Brewing Love and Business Across Borders with Jennifer and Andres

I suppose we should get this out of the way first. Which is? I don't drink coffee.

Oh, no.

Yeah.

Oh.

I know. It's my whole my whole life, I my I think I grew up in a house that made, like, drip coffee on the regular, and I didn't like the smell, and I don't now. I don't like coffee ice cream. I don't like coffee. I mean, so tell me, what am I missing? Like, what's the cause? You guys are those coffee people? What am I missing?

So you're missing to have that one cup that changes your mind? There's this phenomenon in non coffee drinkers that switch to usually specialty coffee drinkers where they have that one cup that they couldn't imagine. Coffee could taste like that. And then they go, Holy crap, what was I missing? And so I grew up in a family that drank Folgers. Are you from the States?

Yeah. Yeah, yeah.

Folgers is, you know.

Yeah.

Gas station coffee. Almost. And so when I would, like, try a little bit here, there I was like, this is nasty. This is disgusting. Like, what are you people drinking? And until I had, actual, like, specialty cup of coffee, I thought coffee was gross. And then you have that one cup that changes your mind, and you go, this is what it could be like.

Yeah, for my eyes. Totally different because I. I come from a coffee family, which was. I mean, like, my family used to be coffee growers. So since the moment that I can remember, coffee was always around. And I cannot attest that it was good quality coffee because, believe it or not, in Colombia not everyone drink high quality coffee. But I learn how to love it even though it was good or bad. And then the moment that we started getting into more specialized products, it was it was clear to understand the difference. And I was like, well, this is this is my area. So I'm just going to keep improving on this.

So what do you make of the one cup of coffee theory that Jennifer has?

Did you experience that?

Yes I did. When we started our coffee journey into those coffee people, our first point was, okay, let's understand how this could be different. It was. It was pretty much the same for me back in the time. And then we started getting into some people that I started providing. I was like, okay, this is different, this is different. And it was this time and this town corn salad. When we were invited to their first technical assessment, they're really good people that are giving us all the information. And we got a table with like 24 coffee cups. I was like, this is all the same. And then the guy was just explaining this, finding that when you have the guidance, when someone is telling you this could be different, this changes, you immediately understand, like, okay, yes, I see. And from that moment I like got change.

Okay. I think that's the first time this might be the first time in my life I'm like, maybe I maybe I need to go sit down with 24 cups of coffee and have somebody tell me what's going on.

Yes, definitely. And then you put a cup of, like, Folgers or Maxwell House or, you know, whatever standards market cheap coffee next to it and you go, yeah, I don't like this. This is bad. And the other ones are not bad.

Side to side comparison always works to highlight the more basic or to improve like the the peak. And when you have side to side comparisons, it's really hard to know how to find the difference.

Yeah, I like I said, I'm from Seattle. I don't I don't drink coffee, I don't like dogs, I don't drive a Subaru. I'm not gay. I've never played pickleball. I don't know if I'm actually allowed to stay here.

So it's a you born there?

No, I was born in Virginia, and I think I'm pretty sure the smell that I'm describing to you is Folgers like. I think it was Folgers being kind of brewed in my house. Yes. Okay. But you guys became those coffee people. How did you. How did you meet? How did you come? How did you find one another?

Oh my gosh. So, so, yeah, we we met in a hostel in Peru. Okay. Traveling by myself and, like, a little backpacking trip. And he was with, a friend, and we were there was like a communal, like, dining garden, and I forget who asked to sit next to who, but there was an extra seat next to someone, and one of us asked to sit next to the other one, and then we ended up talking and, nothing like sparked necessarily that night. But it happened that we were both going from the place we were at, a little oasis called Walk Kachina to Cusco. Like where the Inca Trail and all that is. And we were both going there separately, but on the same days. So he asked for my Facebook because I think, like, he even lost his phone.

Yeah. I think you have a phone in that moment.

And, he like, Facebook me once we got there and was like, hey, come out like with me and my friend, come out with us, hang out, let's go get a drink. And, I did. And from there, this could be like a two hour story, but we ended up traveling together for about a month. And then at that moment, I was going back to where I was currently working, which was in Kuwait. I had a job that sent me all over the world, and my project was in Kuwait. And, from there I ended up thinking like, I could probably move to Colombia. It sounds like a good idea. And yeah, long story short, I quit my job, packed my bags, moved to Colombia and started those coffee people.

