Coffee Is My Love Language

I have been making coffee professionally since 2005 but it wasn’t until 2018 that I connected my passion for it with the notion of love languages. I read a book from Sprudge (www.sprudge.com) that presented the idea of coffee being a love language.

For those of you unfamiliar with love languages, Gary Chapman wrote a book in 1992 called The Five Love Languages, which states that we all express and receive love through five love languages: words of affirmation, acts of service, physical touch, receiving gifts and quality time. Now obviously coffee is something much more specific and an argument can be made that it can fit into each of those five broader categories in its own way, and for me, I wholeheartedly agree.

As corny as it sounds, I find great joy in connecting with people every day in our coffee shop over a warm (or iced) cup of whatever drink they are looking for in that moment. Most of us drink coffee because we feel better after having it. For some it’s a wake up, for others it’s that little extra boost to get through the rest of the day, and for still others, it might be the only thing holding them together as they navigate the trials of life. Whatever reason brings you to our coffee shop, I feel incredibly lucky that I get to be the one that makes your day better. Getting to know you over time brings so much additional texture to the relationship between customer and barista. You’ve given me gifts, invited me to your weddings, I’ve hugged you after a funeral, looked after your pets, and every other thing you could think of.

It is a tremendous honor being considered a place of comfort and support for so many people over the years. We find the same comfort from coffee and coffee shop culture as the rest of you so being able to come here every day is as much therapeutic as it is a career choice. Our morning starts with a cup shared together and often we have some of our best conversations with a warm mug cradled in our hands. The open sign buzzes to life and we wait as old friends, new friends, and not yet friends come in and share a minute or an hour with us. We smile, we laugh, sometimes we cry, but we always exchange energy and I sincerely hope the love we pour into every cup is felt.

How many of you go into your favorite coffee shop and the barista starts making your favorite drink before you ask for it? Have you ever had one of “those” days and find a cookie beside your latte even though you didn’t order one? We don’t always have a lot of time to talk together while we make your drink, so if we can spend that time talking about life instead of milk options, why wouldn’t we? We’re all more connected now than ever in human history yet I, for one, feel more isolated than ever a lot of the time. I am so thankful for the moments we can share together that remind me that the vast majority of the people out there are good, that we can laugh together, celebrate together, mourn together, and we can both walk away from those moments feeling even 1% better.

So next time you come to Gratitude, if we don’t already know your name, introduce yourself. We will try our hardest to remember and get to know you. No one can have too many people expressing love towards them, however simply, even if it’s just a warm coffee and a friendly smile.