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About
Our Story During the summer of 2016, I traveled to Zaruma, Ecuador with a group of Mercer Students for Mercer on Mission: Ecuador, a trip where students from different areas of study help the mining communities research new ways...
Victory Loves Preparation: Farm to Cup - Step 2
We follow the truck for the first part of the trip, stopping at all the police blockades, helping the drivers explain to the policeman what we are doing. There aren't many other exporters pulling coffee from all over Ecuador, so we must have all of our documents organized. The police are on high alert due to contraband frequently coming in from Colombia and Peru.
Phoenix Coffee Roasters
We are only a few weeks away from having our own roaster roasting away in the basement, as this is an important step for our long-term goal of sustainability. But, I will forever be grateful for all that Phoenix has done for us. They not only showed us how a coffee company should be built but how life should be lived. For that, we are grateful...
Z Beans Origin Stories Part 30 - 40,000 Cups
As I have been told all along, experience is the greatest teacher in the world. This scenario is no different. It doesn't matter what business you are in, you need to know the person you are working with. Knowing that person stems deeper than knowing his or her job title. It's knowing what motivates them - what interests them - It's knowing their WHY.
If you walk into the coffee shop today, you will see our branded cups, designed by Jessica Shurman. While you may never appreciate having thos...
The Next Big Idea
It hurt losing The Next Big Idea. I thought about it for many days and nights. Could I have done something differently? Now, thinking back on it, if I'd have won the competition, Z Beans would not be where it is today. Momentary satisfaction may have prevented me from taking a leap of faith - from giving me the fire to prove Z Beans is more than 'just coffee.'
Finding a Way - Step 5 of Farm to Cup
We challenge you to ensure you know the hardworking individuals behind your cups of coffee. As we hope our farm to cup series has showed, it's possible to know exactly who your farmer is. However, it takes time, effort, and hard work from all individuals involved...
Home Sweet Home - Step 4 of Farm to Cup
Minutes later, I see Shane fly out the door. The container has finally arrived. Now, the fun part - loading up each of these sacks - one by one - into the container. The catch is - You only have an hour to do it. The driver needs to be at the port of Guayaquil by mid afternoon, and it takes quite some time to get there.
Attention to Detail: Step 3 of Farm to Cup
This blog is told from the point of view of Mrs. Marie Paredes, the wife of Fabricio and the daughter of the original owner of the processing facility in Piñas, Ecuador. Mrs. Marie talks about the second and third machine at the processing facility. These machines peel and grade the coffee!
The Story of Angel Arturo Penarreta Romero
In May of 2016, a group of students from Mercer University came to perform different activities in the area, one of which concerned coffee. It was there I met Shane Buerster, an economics student, who already had a basic understanding of Spanish and an interest in the production of coffee. Shane and I formed a great friendship, as he was always with me, asking me questions about coffee...
Sleep
Night time rolls around. I have a tough time sleeping. I stay awake, imagining the day when I can easily buy all of Mr. Ochoa’s coffee. I think of all the difficulties he and his family must be facing. Why does he so desperately need the money? What’s wrong?
The Inevitable Balance: Life Without Coffee
On the flip side of the 'beginner's luck' coin, we have the instances where we work extremely hard, try something for the first time, and fail. We go back to the drawing board, figure out what we did wrong, and correct our errors. Our second attempt runs smoothly, and we are able to get the job done over and over again.
Vlog 1: The Roaster, Cupping Station, and Drying Rack
The Z Beans roasting and drying method is unlike any other! As a student, start-up company, you are forced to find innovative ways to produce a quality product. Learn more on the origins of a bringing organic commerce from Ecuador to Macon, Georgia.
2018: A Year in Review
Carter and I are both grateful for the opportunities afforded to us in 2018. We have both learned a great deal about business and ourselves. However, we are excited to move on to 2019. A new year brings a clean slate - a set of new opportunities and a set of new obstacles.
The Logo
From that day forward, I never thought twice about the decision. I knew it meant a lot to Arturo that his artwork would be the logo for the brand.. I remember when I had the Z Beans coffee bags printed in Ecuador, Arturo asked if he could keep some of them. He wanted to show them off to his friends around town..
With The End In Mind
I'm sitting at my office in the Mercer Innovation Center, and I receive an email from a potential customer I had met with months prior. He tells me that he would like for me to come to his office. He never mentioned whether he wanted to discuss coffee, but I assumed we would. So, first thing the next day, I make my way to his office, hoping to solidify another Z Beans customer. I walk into his office, and as soon as he started talking, I realized this wasn't about coffee...
Home Is Where You Make It
We continue climbing, avoiding mud puddles, limbs, and the beaming sun. We pass house after house, and I can't help but to think of the difficulties these people must encounter every time they want to go to the store. There is no way someone could drive on this battered road.