And when I lied to this version of the story, just set a record. She said it in less than three minutes. And as remarkable because, you know, it doesn't take more than five, my version can take up to two hours and I'm not going to bring it today. But in the same line, Virginia was saying from my perspective, I was working for a corporate job in Colombia, a really important company here in Colombia.

I was having a really, exciting life. I was living my career going through my pad, and I decided to have a wild vacation with my good friend where I said, okay, let's travel, let's enjoy. I want to enjoy diversity. I want to meet people. I really want to be super social and very engaging. At that point, when I met Jennifer, I was having this nurturing experience of like different personalities, different cultures, and I got really interested in her and she was like bringing the the part of the girl who has been all over the world from Kuwait and guess some of the things that was really interesting and it was really lucky, the fact

that we were able to continue on the path, and indeed I lost my phone. I was having a lot of fun. And I thank God for Facebook because in that way, I was able to stay in touch with her when we were able to share more time together because of the journey we were going through, I immediately started realizing, I like this. This is exciting, this is nurturing for me. And then I was like, I need to go, this is going to go to Colombia. And there's an excerpt of the story. You continue.

Well, after we were in Peru, he told me he was like, hey, what are you doing next after Peru? And I was like, well, I think I'm going to go to Bolivia because it was kind of like geographically right there. And he was like, Bolivia, why don't you come to Colombia? And I was just traveling by myself. I had no plans. I was like, okay, sure. And, on the spot booked a ticket. And that next week I was visiting him here in Madrid.

And I did not have that gene I am I'm impressed. And I was amazed by people who can just be like, yeah, I'm gonna go travel the world and I'm going to change my plans last second. I'm going to kind of just do the next thing. So, okay. Presumably, though, you guys had, been in relationships before you'd met other people before along the way, on your travels, why was this meeting different? Like, why did you what was different about one another that you said, oh, no, I'm going to I'm going to invest more time and energy and attention in this person.

I have a funny one. And then you could say yours. Go ahead. This guy, he's crazy.

He and I like to have fun.

He. Unlike the third night we had ever gone out, he asked me to marry him.

Oh, okay.

Yeah. He made, fake ring, like, out of a piece of trash. Like a piece of tinfoil trash. And in the middle of a birthday dinner of the friend he was traveling with, he's like, oh, I got a question for you. Will you marry me? And I was like, this guy's out of his mind. Like, how weird. And then I was thinking like, well, you know what? Let's just let's just go for it. To tell the tell the guy. Yes. You're never going to see him again. Yeah, sure. Okay. And, that kind of interested me. I was like this. This guy's wild.

Okay, but is that when you got engaged, or is that just kind of this?

No, that was the the third night we had ever met.

And we call it our first wedding.

Okay, okay. That's amazing. So. But you had, you had a, different version address. Or maybe you have your own story of how.

Yeah. Well, so, I was having, a really traditional life here in my, in Colombia, the corporate life that I was saying, and I was like, really happy with the group of friends that I was having, but I was having a similar experience through all the years. It we as far as people from aging, we're a super conservative culture. And it's easy that you get into the same type of things. My past relationship with a little bit of the same, and I was really looking for something different. I was to point that I was making stories in my head that I was going to marry a foreigner. I was talking in English on the phone when I was like 415.

I think that was the biggest manifestation and I didn't realize that actually is going to be real. So it was like in my head I knew that I there was something different for me. I was I'm happy and proud about my culture. I love to be from here. But I started realizing that this world is bigger. And I came into this journey of this vacation of, I want to see this. I'm not going far away. This is South America. But I knew that the place that we're visiting, there's a lot of diversity, a lot of cultures, a lot of perspectives. And for me, the moment that I saw Jennifer, it was like, oh my God, this is a lady like, this is this is what you were calling for. And as Jennifer's.

Like the girl that you made up in your brain, it you're like, yeah, this is her.

