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How to Set a Positive Intention (with a Good Cup of Coffee)

1/31/2023

When done properly, being purposeful can be powerful. But, it’s more than just a goal - it’s about being intentional in pursuing your desires.

“I orchestrate my mornings to the tune of coffee.” - Terri Guillemets

Everyone is busy living a hectic life. We’re living in stressful times, and we barely have enough time to grab a cup of coffee. But, what if we made time for the little things? It’s exactly what’s needed.

To simplify, an intention is something you plan to achieve, an aim or purpose. When you pay close attention to your attention-setting, incredible things can happen. What better way than to set a positive intention with a good cup of coffee?

What are the benefits of setting intentions?
“Intention setting” might sound too woo-woo or like something you’d only hear in a yoga class, but it’s a footing to anyone with goals in mind.

Anyone can set an intention. They can be larger than life (lifelong) or small (for even the next hour or so). Eitherway, you need to be actionable and hone into what you really desire.

How to Set a Positive Intention (with a Good Cup of Coffee)
Most people crave a morning routine - brushing teeth, swapping out the dishwasher and grabbing a cup of coffee. While there’s nothing wrong with routine, sometimes we tend to zap out the creative swirling and inspiration with mundane, daily tasks.

What’s wrong with your morning coffee routine?
Too much routine can send us on auto-pilot - to do something without focusing on it. That’s a problem! If you’re not savoring your morning coffee because you’re too busy firing off a text or stuffing your briefcase, you might not be living in the moment. Don’t wake up one moment realizing you didn’t slow down enough to enjoy your morning coffee.

What is happening here? You’re losing time - sweet and valuable time to enjoy moments. You’re missing out on opportunities to put magic into your day. What happens when you wake up in 10 years and you haven’t enjoyed an amazing local cup of coffee (or anything else)?

What can I do? Grab a coffee with an EXTRA shot of intention!
Slow down to separate the fine line between ritual and routine. The little line you must jump is between lack of attention and presence within a moment. Routine tends to be a sequence done without much thought. When fueled by a powerful intention, a routine can hold great personal meaning. An intention separates rituals from daily routines. Add an extra shot of intention to achieve a daily magical ritual.

Turn Morning Coffee into a Daily Ritual

#1: Be present in the moment:
As you anticipate your coffee, be fully present in the moment. Notice how you feel and where you are in that moment. You don’t need to pause what you’re doing, just notice what each moment holds.
At Hay Jay Coffee, we encourage you to watch the barista make your coffee or sit and wait without being on your phone. Turn on your favorite calming music if you’re waiting in our drive-thru. If you’re home making coffee, notice the smells in the air or listen for the timer to go off.

#2: Feel the temperature in your hands:
Instagram-worthy moment. Once you receive your coffee, hold it in between the palm of your hands to feel the warmth (or coolness if you’re a cold-brewer). Express a quick silent gratitude for this little luxury in life.

#3 Close your eyes and breathe deep:
Encourage yourself to slow down by isolating your senses when you close your eyes. It’s time to enjoy the aroma of this wonderful blessing. Relish in this experience every morning, especially when life may seem to be a little overwhelming.

#4. State the intention: It might feel cathartic, but vocalizing or writing down an intention will help hold you accountable. How do you want your day to go? Your intention can be a vibe you want to embody or a state of mind you want to feel.
Examples of Intentions:

Make it clear: Be conscious about where you place your attention - that’s the only way to think what you want into reality. If you know what you want, it’s easier to focus and put all your energy into it.
Create Magic in Positivity: Quite anything can be intentional. An intention gives our energy a focal point to redirect the energy that’s being pushed and pulled in either direction - positive or negative. It’s best to set a positive intention from the heart.

Examples of Positive Intentions Vs Negative Vibes:

Keep it simple: Goals rooted deep aren’t always feasible or realistically attainable. Keep your intentions simple so that you get more accustomed to setting daily intentions. From days to weeks to months, your intentions will build your future. With time, you’ll achieve them.

Shift limiting beliefs: What is holding you back? When you believe something true it will have a negative impact on your goals (known as limiting beliefs). Think: If you’re afraid of deep water, you’re not going kayaking. Meaning, any doubt that you might, will block you from reaching your goals. Reframe your mindset to match what’s in your heart’s desire. Soon, you’ll watch your intentions blossom.

#5: Sip, sip, sip: Got your intentions picked out? Take your first sip when you’re good and ready for it with it in mind. Your coffee is a magic elixir that gives you power to bring any intention into fruition. They don’t call it go-go juice for nothing!

#6: Visualize your day: As you sip on your coffee, continue to think about the intention that you’ve set and visualize your ideal day.

What do you want your day to look like? Continue to visualize it! Almost like role playing, show up for yourself as the best version of yourself. Align yourself with your values. Treat others how you want to be treated.

How will you greet the banker? Like a rockstar.
How will your big meeting go? Excellent. You’re a boss ass bitch.

We encourage you to daydream. Allow this life to be beautiful! And allow the magical bean juice to set you up for success today, and every day.

