superbarista

blog from the ceo & superbarista of phoenix coffee, home of the best baristas in cleveland, ohio

Thursday, March 23, 2006

He who guards the coffee cherries

I am not the one who sleeps next to the concrete pad (patio) where the coffee cherries are drying by day.

I do not sleep there to guard the crop from being stolen.

That is someone else's job. He plays soccer with his co-workers under the lush Guatemalan rainforest canopy.

I am not him.

I get a 5 AM phone call when someone can't work. Am I guarding something from some thief?

I sleep on a mattress between a quilt and a sheet, my head on a striped pillowcase.

What does his bed look like? Is it made of burlap coffee sacks? Is it a hammock?

He cooks his meals at a communal oven/stove, made of bricks, made by anyone who can lay mortar. Tamales, tortillas, cafe.

I gaze into a pair of 8-year-old blue and 9-year-old blues across the talbe, chicken soup in my bowl.

Does he see the stars in the Guatemalan sky? Are the insects in the mountains loud at night? Does he have a rifle handy, for if bandits do arrive?

I go down the driveway to get the paper, sometimes in my slippers and bathrobe.

Does he wake up chilly with morning dew, the mountain fog set in overnight? Where does his family sleep?

He held my hand today, as I cursed at my impatience. I reveled in his wholesomeness and dedication, springing eternal.

2 Comments:

Blogger Metabedu Connects said...

Hi Sarah, Cavana here. It is so nice to make your acquaintance after all these years not only at Pheonix but in "coffee culture."
I guess I have been a part of the culture since 1972. I got my start at the now defunct Coventry Arabica.
I like your blog and your writing. Way to "sleep your way to the top!" :-) I didn't know ya owned the joint when we met!
I see we have a lot of acquaintances in common... Jack Rachiutto, George Nemeth, Steve Goldberg and others.
I am very interested in Phoenix's support of Fair Trade coffees. I see at the Phoenix site that you have more Free Trade coffees than I was lead to believe. That is great! I was told that Phoenix had only one.
I am getting in the habit of asking about it when I buy coffee now. Starbucks whom I buy from if nothing else in around has Sumatra I think as their Free Trade. I talked to the manager at the Van Aken- Warrenseville store and was told that they have others that qualify as Free Trade but aren't certified??? What's that about?!
Dewey's on Shaker Square only has one. One of the customers... Jeff Hess... you know him... told me that they use Phoenix coffee. That's good to know.
Well I am really long winded so I will stop here. be blessed and I hope to put a face with Carl some day.

1:43 PM, March 30, 2006  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Check this blog out about the Art Museum collabortion with Starbucks and the comments. Do you agree? Do you wish the Art Museum had collaborated (not that the can't still) with Phoenix?
http://cmaglobalvillage.blogspot.com/2006/08/starbucks-and-moby-dick-team-up-about.html

1:30 PM, September 01, 2006  

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