon lovingly as absolutely atrocious coffee. (See the throwback pic below!) But, this was the start! From talking to our local coffee folks about roasting advice to beginning to analyze cup profiles together, my Dad and I stumbled into what would become lifetime passions. And I thank him for it!
As I got a bit older, my pallet and my studies found me spending long hours in coffeeshops. Having lived my whole life here in Wichita, Kansas, I began to seek out the coffeeshops my hometown had to offer. While beloved Mead’s Corner began to show me what a community-centric coffeeshop might look like, it was Reverie that for me - and many other Wichitans - introduced me to the world of specialty coffee. The first place I had both a pour over and a light roast, my mind was blown by the complexity of their coffees and the intentionality they put into brewing them. Unfortunately, over many sips of flasked v60s, it was also here that I discovered my caffeine intolerance, the true irony of what would become my chosen profession!
Years later, after lots of community development work bestowed upon me a heart for coffeeshops as neighborhood third spaces, I knew that the coffee world was my calling. As my sister and I dreamed about opening up a bakery/coffeeshop of our own (you know we will someday, Kristina), I sought out longtime Reverie barista, Chayne, for a Reverie job and what I hoped would be my first tangible step towards that coffeeshop dream. What I received became one of the largest of blessings and truly kickstarted me down this wild and winding path! Truly, Chayne, I cannot thank you enough. Little did I know, but Chayne had plans of moving and ended up training me to take over his job at Legacy CoffeeWorks. An incredible nonprofit devoted to youth development through economic mobility, I ended up getting extensive training from Chayne around - and then teaching youth, myself - how to source, roast, and prepare specialty coffee (pic below). It was here I began to understand the incredible breadth and complexity of the coffee industry, and it was also here where I met Ryan Chipman.
I still remember the first time chatting with Ryan; having been buying all of the Legacy’s coffee through COI, Chayne had told me about him and set up a FaceTime for all of us to connect. This super down-to-earth guy chatted over FaceTime as he moved about his house, taking care of his young daughter, and over the following months, proceeded to welcome me to Legacy and the roasting world so well. Through very honestly and humbly walking me through my first coffee buying decisions to connecting me with more experienced roasters as I worked through the puzzles of roasting finicky coffees, Ryan was such a steady, friendly presence along the way. I still remember the first coffee samples I received from Ryan: samples but also beautiful info cards on each of whom were clearly his producer friends, a few cupping spoons, and a personalized letter (see the pic below!). And, in the midst of all of this, I began to fall in love with COI’s mission, a vision I shared and one I loved talking about with the youth I had the pleasure of working with. A bucket-list item also began to formalize: take a trip down to Guatemala with Ryan and learn so much more about the origin side of coffee.
Well, fast forward through more learnings on the barista side of things with my dear friends at Adelitas Coffee Co. (pic below) (y’all are the best!), this February, thanks to Ryan’s generosity, that bucket-list item was checked off! I had the privilege of traveling down to Guate, and in an action-packed week, meeting with some of our incredible producers. The trip was nothing short of transformational. Between the overwhelming hospitality of everyone hosting me, long conversations around the ins and outs of the industry, adventurous car treks with wide-ranging soundtracks, mouth-watering food, 16 pages of notes, tasting my first coffee cherries, the list goes on and on…I was sold. And then Ryan and I proceeded to stand in the back of a pickup truck, going down the side of a mountain, under a star-filled sky, after witnessing every stage of the production process at my first coffee farm. It was then and there he asked me about coming on. How could I say no?! It was an absolute trap, and I was so down for it. Still am!
Now, a couple months into my role as administrative assistant and sales representative, I’m learning SO much more and getting to connect with just the coolest roasters. Y’all, the coffee world is amazing! From building relationships with and representing our super genuine, hard-working producers to connecting more with so many passionate and also hard-working roasters, this whole role is a dream come true.
I think my biggest takeaway from the work thus far is that, perhaps obviously, like most things in life, coffee importing is both incredibly simple and complex. While only a few guys spread between Guatemala, Canada, and Kansas can move shipping containers of coffee around the world, it comes with an unbelievable amount of communication, adaptation, and ethical questions. Things that can seem so black and white require countless emails, changing on the fly due to shifting, volatile market demands, and all kinds of interesting grey areas. For instance, Ryan was quick to teach me about the importance of coyotes; on the surface, a role that is seemingly nothing but predatory and pulling value from the supply chain can often provide a vital role for many producers who do not have export licenses and/or the ability to transport their coffees and/or simply cannot afford to wait on delayed payments for their cherries. In this same way, I really admire and value Ryan - and now I’s - work here at COI: a delicate balancing act of continually seeking ways to further bridge the gap between producers and roasters, cutting out unnecessary middle men, while also being those very middle men and providing value where we can by assisting those seeking help with their logistics and doing that work relationally, honestly, and in a way that brings the most honor and mutual benefit to all involved. These challenges are complicated, right? But let me tell you, I’m finding it so joyful to be taking part in this beautiful, messy, absolutely deliciously tasting work!
For anyone I haven’t met or connected with yet, I hope to meet you soon! And for anyone curious about this work, just know there are folks out there humbly doing their best to fail and learn and grow through truly sourcing coffee through the lens of real relationship. We’d love to chat more!
Written by Kristopher Swanson, Administrative Assistant & Sales Rep, COI