How do these people manage to survive? - Is home where you make it?
The Story Behind The Name: Why 'Z' Beans?
11:25 AM:
That’s it.
I didn't give it any more thought. We had found it.
Z Beans.
The Z Beans Coffee Story - A Narrative
Mercer On Mission led me to my true calling. It restored the sense of purpose in my life that I lost after baseball was taken away. The friendship that I made with Arturo Penarretta Romero will be one that I will always cherish. I will never forsake him, as I trust that he will never forsake me. He has unconditionally confided in a young 22 year old, and for that, I’m grateful. While it may have been destiny for Arturo and me to meet, Mercer On Mission offered a platform for fate to run its c...
Good Fortune
12 years later, I've not changed at all. I've simply discovered 'It.'. I never became the baseball player the young boy wanted to be, and I'll never be able to prove 'them' wrong. It's been hard, but I've come to terms with it, as God has helped me find my true calling.
Stability
Leonardo and I joined forces once again yesterday, January 11, 2020, as we began working on our chocolate processing facility in Zaruma, Ecuador. While Leonardo and I will be working on painting and laying concrete over the next few days, the goal is for this job to never end. The goal is for Z Beans Chocolate to bring stability - For it to be something where Leonardo, and hopefully many other people of Ecuador, can find financial peace...
The Mercer Innovation Center
I sit in my brown chair at my desk for my final blog here in the MIC, and I shed a tear. I have given this place all I possibly could over the past year and a half, and I am very grateful for the opportunity to have worked here. I will always be the biggest supporter of the MIC, as it allowed me to turn my vocation into a reality. I know the MIC will continue building more young entrepreneurs, and I hope those young entrepreneurs can look back on this place the same way that I can.
A Learning Experience
In every experience, there is a lesson to be learned. But, from this one, I've witnessed just how much I have to be thankful for. Together, we will forever overcome and achieve. Together, we ride on...
Water
The trips to Ecuador have opened my eyes to the world around me. But, perhaps none as much as this one. I've read about issues with water supply, rainfall, and water contamination, but I've never experienced it first hand. The most basic necessity of life, something I, admittedly, take for granted, isn't always a given...
Diversification
While we have successfully diversified our supply chain by purchasing coffee from a different region of Ecuador, we still have a long ways to go with Z Beans. I'm constantly worrying about another business moving in and undercutting my supply chain. However, on the other hand, something tells me Z Beans will be just fine. Something tells me that the countless hours I have spent with the farmers, building tables, meeting their families, and donating organic fertilizers, will prevail in the end...
A Giant Step Towards Sustainability
While we still have a long ways to go to achieve our goal of sustainability, I'm proud of how far we have come. I hope, one day, that someone else will come to El Oro, Ecuador, hoping to import coffee to their country. Whether they are doing it to help the farmers and people of Ecuador or importing incredible coffee to fill a need in their respective market, I know Arturo, Marie, Fabricio, and the farmers of Ecuador can do it.
Trust (Full Story)
"The best way to find out if you can trust somebody is to trust them." - Ernest Hemingway
Arturo's Role
Now, four years later, we have come a long ways. From 65lbs of coffee to 27,000lbs of coffee - to coffee shops and a roasting facility - to an incredible team in Ecuador and in The States, we have scaled. But, as we continue to grow, Arturo remains in the center of it all.
Z Beans Origin Stories Part 28 - Turning Back The Hands of Time
If I could turn back the hands of time, I would create an open dialogue with Arturo about money. I never thought money would be such a divisive part of our relationship, but I've also never had to worry about money. I've realized that my inability to fully empathize with Arturo creates barriers. However, if we can communicate effectively, we can overcome these barriers...
Some do, Some don't - The Story of the Popcorn Popper
While I have moved on to a more efficient process, I will never forget these times. I’m thankful that Rosie kept turning – kept pushing out product – kept moving Z Beans forward. To me, Rosie is a symbol of life. You have those that step up when opportunity knocks - You have others that won’t.
That’s the story of Rosie - Some do. Some don’t.
The Second Shop
Opening the second coffee shop was, by far, the most difficult thing I have ever tried to do. Countless individuals came into the shop a few days before opening, confused. "You all are opening on Friday?" Some would even go so far to say, "There's no way."
But, in case you don't already know, if there is a will, there is always a way.
The Evolution of a Tourist
Can a person who has been brought up in the heart of a thick dark forest, where one had to beat a path through multiple layers of trees just to take a letter to the post office, have any conception of what it’s like to spend one’s entire childhood waiting for a single tree to grow? – Greenhouse
Calm is Contagious
We've overcome some major obstacles with Z Beans over the past four years, but none have impacted me more than this one. I never could have imagined telling every teammate we have that they would no longer have a job tomorrow. I never could have imagined our Mercer Village store only serving 20 customers per day. I never could have imagined any of this. But, one thing is forsure - I couldn't do this without my brothers by my side.
