Whats your first memory of coffee?

Hello there, 

My name is Emily and I am a coffee lover/enthusiast. It all began at the tiny age of around 3 when I remember pulling up a chair and listening to conversations of my grandmother and aunts catch up at the family table over coffee, butter and saltine crackers (IYKYK). It was my absolute favorite way to end the evening and it would go on for hours. Grandma would pour me a tiny cup of drip coffee mixed with extra cream and sugar, just how they like it, Warm, SWEET, Milky GOODNESS. It made me feel like an adult, in on all their secrets and sentiments. They'd talk about it all, the good, the bad, and their dreams.

For my grandma that was always to take my siblings and I back to her home country to visit, Puerto Rico. That didn't happen for me until I became an adult. Until then, I was moved by her stories, of her growing up where she had so much responsibility to contribute to a house with her parents and siblings. A time when everything was done by hand, such as making and washing their clothes, caring for their chickens, and being resourceful by making something out of little to nothing, like weaving leaves into sombreros. Another unique chore she had was picking coffee cherries from their mountainous land, which they had to wash, sun dry, roast into coffee beans, and then sell locally. A VERY time consuming and exhausting process, especially for a child. Despite all of it, she wants nothing more than for her grandbabies to know the beauty of Puerto Rico and she will tell you all of it if you just sit down and have a cup of coffee with her. 

For me, these memories and this question ("what's your first memory of coffee?") drives me back to my why, how I ended up here, and what drives me to initiate important conversations where people can feel heard and seen. I am excited to see where this passage takes me. I hope you will join me for the ride.