Hi, hello and howdy, and welcome back to Tiny Sidecar. My name is Kate, and I'm your host and Sidecar Sidekid. Today we're going on a little bit of a detour. Detour episodes are all about that behind the scenes look into Tiny Sidecar. What I've planned, what I've accomplished, what I'm currently planning, and this episode specifically, we're looking back on summer and starting to think about fall. Now I know some of you are thinking it's too early to think about fall. It's still hot outside. And I would agree with you if I didn't love fall, and I do love fall, so we're gonna get right into it. It's officially September, so come on. We've all been waiting for this, haven't we? Okay, grab your pumpkin spice latte and let's get into it. Well, first and foremost, thank you so much for being here. As always, I love having you in the sidecar, and today is no different. Now I promise we'll talk about some coffee things for sure, but let's start with celebrating a little bit. Today we're hitting 10 episodes, which may or may not seem like a lot to you, but I will say that the last few months have really taught me how to juggle things, how to juggle in general. So 10 episodes is definitely a huge accomplishment for me, and our Instagram following also continues to grow every single week, and we're well over 700 followers at this point, which is also mind-blowing because as you all know, I have a full-time career in coffee, and that Tiny Sidecar is just a little side project that I've been working on since May. So so happy that you're here. So happy that I've met the friends I've met through Tiny Sidecar in the last few months, and I'm really excited to meet a few of you next month, which we'll get into that a little bit more because that, as far as planning goes, is taking up all of my brain space. But 10 episodes, me and you, we did it, y'all. We did it. This community and how we're building it just feels so natural and so good, and I really like hearing from you guys on Instagram. I like when you send me questions and I get to hear about your lives, I get to hear about your first origin trips. Um, it's been a really, really cool experience and something that I knew I wanted when we started Tiny Sidecar, and something that I'm just excited to keep growing. So, first and foremost, this summer has been a lot about tiny sidecar and the growth that we're experiencing here, and I just am so appreciative of all of you. Um in the coffee world, I would say one of my most exciting things from this summer. We've done like a couple things at the roasting company that I'm really excited about. But one of them is I started working with JNP. JNP is an importer that specifically imports from Burundi, and Janine, who is the founder and owner of JNP, is just this incredible woman, and I think that she's done a lot for people in Burundi, and I think she's doing it well and doing it right. And I was lucky enough to be on a phone call with her and a couple of her team members the other day, and I was just reminded like they are so cool and what they're doing is so cool. And we put one of their coffees on our coffee menu, which I love brandy coffees first and foremost, but I also love being able to have a solid choice in what's going on as far as environmentally or socially from the coffee that I buy, and I just know that I'm putting my money in the right hands to support farmers in Brandy and support what JMP is doing. So that was a huge thing. We actually just launched that coffee this last week and getting to profile it and taste it and having both things align so well, like it is such a delicious coffee, and I know that it's making real impact, which both of those things are obviously the heart of me. So uh this coffee particularly has like cherry limeade taste notes, and we really leaned into those flavors with the profile, so it is a bright, poppy, delicious coffee. And if you want to try it, you just let me know because I'd be happy to send you some. But that was definitely a major highlight in Coffee World for me this summer. I just so excited about that. And then you know what's really interesting? Remember when I did we are going on a tangent and fast in a different direction. But the when I was thinking about coffee and what I wanted to say about this summer, one of the drinks from the Wisconsin little road trip that I went on in Milwaukee that I cannot let go of is that strawberry latte from Valentine Roasters, which is so interesting because it really was an underdog for me. I mean, like it was delicious and it was good, but it was so refreshing. And in these super hot summer months, I'm just thinking about that like Nesquik strawberry milk and how it was that exact same vibe. So that guy's living rent-free in my brain right now. But I mean, I had a lot of really good coffee this summer. I had great coffee from Arbaristas, and I had great coffee back in Wisconsin. I have been really lucky with a lot of delicious coffee in my travels the last few months, and I just know I have a lot of good coffee coming my way in the next couple months. So I'm sure lots of good coffee under the wraps per usual. I've surrounded myself with the right people, you know what I mean? Now, on a more personal note, this summer has also brought a lot of like good but unexpected things. Um if I don't know that I posted any of the Sun Tiny sidecar, but I've been running a lot. I've been trail running in the mountains with my friend Natalie, who is one of the kindest, sweetest people in my life. It's been a real joy like hanging out with her and exploring more country. And like when I say I'm trail running, like we are having a casual, good, fun time. We're laughing. Like we are not out there trying to win the race. But that has been such a joy in my life. Um, this last weekend I competed, competed feels like too strong of a word, but I finished the Cirque series at Grand Targy, um, which the Cirque series is this really cool trail running series. If you're not familiar with it, I think it goes to like seven or eight places every year, and basically it's like a low mileage trail run, so like seven to nine miles, I think. You go through a number of peaks, and there's always elevation gain, and there's these