Correct. And as she said, like, well, you're having this, like, crazy moments. It's supposed to be a thing of one day and that's it. But for me, it was so meaningful that even the next day I couldn't stop thinking about her. So we had this wedding. And, you know, we have a lot of fun. It was, the party night and whatever. But the next day I was like, oh my goodness, I have a wife, and I call her. We were in different hotel. She was in another hotel, and I was like, hey, let's go and walk around. I was treating her like we were literally having a honeymoon. Like holding her hand. I'm walking through the square, Cusco. I was like, really acting like I shouldn't be, considering it was just a temporary moment.

But I realized, okay, there's there's something here. And I thought to myself, I want to give my dude the opportunity, oh, the moment to to live it, to not to limit it. And I don't know what the future is going to bring. She's probably going to go back to Kuwait and we'll see.

And for me, like that contrast against the type of men that I had seen in my life who are like so unemotional like that, so that feeling of like being ghosted, you know, you meet someone and you have a great time and then, like, whatever life happens, you never hear from them again. That was the exact situation I was expecting with him. You know, some guy I met at a dinner.

I didn't see that movie all the time. You're like, I'm going to have two days of bliss and then just going to vanish off the face of the earth. Yeah.

And so I thought he was just, like, crazy. And then he kept following up with me. I was like, there's something fun here. I keep inserting.

My good friend, the buddy that I was struggling with. He was looking at me as like, what are you doing? Like, it's over. Next, let's continue your journey and you're going to meet someone else. And I was like, no, I want to keep talking to this girl. And he's looking at me like, oh my goodness. Okay, Andrés, fine, keep talking to her. And let's see, what are you going to do when you go back to magic?

Yeah. Right on. So, Jennifer, you from the States?

Yes. Where are you from? And raised in Connecticut.

Oh, right now we're in Connecticut.

A very small town on the border of New York State. Like halfway through the state. It's called New Fairfield, not Fairfield. Okay. Fairfield.

Yeah. Before we lived in Seattle, my wife and I lived in Fairfield County.

Oh, okay.

We're actually in Weston.

Oh, yeah. Kind of neighborhood. Well.

A little bit.

Well, the grand scheme of things.

So, how do you think about your relationship, culturally? Like, how do you think about it cross-culturally? Do you. Is that been amazing? Is that been challenging? Probably both. But, like, how do you how do you make sense of it for one another or for people who are listening?

Well, I have just heard from the part that I, I, I'm really proud about being from here, but I definitely was looking for something different. The challenges that you see in my genes culture are pretty much the same. There's a lot of challenges, and there is, a lot of a lack of empowerment of the woman. And I was looking for something different. And when I see Jennifer and I saw what is the opposite of that, I had a lot of excitement about seeing the work from a different perspective, but also a lot of challenges. When we talk about cultures and perspectives, we believe that from Colombia side, we can be more oriented to relationship and less determined to results. And, how you describe yours.

You more like you honor the your word the time your other the other person's time. Like your goal oriented. We're all trying to get somewhere.

And maybe the relationship is interpreted in a different way. It's not like there is no relation.

No, no, of course it's not like there's no relation.

There's a different interpretation. Yeah. And it doesn't mean that people from medicine are in like that. It's just like what is more likely to be and what is less likely to be. So when I when I saw this compliment, because this is how I, I took it's a compliment. I said like, okay, this is really good for building a life. This is really good to, like create a team because at the end there is no one truth. The truth is just like a multiple composition of perspectives. And I got really excited about having like, this upset of whatever I feel I am. And I said, this is the type of things that is going to take me somewhere when we have this division.

Does diversity point abuse? So yes, challenge was definitely, I admire love the fact that she was the one able to commit to her life in one way, all the way, and come here to live my life. So then I realized I have to quit something, too. Like, what is that thing that I'm going to quit and quit doesn't mean that I shouldn't be like that. Quit. Quit means that I have to be more open to move towards that side. And I realized that she is already here. I need to also make an equivalent effort, you know, to be independent.

Would you quit?

Well, I quit, understand? I quit my perspective of, commitment for.

Kind of.

