It is easy to get boxed in with our own thinking. At times, based on social media algorithms, what we see, hear, and consume can be limited to an echo chamber of familiarity. Therefore, what we experience in the daily rhythms of life becomes normalized and then set into a routine. As a result, it is easy to go through life with something like blinders on, you know, like the ones at times placed on horses to limit their vision so they’re not easily spooked.
But then something happens, and it is as if those blinders are ripped off, our echo chamber is depressurized, and our routine is sabotaged.
While that may sound overly dramatic, that’s what travel does. Also, I’m not even talking about exploring far-off places. It could be a different part of your city, a destination an hour away, or within your own country. There’s simply something that happens when our routine is disrupted and we’re thrust into a new environment. It’s as if we’re learning to see all over again ...
I notice this even when I hop on a quick plane ride from Portland to Phoenix to visit my Mom. I leave the lush green Pacific Northwest for the scorching brown Sonoran Desert.
One of my favorite activities in Phoenix is exploring new coffee shops and visiting familiar roasters. Often, as I sit there and soak in the ambiance, it inspires me to think anew about Loam Coffee. I see all kinds of ideas of what I could do—tweaking this or that, what to do when we get into our own space, and more. I’m looking at decor, where and how the roasters are set up, the kinds of espresso machines used, and so much more.
In short, it inspires me. My routine is interrupted. I see new things and have different experiences than I do back home in Portland. My imagination is expanded, and I see all kinds of new possibilities I had not previously noticed.
I can say the same as I reflect back on a recent trip to Bangkok, Thailand.
As I sit and write this at my desk at home, it’s been just under a week since I returned home from my trip when I first wrote this article for the LOAM Zine. I’m still sifting through all the photos I took and working through the tedious editing process on Adobe Lightroom.
Interestingly, of all the sights and places I visited, the very first photos I was eager to edit were all related to coffee. While I was there for a conference and meetings, I made it a point to get out nearly every day and explore the city. In particular, to visit a variety of coffee roasters and coffee shops. Those ranged from brick-and-mortar establishments all of the way to a simple kiosk located at a busy weekend market.
In the same way that my thinking is disrupted and expanded, even in my routine visits to Phoenix, this trip to Bangkok has helped me move forward with growing Loam Coffee Roasters and our future.
From pourover bars in sleek modern buildings to tiny manual espresso bars in a crowded market, each place I visited triggered new thoughts and ideas. Often, the coffee culture in the U.S., and Portland in particular, focuses on the cafe experience. While I enjoy that immensely, I was struck by various hole-in-the-wall setups for serving coffee in Bangkok.
As I mentioned above, it could range from a coffee kiosk at a market to a nondescript building in an alley. These tucked-away gems were a reminder of different types of places I could utilize when we get our own space for Loam Coffee. It doesn’t have to be a big cafe space. It could very well be down an alley where we lift up our garage door front, and all of a sudden, there is a tiny cafe and roastery with seating for only a handful.
New experiences continue to remove the blinders and barriers that have crept into my thinking about what we “need” to do ...
Experiences can also create clarity. At times, when you see something, there’s an “a-ha!” moment. That hit me when visiting a self-labeled microroastery. While I knew the term, why did this coffee roasting company self-identify that way? What were they trying to communicate?
That sent me down the road of thinking more about the different labels for coffee roasting companies ... macro, micro, and nano. These descriptions signify coffee output in terms of pounds or kg roasted each week or month and the size of roasters being used. As I shared in a recent article, continuing to refine and improve Loam Coffee means streamlining, simplifying, and scaling back. That includes coffee output and even roasting capacity.
That’s why I consider Loam a nano roaster in terms of output and capacity. This is all intentional to reduce, refine, and build better systems before scaling back up. Before my trip to Bangkok, I would’ve hesitated to admit this. But if we can enjoy coffee in an alley or a small kiosk at a market, why can’t we as Loam scale back?
It’s odd to realize I almost have to give myself permission to recalibrate. That also reminds me to be careful to clearly articulate who we are as a brand and who we are not.
We are not a massive operation. We no longer roast on a bigger machine. I am less focused on quantity right now than on quality. No, that doesn’t mean I intend to stay in this figurative place, but it’s been a needed shift for me. That’s why this trip was invaluable for me as a business owner. At times, I need to get out of my own way.
My trip to Bangkok was a vivid reminder that I am not only building a company that I’m passionate about but can also do so on my own terms. I don’t need to “save face” and purport that we are something we’re not.
Loam is a specialty coffee nano roaster. I focus on sourcing high-quality coffee beans with exceptional cupping scores and flavor profiles. I have never been more proud and excited about what I am building here. These photos throughout this article continue to inspire and encourage me.