incredible athletes that absolutely whip through these courses. It's really cool, really cool to see, and just fun. It's like fun, good energy. Since the races are shorter, it just everyone's buzzing. I mean, people will finish them in like an hour, and that's insane. The amount of elevation that they're doing in an hour, and the fact that they're running up a mountainside is insane to me. But that wasn't your girl, your girl was just there for a good time. So me and Nellie ran it together, which was really special. So that has been a big part of my summer, and then also Jess and I have been continuing to work on something that we call the land, which a couple years ago we purchased some acreage that had a burnt forest on it. There was a huge wildfire forest, um, like six or seven years ago now, and we were lucky enough to be able to purchase some of the land, and we have been trying to restore it as much like nature as we can. To ask them, be like, what are you talking about? But like this last weekend, he planted 175 trees on the land, and just little babies, all indigenous to Wyoming, and like that, it's just such a cool project. Every year it changes a bit, so there's more and more wildflowers and just natural plants that always are springing up, and it's really fun to explore and see what it's doing and see how it's changing. So we spent some time out there this summer. We did not really go on the river very much, which is sad because I love going on the river, but sometimes summer just goes by so fast. I know we always say like every season seems to go by fast, unless you don't like it, then it's slow. But this year just sped on by. So, yes, personally, really good, solid summer, a lot of good coffee, like I talked about, some good running, good company, yummy dinners, all of the good good. Now, if I would say that there were any challenges this summer, which there were, I would mostly say that it was the roasters when they were broken. Um, I think that we've talked about this before, but there wasn't a week this summer, up until like mid-July, I want to say, that one of the two roasters wasn't down. And we definitely function on both roasters, so having one of them down almost constantly was a huge challenge. Um, but what I will say is that yesterday I was cleaning the bathroom in my house and I was moving the shower head and the thing broke. Like the shower head itself just broke right off and fell into my hand, which was crazy. But because I have fixed coffee roasters, I now have so much more confidence to fix other stuff. So I felt very empowered to go to Ace Hardware and get a new shower head and replace it myself without any help. And I'll tell you, like, I feel like I would have gotten stuck easier before. And there's something about getting your hands dirty with something that you're unfamiliar with that's more mechanical, not really your skill set, being able to fix it and understand it and get it, I feel like has now blended me in other parts of my life, which I am grateful for because I feel like these things in the past I would have probably panicked a little bit and instead just did it, just fixed it, moved it on. So I'm grateful for that challenge. In the moment, absolutely not. If it was to break tomorrow, absolutely not. But yesterday with a shower head, totally fine. That was perfect, that was great, great life experience. So I guess you could say, in hindsight, 2020 20. I'm grateful that the roasters broke sometimes. Ooh, I'm a better roaster, better manager, better person, better with a wrench because of it. So thank you for that, my dear friends. But also stay fixed. Other things that I think I've challenged with are definitely consistency and juggling new hobbies, juggling new projects, juggling all of my passions I think has been more challenging, but I'm also feeling really grateful that I'm feeling so full of ideas and wanting to write and wanting to podcast and wanting to run, and I just feel like I'm layering so much more in my life, and it's not all just centered around one thing, but I'm having a lot of fun doing a bunch of stuff. But consistency for me has been really hard because it's been just hard to squeeze it all in. So this fall is definitely taking a step back and trying to create a little bit more routine for myself. I do very, very well with structure, I like my routines, I like knowing what's coming up, and I like not feeling behind. So even with hobbies, I was starting to feel behind this summer, and I was like, that's not it, that's not good, that's not why you're doing this. You're not doing this to feel behind and to feel crazy. And um, there definitely were points this summer where I was like, this doesn't feel good anymore, this feels like work, and so I really had that realization in the last couple of weeks, and we're gonna do a little reset, which I think is gonna feel really, really good too. So, what's to come this fall? Easy peasy one cheezy. The biggest thing that is on my agenda is obviously the women powered coffee summit that is happening at the beginning of October. Now I think if you want to join, you still can, but I would get your ticket like immediately because I don't know how many are left at this point, and I also know that they're gonna close the ticketing at some point here. So now's the time. If you want to come, then get yourself a flight and get on down there. But with that being said, Tiny Sidecar is lucky enough to be a part of the ideas marketplace, which is this really cool thing that is happening um for about an hour every single day, a couple sessions a day, in between workshops and speakers and things like that. And basically, what it is going to be is that you can come to the tiny sidecar table and you can interact with tiny sidecar in some way. Um, other people are gonna be selling goods and all sorts of cool stuff is going to be happening there. It's an idea of like exchanging ideas, and you're not just like selling stuff, but you're more so um building community and showcasing what you have to offer, which I love for Tiny Sidecar. It's new, want feedback, all the goods. So Tiny Sidecar will have a booth, and off the bat for sure, you will be able to answer questions or give prompts, all