Inner culture where we tend to feel more free, to tend to feel that we're not controlled by the woman. There's even, like a bullying between guys like, oh, you're a short leash. That's the a joke. Like, oh, anyone who acts more in like a couple is considered a short leash because the wife is like holding the dog in front of these challenges. That lady in Boss, and there's bullying about that. Like there are some guys that really want to prove that they're not like that, and they end up being like something that I don't believe is that great. So for me, that was a point that I need to understand. How is this how is my perspective? What do I have from my point of view?

What is my interpretation of, women empowerment? Why do I believe about, gender equality and all these things in order to be in this middle point that gets me closer to Jennifer. So I had to quit that. The truth is, just what I was living around and understand is it's not like that speaker.

Yeah, yeah. What about for you, Jennifer? How do you understand it? How do you I mean, you're you're the one who's living in a brand new place. You're the one who's like, in the other place, the other capital. Oh, what is how do you how do you make sense of that? How do you assimilate that?

This is like the eighth place that I had lived outside the city.

Okay, so you're like an expert.

I had not my job. It it sent me, like constantly around. But in the other places that I lived, I didn't really assimilate with the local culture as much as I did with him. And like, you know, being involved with his family and being involved with his friends and like, I was the minority in every single situation that I was ever a part of. And I, I believe I'm pretty adaptable, with the exception of, the thing he was mentioning of like, dealing with commitments. Like I lose my mind when someone tells me they're going to do something and then they don't do it. And here it's like very normal that if like, like someone says they intend to do something and they're like, actually have no intention of ever doing it, they know they're not.

I mean, I decide I don't I'm not going to do that. Yeah.

The temperature partitioning here is totally different.

But that's the only thing that makes me, have a problem. And I think it relates to my main, I guess you call it like, character flaw is I'm wildly impatient. And by putting myself in an environment and a culture where people like, demand patience and like calm, being calm, cool and collected under stress, that's like the thing I need to work on the most. So it's like sometimes really tough. But I think it's life giving me what I need, right?

I know.

So you decided to become those coffee people. Did you pick you just pick something that was the third thing. Or did you were you already connected to that? Andre? Serge. Like, how did you how did this become your area of interest? And growth?

Well, those coffee people is the continuation of our love story because those coffee people.

Let's hear it.

When Jennifer comes to Magdalene for the second time. So the first time she came, it was just confirming that we like each other. And we were, a couple that are willing to look of what's next from her side and from my side. And then we started talking, and then she ended up coming by surprise here to magazine. That's a lesbian trip. And in that moment, we were like, okay, it seems like we had to make this work, right? You came here from Kuwait, so what are we going to do? And before thinking about specifically what business or what was the step, we said, what do we like about us? What is the thing that we're celebrating in our relationship?

And there was diversity connecting perspectives, same points of views and making that things flow between two points. And we're like, okay, so this give us joy if this make us be in this moment of life, where are you coming here? How can we do the same and make a life out of it? How can we enjoy this same passion and this same joy that we have by actually building a business? And then here is where we start to brainstorm. Okay, let's do this. Let's do that. At the end, we realized that connections was about perspectives and cultures. And we we said, okay, it has to be something from here to another place. So we had to, move product. We had to do business outside to make make this bridge.

And that diversity of perspectives and cultures at the end help people to get into business, to get into translation, to get into deals or learn to relationship. So now there needs to be a vehicle. And what type of vehicles could they be? It could be gold. It could be minerals. It could be whatever other products that we manufacturers, textile services. And then here you came to a point like, hey, you know what? Actually, my, family comes from an agricultural background from from both sides. Mom and dad and my, my, my family used to be in the coffee field as producers, and then they never came, like, well, in the Middle East. Coffee is a thing. What was happening in the Middle East?

So my experience in Kuwait was really interesting because there there's no bars, there's no like entertainment industry. And my job there was, working for a company that did economic reports and like my market at that time was Kuwait. And so in other markets, there's like always a tourism and entertainment section of the report. But in Kuwait there was nothing there's no tourism, there's no entertainment. There's not even a tourist visa to get to Kuwait. But then I started to think, like, actually, that's not right. There is a developing section of the economy of tourism and entertainment, which was coffee. People have these extravagant coffee shops. They're beautiful. They're unbelievable. They even have like sometimes deejays at night, like the streets are full of people at like 8 p.m. drinking coffee.

