$15,000

WOW........Last week I sent out a personal email to friends asking them for prayer, as I get really close to pulling the trigger on some big decisions as to what Fika Coffee is going to look like for the up coming season. Well two days later I had someone gift us $15,000 dollars to go towards Fika. I was completely surprised, did not see this one coming. But it is a huge confirmation for me with this venture. The only string attached is they would like some coffee on a regular basis. They did ask that in time if I was able to "pay it forward" and bless someone else with a gift, they would like to see that. Well looks like a roaster will be on the way soon.

Going Public

On Sunday, January 29th Fika Coffee of Grand Marais opened the doors (albeit not its own, yet!) to the public. The event took place at the North House Folk School on the harbor in Grand Marais. The crowd was as diverse as the coffee, with children running around and grandparents sipping coffee and asking questions. Josh Lindstrom, proprietor, introduced Fika Coffee from the elevated hearth of the brick oven. With excitement and obvious  passion, he spelled out the mission of Fika Coffee, "....to offer quality roasted coffee and prepared espresso beverages with exceptional personal service. This mission will be accomplished through transparent financial practices, sustainable business methods, hard work, proactive partnership with the community, and a spirit for adventure."  The end of the mission stands out as critical--"community, and a spirit for adventure...". Fika is a Swedish word meaning, "coffee break", or more precisely, a break from the busyness of the day, the busyness of life,  a time set apart to slow down, drink some coffee and have a conversation about something close to the heart. Through these conversations our dreams take shape. They get breathed into and encouraged to grow. Our dreams become goals, our goals become attainable. With our community surrounding us, we embark upon a fearless pursuit of our dream, and through much work, we attain it.  ~Woody Seim~


I do say though that I was very very excited with the turn-out, we packed the place and drink a lot of coffee. I look forward to doing this in the very near future again, and continue to build relationships with folks in the community that are going to play a big role in Fika.

I brought in two future (wink wink) Fika employees, my good friends Woody Seim (checking the time) & Joel Pike (working the water)

Featured coffee from Stumptown Coffee Roaster to highlight cup characteristics from the three major coffee growing regions,  all coffee was mostly brewed with a french press.

I was able to do some brews on the V60 to highlight the difference one can taste, was very encouraging to have people notice the cleaner, brighter taste that came with the V60.

Cheers!!!

onWard

The last month or so has been a little hectic, we traveled to southern Wisconsin for Thanksgiving and while there received some very sad news of a death in the family.  Even though I have not posted lately we are still working on things here.

-Met with Grand Marias city council and got their apporval to have a coffee roaster downtown
-Our logo will be done by the end of the year,  keep you eyes open
-I have been meeting with future customers and have been encouraged, although I really need to get a coffee shop on board. Any connections send them my way
-Finding a location in a small town has proven to be a task, we currently have one option but it is moving slowly. And we need to get a location set so we can finish our business plan.
-I made a Fika Coffee Facebook page, make sure you "Like" it.

Thanks for being followers and I hope to someday soon share a Fika time with you all soon.