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Why is Coffee So Expensive (...but worth it)

1/2/2023

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Coffee isn't cheap. Living isn't affordable, either. Millions of businesses feel the heat of rising costs and overheads, including coffee pricing. But why is coffee so expensive? The most significant factor affecting the price of a cup of joe is how long the journey from the farm to your cup truly is.

During the process, here are 5 major reasons that affect the prices of your cup of coffee:

#1 Labor-Intensive Product
Firstly, coffee is a labor-intensive product. It's no easy feat to brew up your tall mocha latte. From farm to cup, it takes nearly five years to grow, then comes the harvest, shipping, roasting, and packaging. Then, of course, there are costs associated with each of these steps (not to mention the building rent, staff, and insurance bills)—organic or premium quality costs even more, like Free Trade.

Coffee farms are massive and require a lot of employees to help out. Once harvest time comes to season, it's all hands on tech to yield by one of these two methods:

Strip harvesting, which involves stripping all the (ripe or not) coffee beans off a branch. This is a fast and cheap method that results in lower-quality coffee.
Selective picking means workers will gather only ripe beans by hand or equipment. This ensures higher quality beans, but it takes time and can be costly.

After the harvest season, beans must be processed and packed. Then, they're off for roasting in various locations. But the work is still not done. Coffee roasters will sell their beans, so they must hire salespeople and marketing gurus to sign supply contracts and all other staff involved in the process.

The supply chain for coffee lovers is global. It takes thousands, if not millions, of connections to produce a premium coffee. With the costs of labor rising, the cost of wholesale coffee is inevitably soaring as well. The slightest increase in wholesale coffee can cause massive inflation in all coffee products. However, wholesale prices can't go any lower, or the farmers will not be able to afford to farm it any longer. So, hopefully, the cost of coffee will not increase anytime soon.

#2 Climate Change & the Environment
We love our coffee shop in Omaha, but climate change is real. It’s something we all need to talk about. In fact, climate change is a hot topic anywhere, and there's been a lot of debate about the causes and effects of the weather. But one thing is sure - the changing climate is sending hoisting up coffee costs.

Coffee growers are left devastated by the adverse effects of climate change. Multi-generational farmers have shut their doors as they scramble to find new places to grow coffee plants.

Coffee plants require specific climate conditions to grow and ripen fruit. This delicate process requires the right environment. Some might think, "higher temperatures make farming easier." But, it's actually the opposite. High temps invite pests and diseases to survive in areas where they normally would not survive. Coffee farmers are spending boatloads more to protect their crops. Additionally, some regions are getting too hot, and plants have begun to die simply from the heat.

Haiti is experiencing one of the words environmental factors impacted by ecological change. This small, once coffee-dominating country has suffered many climate-based events that devastated farms, like earthquakes and high water levels.

#3 Coffee Trees Grow Slowly
You wouldn't take your coffee off the pot before it's done brewing, right? Coffee producers can't rush their plants to grow, either. For a newly-planted coffee tree to produce fruit, it can take up to 3-5 years to grow, depending on the variety of coffee.

Unfortunately, as stated above, due to climate change, there are occurrences that happen when a disease or natural disaster wipes out a farmer's crop. So, even when they plant new ones, it takes years to recover from their loss. Simply put, replacing destroyed coffee trees and plants leads to rising coffee costs.

#4 Quality Change
America, your standards have changed! A "good cup of coffee" is incomparable to the quality that was once acceptable back in the day.

As coffee becomes increasingly popular, the demand for quality coffee rises significantly as an activity. With the increase in quality and flavor, the cost of coffee inevitably rose from these shifts.

When coffee was more of "sludge in a cup," it was farmed for quantity over quality. As Americans demanded better-tasting coffee, farmers were forced to change how and where they planted beans. As a result, some of the best coffee in the world is grown in particular areas, creating premium coffee beans that can't be reduced unless increased there.

#5 Supply and Demand
When a new coffee trend hits #CoffeeTok, the demand will seemingly increase overnight. For example, Proffer, aka protein coffee, went viral on TikTok forcing coffee shops to offer and promote protein coffee on their menu for customers who don't want to eat a full meal first thing in the morning. Trends like this create waves in the supply and demand chain.

As long as the supply meets the demand, the economic effects of coffee go unnoticed. However, most trends that involve coffee shops result in overpriced coffee and wondering why it's so expensive.

It's more expensive to purchase a premium quality coffee than the average bag because it's highly sought-after. Of course, many factors go into premium-grade coffee besides supply and demand, but it also impacts the lux coffee brands.

Conclusion
To answer your question, why is coffee so expensive? People want their coffee, and they want it to be high quality. To achieve better-tasting coffee, farmers must buy a product and harvest it in particular spots (some of which are impacted by environmental changes). Between climate change and labor, the price of coffee will continue to soar. While it might be hard to justify spending $5-7 on a latte, it's essential to understand that there are so many reasons why coffee is so expensive.

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