And it's it's just remarkable. It's something that I had never really seen before in the world. And it's because it replaced the alcohol like it replaced the bars. And so when we were making this brainstorm, I was thinking like, I just saw a whole country of people who drink this incredible specialty coffee, you know, a bit about coffee and how you know it's produced and how it's exported. Let's give this thing a.

Shot, but is also part of my culture. And I lived it, and I, I'm surrounded by like, a nationality that vibrates by being an important coffee producing country. So it's part of my pride. So when she share me this cultural way to enjoy it, and I thought about for Colombia, this means so much. That's when I realize, oh my goodness, this is like our relationship. There is no truth in that side. There's a truth and this side, and we can have both perspectives. You have a bigger truth. And that was but click me and say, yeah, we're going to get into coffee. What do you know? And what are you good at Jennifer? And she said, I'm good at selling. And then what am I good at? I'm good at making things happen. So okay.

Sales and operation.

Sales and operation.

The foundation of any good startup.

I will do the operation. You do the sales. I will find the producers, you find the customers. We have to learn a lot, but we'll figure it out. And that's how we started those coffee people. A project with love, passion, with, a goal of connecting cultures of, putting together diversity and creating truth that, is nurtured by my perspectives, and I'll call it so you say.

And we also really like to travel, and we really wanted it. So we wanted a job that could allow us to do business anywhere I mess up. I mean, there's very few products in the world that can be shared by people, you know, young and old, rich and poor, different, religions, different geographic, but like boundaries. Tell me a few products, you know, that probably exist, that you can sell throughout all of these different places and that you can travel and do business in all these different places. And that was coffee.

Yeah. Interesting. I'm having like I said, man, I'm having an experience I've never had before, which is like, maybe I'll try coffee. That's interesting. So how long have you been doing this?

Since we had the idea in November 2017, and we did our first export in May of 2018.

Okay, less than a year after maybe a.

And, and when you say our first export, you exported coffee, you exported like, yes, beans or whatever to. Yes. I don't even know how to talk about coffee. Yeah. So there can I get it here in Seattle? Like, can I go find those coffee people here?

No. Well, you don't have any roasters in Seattle. Yeah.

So you find some people that have been there? Yeah.

No. We got to explain to you what it is. That doesn't mean export coffee, so. Okay. Sure is. Exported in a raw material form, and roasters put it in, like an oven, a roasting machine, and roast it to the point that it is a, you know, a roasted coffee that you can grind and brew and. Okay, but we primarily deal with the raw material. It's called a green bean. And these are what are sold wholesale B2B to people who roast the coffee. We do also do a little bit of roasting ourself and we send roasted coffee. But by volume, green coffee is way more, widely.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Do you guys, do you fight? Do you have disagreements? Do you have like, what's what's hard about what you're doing? Seems so delightful and like, serendipitous. But there's got to be there's what's the hard part?

We have the same fight over and over and over, which is that I'm impatient and that,

I'm not whatever. And I am weak and, like, not so how to say strict word? Probably.

Yeah. That's. So how does it we ever have.

But it's the topic is different. But the, the the DNA the same.

Yeah. The triggers are different. But the core problem.

Down to the.

Same is always that I am impatient and maybe, explosive at moments of severe impatience and that he makes mistakes because of.

Rambling around so much.

Yeah, not.

Being so clear. So it's pretty much trying to be like a likable person. Like I try so hard to make myself like that guy to everyone. Like saying, you know, that the cool guy who that moves. Yeah. Which is important in this culture, because when you come to sharp and to straightforward, people tend to like, this person is not so nice. And being nice here is particularly.

Critical.

And critical in particular, because it has an a specific interpretation. If you're too loud, you're not nice. If you speak too straightforward, you're not nice. If you're impatient, you're not nice.

A lot of people think I'm not nice.

Yeah. Example. Yeah. So I have to keep playing the thing is, my culture is is my background is my toolbox. But then we we put it in the context of what we are, is we are not only this context, we are a bigger context. And we we put it in context of what we're trying to do in our business. This can turn into a challenge. And here's where we are starting our discussions.

