April 2022: Amavida Coffee Roasters | Santa Rosa Beach, Florida
Love life, and keep moving forward. Because we've come a long way, but we're not there yet.
The first permanent European settlement in the present day United States was made in 1565 by Pedro Menendez de Aviles, a Spaniard. If that didn’t happen, we may not be writing this email.
Dramatic? Not us! Conceivable? Absolutely.
Let's digress.
The Spaniards, renowned explorers and conquerors of new lands, found themselves in a precarious position. The French - no strangers to the Southeast themselves - closed in on St. Augustine, where the Spaniards awaited a near certain slaughter. Faces skyward, hands clasped, begging for mercy, the history books were all but written.
But, fate intervened. A mighty hurricane riled up the waters of the Atlantic, sinking the French ships and ending any threat of war. This fortuitous change in weather left the land to the Spanish, who presided over the land for centuries.
If that didn’t happen, maybe this email would be about a roaster called Amour La Vie. But it's not. The Spanish, whose exports you see all over the world in the form of art, food, drink, and “the language in which you talk to God”, have made an indelible cultural mark on our lives.
This month’s featured roaster is in an unrelenting pursuit of perfection. It is said that perfection is found “not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.” Perfection is simplicity. It's truth. It's essence.
And the essence of it all, everything we’re doing here, is to love life.
Love + Life. Amar + Vida.
From Santa Rosa Beach, Florida, Amavida Coffee Roasters.
Excellence
Excellence in coffee isn't confined to taste. As a matter of fact, Amavida's award-winning coffee is merely a byproduct of running a company the right way.
With a list of certification icons that would make a Daytona 500 stock car jealous, the commitment to excellence in every aspect of Amavida's business is clear. Amavida's Roastery, which doubles as a barista training facility, sits 400 miles exactly to the northwest of Daytona International Speedway, nestled among the beautiful beaches of the famed Florida panhandle.
From their Certified Clean Energy Partnership with Arcadia Power, which powers Amavida with 100% renewable energy, to their status as a Certified Plastic Neutral Company, to being the only coffee company on the RealLeaders Top 200 Impact Companies list (rubbing elbows with the likes of Tesla and Patagonia), it's Amavida's love for the process of sourcing, roasting, and selling coffee - responsibly - that defines their excellence.
Building the Future
So, that barista training facility. It’s actually *ahem* a Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) Premier Barista Facility, to be exact, and it’s kind of a big deal. It's one of only 33 in the United States.
The sole purpose of these training centers is to teach the craft of coffee, as they offer courses on everything from the hydraulics of coffee equipment, to coffee farming, to latte art. One of particular interest is their Coffee Sustainability Program, which has a course that teaches trainees how to start their own sustainability practice in their own business or life.
With tens of thousands of trainees taking SCA courses each year, Amavida is truly a proving grounds for the future of our industry.
Keep It Simple
Considering where Amavida calls home, a fitting quote may be "a rising tide lifts all boats."
With a head down, hands on approach to doing everything they can to improve the lives of the farmer, the producer, the roaster, the barista and, ultimately, the drinker, Amavida is changing the industry and changing lives.
And they're loving every minute of it.