The machine that didn't make it

I ordered it in the middle of September. I figured four weeks, tops.

It shipped three days after the event. (It took 45 days).

(I know. You're wondering what machine is worth that kind of wait. Stick with me. I'll tell you at the end.)

I even bought from an authorized dealer, thinking that might speed things up. It didn't. First time buying one. Lesson learned.

So we had a cart with a coffee display and a full water system... and nothing to brew with.

Plan B: pour over

My first thought was a batch brewer and thermoses. But a batch brewer that makes good specialty coffee costs a lot, and thermos coffee was never going to be a big part of what we do.

Then it hit me. I make pour overs at home all the time. Why not that?

So that became the plan. Free pour over samples of the coffees we were selling that day, brewed to order. We had a recipe, but not much time to dial it in. Coffee is personal anyway. A solid starting point was good enough to make the move.

But also... one thing made me nervous. A big line. Pour over isn't built for speed. So we did everything we could to cut the time down. We even used the same grind setting for both coffees we sampled.

We brought two of everything. Two drippers, two kettles, two scales. Every dose weighed out the night before in little glass tubes.

We also brought a water boiler. There was no way two kettles could heat enough water on their own for the pour overs we were about to make. So the boiler kept a big batch hot, and we refilled the kettles straight from it.

Everything except the grinder. We had one.

Hold onto that.

There was also nowhere to plug in, so it all ran off a generator. I've never been this excited about a generator. It starts from a button on my keychain. Press twice. It's on. (I didn't know generators could get that advanced.)

Back to that line

We weren't even done setting up. We just started pouring.

What went wrong

The workflow. One grinder, two people brewing. We kept reaching for the same things and getting in each other's way.

The gear. The plan was simple. The boiler keeps the water hot, we refill the kettles from it, and the kettles hold it right where we want it (200°F).

But the kettles only hold temperature for about two hours. When one shut off and we didn't catch it, the water dropped. Then turning it back on tripped the generator. Ugh.

And the scales? Rough.

Our Acaia Lunar is so sensitive you can't even breathe on it. Great at home. Outdoors, in the wind? No go.

Then the sun came out, and I couldn't read the other one at all. I was shading it with my hand just to see the numbers.

Quick tip: never buy an all white scale for outdoors. White numbers in the sun? Gone.

(I could say a lot more about our gear. That's another post.)

The reset

About four hours in, we paused and regrouped. New system: I brewed, Mariah poured and prepped. One job each.

It worked. And it showed us the bigger lesson: plenty of people wanted to help, but not everyone in the booth had a job.

And next time we pour outdoors? No scales. We'll weigh out every dose the night before like we did, dial the coffee in ahead of time, mark the line on the glass where the cup should land, and time the drawdown. If the coffees dialed in, that's all you need.

If you've poured coffee outdoors (or fought a windy scale and won), we'd love to hear how you did it. Good or bad, we'll take it. Send it to noah@ethoblend.org or message us on Instagram @ethoblend.

What went right

Remember how nervous I was?

I love coffee. I've made it at home a lot, a bunch of different ways. But the workflow I planned came from someone who had never poured for hundreds of people. Imagine walking into that.

Nothing could have prepared me for it, except doing it myself. And that's exactly what this was. The best learning experience I could have asked for. Exactly what I needed.

So we adjusted. That's what happened.

And the whole time, I kept telling myself the same thing. You've done this a hundred times at home. Just do your best. And hey, it's free too.

By halfway through the day, the nerves were gone. I was in the flow. Pouring, talking.

And the conversations.

I talked with people who were really into coffee. People buying a bag as a gift for someone in their family who loves coffee. Just chatting coffee with them was awesome.

I caught up with people I hadn't seen in years. Some since high school.

People kept complimenting the setup. The cart. The coffee. That was amazing to hear.

And then there were the conversations I'll remember forever. I met people with stories a lot like mine. People who started life somewhere hard, got adopted, and are doing well now. I met people who adopted kids of their own. I genuinely enjoyed every one of those talks.

Bags sold right away. Some people grabbed a sample and kept walking. Others came back, asked more, and bought a bag. Purpose Blend sold out. A few people came back just to tell us they liked the coffee.

Here's what it made me realize.

We make things too complicated. We're hard on ourselves. We picture the worst that can happen, especially if you're a perfectionist.

But do your best and push through, and you'll learn a lot about yourself. Sometimes pressure is what brings the best out of you.

So just go do it. The payoff is almost always better.