Yeah. So what happens when you fight like what? I mean, I'm not trying to pick a fight, but like when how does this show up? Does it show up every day? 30s long? Is it is it two days long? What happens?

It shows up once every couple of months. Yeah. Let's let's. I believe that I'm really easy to let things go. Like, I could get in a fight with someone and be fine. 30s later. I'm someone who just, like, I let it out. We get an argument and then, like, all right, are we done? Are we moving on? And so for me, it's very easy to, like, be very, explosive in my ideas, but in that way, it's like, it's done. I'm over it. It's like we're either going to break up or we're going to keep moving. And I am really easy to keep.

Moving for me is harder because all the expression of feelings and opinions and like annoying men or whatever, it hurts a lot. So it requires time for processing it. And I tend to be the one that holds more the the problem, like it takes me sometimes more time than it should be. Talking about days in the long as we've been in there in an hour, you has been, I don't think, more than a week, but at the end it's the same thing. The universe is like, we we are in this game. We already agree in what was to be together, and either is so bad that we had to like, really like get our own way or we understand. And I try to be really empathetic about the situation. I always, but that we have different perspectives. And yes, it hurts a lot.

And maybe she doesn't understand how important it is for me to be nice and to be a little bit more patient. I try to focus more on on those aspects. She only could be a little bit more patient and she will be more empathetic of my perspective. But I also believe I have a gift which is put myself in her shoes, and that helps me a lot to, like, get out of my my emotional part. And yeah.

I think she thinks for both of us, I think about it as I try to be like, you know, just let it go, let it go, let it go. And he analyzes and thinks and actually like quite appreciate it. Like when the moment comes that we finally like make up, he's analyze the situation from every which way has come out with a three step action plan.

She loves the call to action. Hey as a structure person, I was like, okay, I had to give her a little bit about the things she likes. She likes planning. So then I come to her in the middle of those emotions. I said, her running all my things are all my feelings. Some feelings are just like felt and I keep it there. And I try to understand what are the things that have to come to the table so we can like, make plans and fix whatever we need to fix or work around whatever we need to work. So yes, I've been coming up with like points and like I write this just to make sure that I am a specific and I don't beat around the bush. So I sent her an email and then I follow up over the email. I said, do you remember this argue that we have about this? Well, in this email I explain you A, B, and C, this is the same situation. So that's why I am having this emotions and I think it has been working.

But I like putting things in writing. It makes it easier.

Yeah. So I have this I mean this I'm glad I'm talking to you because I'm having if I had to make it up, I would have said that you, the Colombian, were more explosive and more expressive and more. And you, the American, were more reserved and, you know, pulled together. But it's the opposite. And, Jennifer, do you attribute that to your family of origin? Do you attribute that to like, how do you how do you make sense of that, that that is the way that you do emotion does that come from?

That's how I grew up. That people just get mad and then they get and.

They get.

Over it. Yeah, you get mad and then you move on.

Yeah. And everything I know about Colombia I have learned from, Gabriel Garcia marquez. Like, I just like I watched, read and then watched 100 Years of Solitude. Did you guys watch it on Netflix?

Oh, yes.

You. That is amazing.

It is amazing.

Yeah. And and I read about it that, like, almost everyone in that in that series is not an actor. They were all local people who are just passionate about the story. And they decided to become like, like about one third of the people are professional actors. Everybody else is just locals who wanted to be a part of telling this cultural story in their in their world.

I didn't know, did you know that going on like, oh, that's really cool. I believe it. Yeah.

I know the book. And watching the show was like a big, additional way to connect into all the things that made me feel proud about being Colombian. Yeah, that Colombian means so many things. Like, if you guys in the States, highlight all the diversity that exists between the states, which I have been able to test it. Colombia's pretty much the same. There is is a smaller country, but has so many perspectives, and I could not say that I am like the center Colombia. I'm just a sensitive guy that comes from the backgrounds of my family as well. That came from in a specific situation.

Yeah. Well, okay. But when you when you say that, when you say watching the show or reading the book made you feel so proud, like what? What are you describing? Like what are you connecting to in that story that is part of your your larger sense of being Colombian? I'm just curious because I, I love it so much and I but I've never actually talked to a Colombian person about it, so.

