We didn’t know it then, but those rough cups of coffee sparked something lasting in me. Over the years, my love for coffee deepened, eventually leading us halfway around the world to Ethiopia, the birthplace of coffee, where we had the opportunity to experience coffee in an entirely new way. Coffee, or “buna” in Amharic, is more than a way to wake up in the morning. It is a ceremony, a ritual of roasting, grinding, and brewing that brings people together to laugh, tell stories, and find joy even in the midst of life’s hardships. It was in one of those ceremonies that I felt the immense beauty of coffee as community, as connection, as fellowship. And it was in that moment that I knew I wanted to roast coffee one day—not only to craft something delicious, but to create spaces where people gather, share stories, and build community.