FILLING THE CUP & FUELING THE STORY BY STEPHEN CARTER “There's a story in that cup,” Braydon says, standing by <strong>the</strong> circular table imprinted with a tasting wheel. “It’s a story that starts with a fruit growing on a tree in Guatemala and ends with <strong>the</strong> brewing of a roasted bean. It’s <strong>the</strong> story of coffee.” Braydon Booher is <strong>the</strong> director of education at Deeper Roots Coffee in Cincinnati and this past fall he took twelve CHCA students in <strong>the</strong> business entrepreneurship class through a detailed coffee cupping explaining <strong>the</strong> subtleties between fragrance and aroma, and between flavor and aftertaste. "I taste fruit," one student said. “What kind of fruit—be specific, <strong>the</strong>re’s no wrong answer,” Braydon said, reaching for a marker to write <strong>the</strong> tasting note on <strong>the</strong> whiteboard. “Sort of a berry, I guess. Maybe a blackberry?” “Blackberry—that’s awesome,” Braydon said, as <strong>the</strong> students continued making <strong>the</strong>ir way around <strong>the</strong> table, sampling <strong>the</strong> variety of coffees. 8
When <strong>the</strong> group returned to school, pictures from <strong>the</strong> day were posted on social media—images of students leaning in to take in <strong>the</strong> aroma of bean-to-bar cacao from Maverick Chocolate, pictures of exquisite latte art from third-wave coffee shops, and stills from <strong>the</strong> cupping. After <strong>the</strong> typical likes and shares had died down, an interesting series of comments appeared under <strong>the</strong> post. “Jealous,” one comment read, posted by Jeremy Devin, class of 2016. This was followed by “Same” from Alana Lindenfeld, class of 2017. Candace Pfister, class of <strong>2018</strong>, replied and wrote, “I miss this and you, Megan Peck,” to which Megan Peck, class of <strong>2019</strong> replied, “Candace, I miss this and you too!” Despite <strong>the</strong> years separating <strong>the</strong>m, all four of <strong>the</strong>se former students are part of a growing community of both alumni and current students at <strong>the</strong> school—a community growing out of <strong>the</strong> burgeoning Business Entrepreneurship Program. The flagship business of this program is <strong>the</strong> Leaning Eagle Coffee Bar, established as a permanent, student-run business in 2015, and from Jeremy Devin to Megan Peck, each of <strong>the</strong>se students became full-fledged baristas through <strong>the</strong>ir work in taking coffee to <strong>the</strong> next level. And now that's part of <strong>the</strong>ir story. By her junior year, Candace was working at <strong>the</strong> coffee bar, and her senior year she was <strong>the</strong> overall manager of <strong>the</strong> bar. Through her leadership, <strong>the</strong> coffee bar grew exponentially and reached unforeseen heights in excellence. This excellence is best epitomized by Valentine’s Day. Unbeknownst to anyone, Candace designed handmade valentines complete with Bible verses and attached <strong>the</strong>m to <strong>the</strong> cups so that all customers on February 14th left The Leaning Eagle feeling loved. Candace is now a sophomore at <strong>the</strong> College of Charleston majoring in economics. Last year she participated in <strong>the</strong> ImpactX startup accelerator as part of <strong>the</strong>ir School of Business where she and her team fulfilled <strong>the</strong> stated goal of “creating a business that makes a profit while making a difference” by creating an app called “food fighter” which helps consumers lower <strong>the</strong>ir personal food waste by tracking grocery spending. She explained that <strong>the</strong> business entrepreneurship program at CHCA helped her understand an elevator pitch—something she “…is continuing to master.” In <strong>the</strong> end, her team won <strong>the</strong> $6,000 grand prize. And thus her story grows. In much <strong>the</strong> same way, so continues <strong>the</strong> story of <strong>the</strong> Business Entrepreneurship Program. Last year, CHCA’s business class hosted <strong>the</strong> Food Symposium, a large-scale event which brought over five hundred attendees, most with no CHCA affiliation, to <strong>the</strong> school for a two-day conference complete with national speakers, local authors, business owners, restaurateurs, farmers, and professional chefs. The event was made possible by <strong>the</strong> dedicated work of students who served coffee drinks, managed <strong>the</strong> food truck rally, acted as ushers, assisted with <strong>the</strong> exhibition hall set up, and even published articles about <strong>the</strong> proceedings. At CHCA, we love stories. We root for our athletic teams who defy all odds to raise <strong>the</strong> bar in our standard of excellence. We cheer for our students who earn academic accolades and go on to achieve prestigious awards in college. We stand in awe of our fine arts performers who display talents far beyond <strong>the</strong>ir age. We champion <strong>the</strong> teachers who go above and beyond <strong>the</strong> classroom every day, we celebrate <strong>the</strong> parents who sacrifice to give <strong>the</strong>ir children <strong>the</strong> best education, and we stand behind <strong>the</strong> administrators whose bold visions bring exciting changes to our campus. Although someone’s story begins before <strong>the</strong>y first step foot on CHCA’s campus, it is <strong>the</strong> nature of CHCA to dramatically shape that story. For Jeremy Devin, <strong>the</strong> Business Entrepreneurship Program played a vital role in his story: “It definitely helped me with communication skills and developing leadership. From group projects in college to leadership positions in extracurricular activities, I was more prepared.” In addition to discussions around food, <strong>the</strong> event focused on <strong>the</strong> need for sustainability. In order to fully embrace this idea, <strong>the</strong> Business Entrepreneurship Program began <strong>the</strong> task of minimizing <strong>the</strong> carbon footprint of The Leaning Eagle Coffee Bar. With this task came a series of challenges—even if compostable cups were used, would <strong>the</strong>y just end up at <strong>the</strong> landfill with everything else? If local products were found, how would we get <strong>the</strong>m to <strong>the</strong> school? In traditional entrepreneurship fashion, challenges led to solutions. In addition to compostable cups, GoZero Services was hired to take all <strong>the</strong> compost to a facility that would turn <strong>the</strong> cups and coffee grounds into nutrient dense soil. Local grass-fed milk from Hartzler Dairy is now delivered once a week in reusable glass bottles that <strong>the</strong> students carefully rinse after use. The excitement over <strong>the</strong>se changes has brought about a new standard of excellence at <strong>the</strong> coffee bar. Ask any student barista about <strong>the</strong> milk and prepare to hear an earful about low-temperature pasteurization and <strong>the</strong> benefits of non-homogenization. 9
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