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No number of caffeinated words can fully encapsulate how special this year's (2025) Specialty Coffee Association Expo was as an experience of mine. It was my first true opportunity to confirm what I had already known - coffee and community are inseparable. From farm to cup to tongue, every single step of the way was evident with a tightly-knit network of individuals of similar passions and pursuits, taking rather different but complementary approaches. Of course, as a commercial industry, there are unavoidable troughs and darker corners than desirable, but all in all the universal love and unwavering drive to enjoy coffee, to give to coffee, eventually rounds out the rough edges, and the brighter glow of the collective spirit prevails.
As someone who hasn't called coffee a profession in quite some time, I started the Community Logbook project from the perspective of an enthusiast and a scholar. I took a step back to get to look up to all of you, to get to learn from you. The more caffeinated I get, the more I realized I am truly standing on the shoulders of giants. Sure, I can grant myself the knowledge of home-oriented brewing and precision of brew processes, thanks to my discipline in brew tracking, analysis, and my diligence on studying bean characteristics and their subsequent brew dynamics. But in a cafe, in management settings, or in most other scenarios, I am undoubtedly humbled by the time-sharpened talent of anyone I share coffee spaces with. I am always going to be behind all of you, in terms of efficiency and expertise spent behind commercial bar. And I wouldn't have it any other way.
Those of you who have partook and expressed such heartwarming sentiments towards my ever-running Coffee Community Logbook project, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. You've helped me confirm so much about this field I've been so tethered to - coffee is fueled by history, shaped by culture, and polished by industry; specialty coffee is fueled by passion, shaped by community, and polished by talent. It warms my little heart to see many of you feeling emotional about my pursuit to take snapshots of coffee's most valuable asset within those bullet points - community. You all mean a lot to me the way you mean so much to one another.
So please, next time you see me bouncing around with a notebook, or just sitting pondering a cup of coffee, don't hesitate to come up and say hi. I would love to hear about what coffee means to you.
As for myself, coffee is identity.
All the love and pride to the Austin coffee community. Being yourselves, y'all make my heart warm.