Yeah. Gives me a different vision about, the things that you don't get to see when you're being polarized. A lot of perspective of belonging, belonging to and a specific whole social circle. And so it's how you feel that the challenge, the struggles of the people or because of things that they're lacking to do. But when you understand the context from another point of view, and when you see that sometimes people with different interests, they're trying to influence this little bit, the political aspect could make people the switch between being A or B, and maybe they're not A nor B, maybe they are C.

And for me that was like, oh my goodness. So Colombia is so diverse. And unfortunately we have been trying to be like how to say contextual and to points of abuse that goes against so many perspectives. And this is what I connected with, with my point of view in Colombia and Antioquia, to say that I am from in the way that we grew up, the situation of the developing of that state was really particular, super conservative and probably more towards one point of view. But when you think about the other perspective, you start making judgments and say, oh, is because they are more socialist or is because they are more like this or the thing. And I was really annoyed at myself to only hold a perspective before that. And I had realized that this is not about just, yeah, this is bigger than that, that you make me feel proud.

And that is Colombia. Colombia's so diverse, not only from the flowers, not only from the fruit's many diversities and points of views as well.

The. Yeah. The show it was describing something that I think a lot of like Americans right now are feeling this polarization between like the right and the left. And Colombia had that but like severe it was a was a civil war.

It's a civil war.

Yeah.

Yeah, totally.

And,

Like the shows.

Us. Yeah. And and so it's just interesting how like those contexts even apply today that like, it's neither A nor B, like there's, there's no one or this or that. And so it's also.

The other thing I appreciate about that show and it's of course it's right there in the title. Is it, it's, it's about 100 years. It's not about what's happening right this second or right this now it's literally about generations on top of generations watching something kind of change and grow. And I don't know, maybe that is that my next question is like, what? What are you guys aiming at? Like, what's your vision? Are you in Colombia for the duration? Do you have children? Are you having is that part of your equation? Are you going to do coffee forever? Are you thinking about the next thing like what's what? What are you thinking about when you think about like next or the future?

So I think our biggest goal right now is to get ourselves more time. We are a slave to this company, but not in a bad way. We love it. We, currently don't have any children that are technically alive. The company is what we would call is like our child. Really? We, like, can't stop talking about it. We can't, you know, think about anything else than this. We enjoy it. We have passion for it. We want to see it grow. But, we don't want to do that forever. We would like a human child. That would be. That would be nice for. We would definitely be going for that. And we hope in the next couple of years we've developed this company to a point that we can have professional management and we can enjoy some of the other things that we really love to do.

There's like some, some sports, some activities we really like to do. His family is they're cattle ranchers. They have a ranch in the north of Colombia. And, you know, we want to do some projects around there. And, you know, maybe raise a couple of babies and just enjoy the things that we've built.

Well, what content.

To live in Denver for your content to live and stay in Colombia for the duration. That's your like. Yeah. Found a home.

Yeah. I, I didn't know what I'd be doing. When I met him, like, I, I couldn't have had any idea if I tried to make a plan. No way. Never. So, like, I'm happy here. And if life takes me somewhere else, life takes us somewhere else. I'd be happy to go with the flow. I do like living in Colombia, I like it. I think that, life here is it's very, achievable to have a comfortable life. I think the states right now, it's tough. It's really tough to have a comfortable life without, like, being a slave to your job. Yeah. Or having really good genes and being born into the right bloodline. But, since since we're going for hard work here, I believe that I could have a more comfortable, fulfilled life here.

And it's so easily accessible. It's like visit my friends and family in the States. Flying from Medan to New York is shorter than flying from Medan to LA. From New York to LA. Oh, wow. So, okay, I'm closer than I would be if I lived on, you know, the West Coast.

Yeah. Interesting. That's cool. I have this secret philosophy. It's not quite a secret, but, people ask me like, how do how do relationships work? And I say, usually it works because couples have three things going for them. They have a strong friendship, but you guys clearly do. They have an ability to manage conflict, which it sounds like you have sorted out and figured out for yourselves. And they have, shared mission vision values. And it sounds like you're kind of right there. I mean, it's like you got kind of gut check, check, check, which is really fun to talk to. Most of the people in my practice, one or 2 or 3 of those things are in distress, like they're broken. They're not working.

