Ramblings of a Roaster - back on the road

Recently, I’ve been musing on the many changes in life and pace over the last 2 to 3 years.  Whilst the pandemic has indeed been horrific for many people, I still can’t believe how much it has fundamentally changed many of our lives.  My heart goes out to those who have lost loved ones and those still suffering.  In other ways the pandemic appears to have made many people look at their lives in a very different way.  Either forced by change in employment, and personal circumstances or by a personal choice.  Life now is simply not the same as it was before.

​For me - there has been a mix.  Those of you who have been with me on this journey since the beginning of the Roastery will have long known me as a career girl (perhaps I’m stretching the latter term a little there..).   For much of the last three decades I worked up to 60 hours a week with a long commute.  I’ve always been incredibly lucky to have a role that I have loved and receive great support from frankly amazing people along the way.  Yes - it’s been very hard work and many times I wondered about a change.  I have been incredibly proud to receive some awards – I have been named in the British Car Industry top 100 females twice in recent years, received a Special Recognition 'Award for Innovation' and took up the opportunity to Chair the Board of a trade organisation.   I’ve worked in the private, public and not for profit sectors.  So, you may be wondering why am I telling you all this??  So, here’s the crux, I feel hugely proud and privileged to have has many amazing opportunities in my corporate life, but in addition, I have to tell you that none of them has produced quite the same feelings as running a small business.  This part of my life has given me a whole different set of emotions, and I feel incredibly  lucky to do both!

Training at The London School of Coffee

​I trained at London School of Coffee in 2017 and was certified by the Speciality Coffee Association as a Roaster.  I set up The Garden Roastery in 2018.  Since then, I have reduced my ‘day job’ official working time to four days a week (albeit still up to 60 hours a week).   By dropping my official working days, I have been able to dedicate more time to the Roastery.  In that part of my life I wear many hats: owner, roaster, manager, operator, marketer, blogger, PR, project manager, web-designer, production, packing, finance ….  Many days are exhausting, and within those days I experience every emotion from worry and frustration to pure elation!  Yes, even this morning I cheered out loud and clapped my hands when I received the first order of my new product, within just an hour of the official launch!   All those tough days, worry, stress and emotion are worth it for that moment when something I created was good enough for a complete stranger to want to purchase.

The Garden Roastery Established 2018

​Over the last few weeks, I have been extremely busy and since the pandemic my weekly schedule has changed significantly.  I now operate a hybrid work pattern, with a varying number of days in the office and other days based at home.  I try to protect my roastery working time with a passion, because, simply it is a passion.  Autumn commuting has become pretty unpredictable, with most days when I am in the office having a three-hour round-trip commute.  So I am back on the road, coffee flask to go.

Back on the Road -coffee flask to go..

,​So, what am I getting to here? - well this has all been leading to the inspiration for my new product (yes, the one that led to cheering and clapping this morning).  We all have busy lives, and they all take different shapes, they can be unpredictable and, if you’re anything like me, you try to fit too much in.    And so, the ‘Coffee to Go - Travel Can’ was born.  The simplest yet most effective way I could design a product to enable us all (and yes, I will use one) to have a good cup of roast coffee, wherever we are.  After finding many times  at the start of hybrid working that I was not able to access a decent drink and with my travel increasing by the week, I wanted something that I could grab and go.  A kit that was easy and well-made that I could top up whenever I needed.  So, take a look….

The simplest most effective way I could design to enable us all to have a good cup of roast coffee wherever we are

Shop 'Coffee to Go - Travel Can'

​People sometimes ask me - why and how I do what I do?  I’m sure we could all ask ourselves that question……I’m still not sure of the answer to be honest.  I see myself as someone who has never planned anything in her life.  I work as hard as I can (generally too hard), I am sensitive soul and I never regret anything that made me smile.  So, I plough on and try to put my energy into what feels right – trust your gut!  
 
So, for now, this roaster is signing off ……
 
The Garden Roastery…. Coffee for people who want the flavour without the hype