Calm is contagious.
Full Circle: The Mercer On Mission Experience
Now, with a team of 15 students and three professors, we are planning to embark this summer on the first Mercer On Mission Ecuador trip with the goal of creating a sustainable supply chain that allows us to export high quality Ecuadorian chocolate yet with a purpose of immersing ourselves in the Ecuadorian culture!
Intermediarios
When Arturo sent me this picture, I realized that the change in mindset that Arturo and I have thought so much about - the mindset that we have instilled in all of the farmers we have the opportunity to work with - has finally come to the forefront.
Now, the ball is in my court...
Z Beans Chocolate
While we will have standard chocolate with varying amounts of cocoa, our focus will be on chocolate bars infused with fruits from our farmer's plantations. We will purchase our chocolate directly from farmers, like our coffee, and we will purchase fruits from their plantations as well. We will dehydrate the fruits, grind them down, and infuse the fruit within the chocolate...
2019: A Year in Review
To our customers: Thank you for your support, guidance, feedback, and trust this year. Without you, Z Beans would not be where it is today.
To the teammates that are with Z Beans today and to those who have moved on over the past year: Thank you for your hard work, trust, and commitment. Without you, Z Beans would not be where it is today.
To our farmers: Thank you for welcoming us - for allowing Z Beans to be a part of your family. Your commitment, attention to detail, and hard work is fore...
A Vow to a New Opportunity: Z Beans Chocolate
As we move into 2020, we plan to take our friendships and partnerships in Ecuador a step further by adding another one of Ecuador's most prestigious agricultural products to our menu: chocolate...
A Vow to Simplicity
I thought about the good times - the walks, the meals, the talks. I thought about the friendships we have built and the trust we have with each other. I thought about the meaning of happiness and the difference between the worlds that I live...
A Vow to St. Francis
We are grateful for the trust of everyone at St. Francis. Their willingness to partner so quickly with Z Beans - a business with roots over an hour and a half away - is humbling. While we still have miles and miles to go, I am grateful for just how far we have come...
A Vow to Coliseum
On October 16, 2019, the coffee kiosk opened for business for the first time. While this is our third location, the shop will forever mean more to me. To me, it validated the prestige of Z Beans. For a large, successful organization, like Coliseum Hospital, to be willing to work with us showed that they know only respect what we do - but who we are. We are committed to the hard working farmers of Ecuador, like Coliseum is committed to their patients and staff. It's a partnership destined to h...
A Vow to Return
As I continue reflecting, I realize that it's the actual act of reflection that has strengthened my 'Why' - the purpose that allows me to log early mornings and late nights - the purpose that gives me confidence when problems arise - the purpose that now stands at the forefront of a company of more than 40 employees.
Just The Right Altitude: The Jaya Family Farm
As we always do, we get out of the truck and begin following Diego and his brother through the plantation. I see the beautifully oriented crops - the wonderful shade created by the orange trees - the steep slope - the healthy, ripe coffee cherries. In the process, I forget all about the altitude. I take it all in and appreciate the hard work that the Jaya family has put into this...
The Truck
Carter and I are set to leave for Ecuador in a week, so I want to make sure our itinerary is set. Over the course of the past year, we have saved up money in order to pay for all of our travel, lodging, food, and entertainment costs. With the current budget, we will be a few dollars short, so we must find a place to cut costs. We can't skimp on food or lodging - and the bus tickets to Ibarra and Guayaquil are fixed. But, what about that taxi cost? What if there was an alternative?
Bringing a Brand to Life
As I sit down and reflect, I can honestly say that without Jessica we wouldn't be anywhere close to where we are today. Her ability to take an idea that I have - or sometimes a horrendous sketch - and put it to life has forever changed Z Beans...
For the Love of the Game
Today, as I stand in the basement of our roasting facility, watching the coffee roaster, I think back to those times. The passion with which Carlos spoke - the attention to detail Milton taught - the focus Alfredo had. I try my best to give each and every roast its due justice, not just for Z Beans’ sake, but for theirs.
The Z Beans Difference: A Prologue
For the first time, Arturo, Marie, and Fabricio are going to purchase, process, and send 4,000 pounds of coffee without me being in Ecuador. It's a big step for Z Beans' long-term sustainability, and it is a big step for Arturo, Marie, and Fabricio as well...
The Manager
This perpetual battle rages on in my head until my daily task list begins to pervade my thoughts - I think about those counting on me to complete it. I get dressed, pack up my stuff, and head out the door. I’m ready for what the new day brings...