And so it's it's refreshing and it's encouraging to hear people who kind of are figuring out how to make it work, with different cultures, with different, you know, challenges with not even really kind of knowing what you're going to do. So we're just going to brainstorm, just going to brainstorm and figure it out. And, it's easier to brainstorm with your friend than with your competitor, for sure.

Oh, yeah. Yeah, definitely.

I feel we're really clear. And, and I complimenting what Jennifer was saying. Also the fact that we are seeing honest, the things that we feel joy for, it's easy for us to understand that traveling has to be part of our life. Visiting family in the States has to be part of her life. Go into the 4th of July and and the summer is going to be part of her life. And yes, we're going to be residing here. That's the plan for right now. But we're not ignoring that up there. There's all the things for us, and we want to make sure we keep acting. We keep active at that, not only from the family perspective, but also with a friends perspective. And once we make that this kid, those coffee people lives in our house.

Yeah. Or in this case, we get out of this house. Yes. It doesn't mean we're going to be done with coffee. It doesn't mean that we are going to, readjust her roles and probably go more into, like a strategy board of directors, maybe get into an on and off philanthropy, like deeper things that the industry has and we could be doing. But right now we're in building stage. So let's say focus. And that would be one of the goals. And also like the activities Denver was saying, we believe that the impact that happens around this December project is really beautiful. So we believe that it could be other projects, but like more like harvest. This is this is a hobby.

But like there is this dictation that it has to work. But there could be other things like that that we can do with less expectation and more passion and like that project of, like my family's, site, which that would be another story. We don't know where is it going to take us.

In a month or so? I'm going to London and Paris. We're looking for things to do. I don't imagine that's my best place to do. Side by side coffee taking. Sounds like I need to come to Colombia or South America of some sort. But if I do not make it to South America and I want to experience those coffee people, what's how do I do that? Do I or how do like how do people participate or support or enjoy your the fruit of your labor if they're listening right now and they're like, I want to I want to try.

Well, the number one thing would be to find someone who roasts our coffee. I don't know. We have we have some small roasters across the United States that would be able to have our coffees roasted by them, but then it's it's a little bit hard to go and, like, find all those people and find out what. Yeah, our product is a part of their blend. We do have roasted coffee that's available directly on our website. Okay. And the best way though, the absolute best way is if people are here in Medan to come actually into our office. We have a warehouse near the touristic center and, we don't like, openly advertise, like, hey, come on in and get some coffees, but we're always receiving, like, random knocks on the door of people.

Like, I saw you on Google Maps. Do you guys sell coffee and, like, come on in. And that's the best way that as a, on an individual level, people can actually, like, get involved is when they're physically here to come on by and like, see what we've got going on. Otherwise, yeah, random cities across the states and, through the Middle East and over to Canada.

Yeah. Back in, back in Qatar. You're trying to make your inroads over there too.

Yeah. In in the GCC, we have a lot of our coffees over there. Europe. Not so much. North America. Yes. And the Far East, not too much.

Outside the fact that, we have channels that help us going to be part of the world, like the web page, like the, the, our social media. We try to be really active and share and people from our perspective, what could they, learn from us? What can they learn from coffee? What can they learn from products and for consumers, for people who wants to maybe, build a direct, trade relationship with us? That's what we, try to focus on because it's like we have a part we're looking for who fills in the other side is willing to make this bridge happen.

Cool. Yeah, well, I hope I can help. I mean, it's been a delight talking to you. I'm really grateful for the opportunity to to hear a little bit more about your story and to expand my own horizons. And, I will keep you posted for sure, especially if I get anywhere near a cup of coffee that I decide that I'm going to enjoy. It would be like I'd have to. I'd have to overcome a massive mental block that I have built for 50 years. So, but we'll see if I can figure it out.

Maybe one day you're going to find yourself wandering into our warehouse, and we're going to give you that one cup.

Maybe, maybe. Thank you so much.