It's been a while since my last "monthly" blog and there's been a few major changes around here this year, so lets get you all caught up on all things floods, online packaging, and the future on Almanac HQ's!
February floods
Many of you may not know, but Almanac doesn't have a roastery or store front. I'm still a very small, one person operation who hires other roastery's equipment so that I can roast my coffee every week. The majority (up until recently) of my taste testing, cupping, packaging, green bean storage and online store were all run out of the garage of the house that I'm renting. Unfortunately in February, the Brisbane floods hit me quite hard and submerged my entire setup with waist deep water levels leading to a lot of damages in coffee stock and equipment damage.
The money has really helped me get back on my feet and continue to supply you all with tasty coffee, and for that I'm ridiculously thankful. While absolutely necessary in this situation, charity, help and support in general is something that (to my own fault) I'm way too stubborn to accept. I had put off saying anything about it until now because I struggle so much internally to accept these donations of your hard earned money, but it's gotten to a point where I really need to formally acknowledge it. It's kinda like when you forget someones name that you should know, and then 3 months goes by of seeing them every week and calling them 'mate', well I'm finally asking for your name hah. I'm so thankful that you all enjoy what I do , and you enjoy my product enough that you're happy to support me in such a way that keeps me doing what I love to do with Almanac. The community that surrounds me is such a wonderful place, from cafes, to my suppliers, to all of you drinking coffee at home or in your offices, the amount Almanac has grown because of you all is truly remarkable. So, from the absolute bottom of my heart and my tear filled eyes, thank you ever so much for all your support! thank you thank you.
Communication / Motivation
Over the last few months, since the floods, I've found it extremely hard to stay motivated enough to branch out and do new things that keep Almanac exciting for us all, things like starting subscriptions, update the website offerings, social media presence etc. While I've had no issues keeping up with orders and doing what's necessary day to day, it's been a struggle to be innovative and exciting.
I am happy to say that theres been a few changes in my home life since the floods that has allowed me to have a better work setup and an office outside of the home and I'm now feeling much more motivated to bring you all a better product, more consistently and with more updates and collabs. Ill do another blog next week to fill you in on some of these exciting changes!
Thank you all again for your ongoing support. I'm really excited for the future of Almanac. Couldn't do it without you all!