Ten Years of Brewing Against the Machine—Year 8 / 2023 / INTEGRATION

Let us reflect on the eighth year: the year of our Lord 2023 | INTEGRATION

A continuous theme throughout each year is intentional curiosity that ends up leading to a world of possibilities. When we approach life with an open mind and a genuine desire to learn and understand from others, we begin to see our experiences through a very different lens. This was fairly new for me, especially in a more holistic sense. As I incorporated the business into this new lens, I was beginning to see life from a whole new perspective.

Coming off of the Get Mad Crusade, I felt drawn to exploring the creative side of the business. As I followed this urge there was a feeling of awareness that I had never experienced before, and I was being handed opportunities that I certainly never would have expected. 

Travel and education became a major catalyst fueling my creative journey. I started the year traveling to Colombia and experiencing a side of the supply chain that exposed many dark truths of this industry. If you want to see some of that, check out some of the videos I did with my dear friend Karl, author of Cheap Coffee. It was an eye opening trip to say the least. One poignant memory was having the chance to share with farmers about our costs and margins. So often the downstream player shows up at the origin and expects full transparency about farmers and their costs/margins, seemingly it often flows one direction. With Karl translating, we thought it would be unique to share more about how we arrive at the numbers we do, discuss distribution in the west, and talk more about a better integration across the entire supply chain. More on this another time…

I then went off to London to hang out with some of my favorite people; Faris and the Qima Coffee team. If you aren’t familiar with our work regarding Yemen coffees, then just do yourself a favor and secure one of the six lots we’re launching in the coming months. Trust me, just do it.

After coming back from Old Blighty, the family and I did a homecoming trip to India for the first time since we left in 2015. It wasn't exactly a trip I was enthusiastic about, though in hindsight it was mostly due to my fears of facing my past to find healing. While we’re being really honest… Most of the trips in 2023 were dual purpose. While I was there for the business, I was also seeking. I was looking for something. Something that back then, I thought I would find in those places, only to learn pretty quickly that as much as I had positively experienced and learned on these trips, I would still have to come back and face myself if I really wanted to “find” what I was looking for.

Quick side story from India; the Mad Priest originally began out of the nod to Alexandre Dumas’s character Abbe Faria. What I didn’t know until after the brand began (and after we lived in India), is that Dumas based the Faria character off of a real life person by the same name. Abbe Faria, a Portuguese Goan Catholic monk, who was a pioneer in the field of hypnotism. Yes, the Abbe Faria I based my company entirely off of, was from India, the place I had lived and worked, and years later, I visited a statue commemorating his work in that region. Coincidence? Synchronicity? You can’t make this shit up.

I then continued to refine my work with Cup of Excellence by joining them for the COE Mexico crew in May. As always, a beautiful experience with so many amazing people. Whether it was the other participating judges, or the farmers we got to meet and engage with.

Since continued education is a very important piece of what we do at Mad Priest to ensure we are growing and adapting in ways that make the product and our work better. Lainey, one of my best friends and roaster at the time, and I, traveled to Roasters Guild up in the very literal tip top corner of the U.S. to Blaine, Washington to connect with other roasters and refine our craft. 

Needless to say, there was a lot of movement. On the one hand, I was attempting to pursue all the open doors that presented themselves. I was so hungry with this new found desire for curiosity and internal growth that I was chasing it everywhere I could. And I learned a lot. But I also was beginning to wake up to the reality that this level of movement was unsustainable. Would I actually be able to take all this learning and apply it to daily life? Would I be brave enough to face some of the continued challenges? Or would I continue running to the next justified location in the name of “learning something” only to later realize I was still hiding? 

I spent the last half of the year focused on staying put. What are we really trying to do? What is my ‘why’? I honestly didn’t even know how to begin to integrate some of these things into my daily life or into the business, but I knew it wouldn’t happen if I stayed on the run. 

It was during this time that we got asked by Walmart to move from DSD to full distribution into 500 stores across 5 states. We had only sold to 50 or so stores up to that point… and though I questioned the relational integrity regarding very differing values, I figured why not try to use the beast to play the game. It was a great learning experience that thankfully didn’t sink my business (though we got close recently, so I decided to stop sending them coffee; sorry to all those who were still buying coffee there - now you’ll need to just go online!).

We also took more risks. Later this year we yet again won a Yemen lot in the Best of Yemen auction. Lot #1 from Muhammad Zidan, closing at $444/lb, the highest paid for any lot in a COE auction at the time. Why? Unlike the first auction where I jokingly bid and accidentally won, this time I just wanted the coffee and set my mind to it. Honestly, I think we are still uncovering the importance of this auction and winning this coffee. Frankly, how do we continue to make Yemen an important part of the global conversation of war and genocide (and our involvement as a country)? Pay a lot for a coffee and talk about it. 

It was a full year. It was a good year. We explored a lot. We had a great team. We were beginning to finally understand our purpose. Our ‘why’. Our groove, if you will. 

But as anyone who is consistently working on themselves will tell you, experiences, no matter how positive or life changing they can be, will only get you so far on the journey of self discovery or healing… you must integrate. You must learn to sit. Be still. Feel. 

Similarly as with fungus, you may find yourself totally open to new things and a newfound desire for change, but the work that follows is arguably the most important and it will dictate whether that initial experience will solidify into something that propels you forward into new areas of growth and discovery. I would argue that I have only begun to graze the surface of integration.

Even today, I am constantly challenged with how to do this, and choose to do so with intention, despite the discomfort this challenge presents. 

+Michael, High Priest