sorts of things to help influence upcoming episodes of Tiny Sidecar. There are going to be so many women at this event that I want to help elevate and showcase as many of them as they would like. So it's gonna be a really good solid time. And if you have been curious about connecting, about being on Tiny Sidecar or taking over an episode or anything like that, this will be a great opportunity for us to chat. I also just like want it to be fun and playful and what Tiny Sidecar is, so I've been trying to rack my brain on some other ideas for that weekend as well. So if you have any ideas or something that you think would be cool, I'm definitely leaning into like the retro aspect that is tiny sidecar. And like we'll have a Polaroid camera for people to take photos of each other and all that kind of stuff. So it should be a fun, good time for me and for you. But a lot of brain energy going into that. I want to feel prepared and I want it to be exciting and fun, and I know that it's a great opportunity for all of us, so lots of energy going there, and that is in like literally four weeks. So a lot of work, a lot of planning, all that good stuff for the women powered coffee summit coming up beginning of October. You should come. I would love to meet you. Then Tiny Sidecar. I'm hoping now that we're through busy, busy summer months, we're gonna keep working on consistency and show formats. We're gonna listen, I have an interview still. Still from my Wisconsin tour. And it is with a very cool person from Wonder State Coffee. And I bet you're wondering, why are you sitting on that, Kate? And the answer is I have no idea. I have no idea. But we have that interview that needs to come out, and on top of that, I just want to keep working on reforming what these shows feel like, the information that's given, making sure that you're feeling included, that we're continuing to build community together. I've been really lucky and have been invited to quite a few community events that are just a little too far away from me. But I'm hoping that in the fall and winter season, and as Tiny Sidecar continues to grow, that I'll also be able to be there and offer some more pop-up podcast moments because I think we all just gotta have a little more fun with our voices, you know what I mean? So lots of good things to come for Tiny Sidecar, but this is the season where I get stuck in my house for months on end. Listen, it's like 90 degrees outside, and I'm like, the snow is coming, but the snow is coming. Um, so consistency, continuing to develop this project. I'm really, really excited for a slower, easier podcasting season. So lots of good things coming for Tiny Sidecar 2. And as always, give me your feedback. What are you hoping for? What are you looking for? I always love to hear from you, and I love to hear like what episodes were helpful. Um, so yes, lots of good things from the sidecar as well. And now, as for my like full-time job goals, I will say that fall season feels really, really nice. I know I made a joke about pumpkin spice latte season, but there is just something really whimsical about working in a coffee roaster in the fall. Um, everything's a little bit more whimsical in the fall. Um, I live in a place that we have aspen trees and all the leaves turn this like brilliant gold color, and it's just gorgeous. So I think fall definitely brings a slower season, but it also just feels magical in a lot of ways. So leaning into that as much as possible this season I think will be really good. I'm also excited because I've made some decisions as far as like buying shifts that I'm gonna just really lean into continuing to find producers that have the stories and the passion and just like we're on the same plane. I feel like I don't talk about it a ton on here, but with tariffs and with the C market, which is wild and unpredictable right now, the through line definitely is work with good people, work with people that are making changes, work with people that are passionate, and that's gonna be, I think, the direction that I really need to focus on and go with. So I'm also I have some like really good importer friends in this current moment in my life, and I'm just excited to keep exploring options with them and seeing what else is out there and what I'm gonna bring in my professional life as well. Um, because I'm hoping that it'll also build connections for Tiny Sidecar where you can meet these incredible importers and producers, and I think it'll just have a lot of good stuff coming for us on all fronts. So a lot of exciting things in my professional life as well. So for me, summer was all about soaking up the good times, the road trips, the running, the reading, the sunshine, all of it. Taking as much of it in as possible. And fall for me is about slowing down, trying to take a nice steady pace through life, and you know, getting all my good hobbies back in place, but also getting more consistency in my life. So, a lot of good things ahead of us, like I always say. We're just in this moment for right now, and it's gonna be better every single day, right? Right? That's what they say. Um, so anyway, thanks for riding along today with this little tiny side card detour. So happy to have you here, and I can't wait to see you next week. What should we talk about? I'm sure we'll figure it out. Okay, bye friends. Have a wonderful day. You know, I was on Instagram scrolling the other day, and I came across this account that listen, I should have marked it because it is living rent-free in my brain. But it was talking about what's the thing that you're gonna do today that's gonna make you proud by the end of the week and do that thing. Or like, what's the thing that you need to make goals for right now so that by the end of the week it's done and you're proud. And I loved that mind frame. I loved thinking about like, hey, let's take this week as just like a bite-sized little thing. What do we gotta get done this week so that on Friday you're proud? I think that's what it is. On Friday, you're proud. So, anyway, I'm gonna find that Instagram page and I'm gonna show it to you because I think it's a great idea. I think we should all be doing that with our lives. Okay, love you so much, buddy.