Tuesday, February 23, 2016

Not Just a "Cuppa Joe"



Coffee for me has not always been a way of life. You could say I married into it about 12 years ago when it was practically part of my wedding vows. In that time, I have went from drinking it white and sweet to straight up black. You could say that I am somewhat dependent on it; that makes my other half proud! This family dependency and our goal of serving the best of everything food and beverage here at the Mill leads me to our latest featured family member of "Thoughtful Provenance".

I met Courtney and Brian Hicks a few years ago as guests of Evins Mill. We were saying our goodbyes when they mentioned they were in the coffee roasting business, Humphrey Street Coffee Co. They agreed to send some samples and and before long we were serving their amazing coffee. Sounds easy, right? Well it was an easy decision. It turns out that they had a great product; wonderful coffees that were responsibly sourced, sustainably grown, and roasted locally. What made it an even easier decision was that they had a bigger goal in mind than just making great coffee (as if that were easy).

You see, Humphrey Street Coffee Co. is a social enterprise of Harvest Hands Community Development which offers youth in Nashville the opportunity to be employed and mentored in their own community using the craft of roasting coffee. They seek to make a change by teaching and mentoring the students with important work, life, and craft skills that help encourage them to live into who they are created to be. There is nothing to not like about this; yes, it was an easy decision.

We are proud of our partnership with Humphrey Street and Harvest Hands. They exemplify living intentionally, doing their job on purpose, with a purpose and that is a quality that we seek to provide in our service here at Evins Mill.  When we can partner with folks who share this, it is a win for everyone.

We hope to have these guys out to do a coffee tasting in the fall, so keep an eye out for that! Until then, you can enjoy their coffee here at the Mill anytime or visit them in Nashville. You can read all about them, watch videos, or learn how you can help on their website and follow them through all the social media outlets as well. They truly are more than just a "Cuppa Joe". Drink good coffee for a change!