Are You The Goat-In-The-Tree?

Introducing our newest coffee blend! "Goat-In-The-Tree Coffee"!

OK, OK, I am a bit late for April Fools' Day and I admit that we are not actually planning to produce something called Goat-In-The-Tree Coffee. Yet, in a way, ALL of our coffee is indeed like a Goat-In-The-Tree. Allow me to explain.

As our routines have all changed recently, mine has as well. I am taking longer walks and trying to get some additional (otherwise known as any) exercise during these days while working from home. Near our house we are fortunate to be surrounded by steep valleys full of running creeks, beautiful trails, huge live oaks and many smaller trees sprinkled across expanses of grassy rolling fields. Those smaller trees come into play later in the story. One of these deep valleys that I walk through has the "gypsy goat herd" (as my son calls them) currently in residence. These goats show up seasonally to "mow" the slopes on behalf of the district that administers the parks and trails. The steep hillsides that the goats "mow" are too dangerous for traditional power equipment therefore the goats turn out to be a very good solution indeed. Good for the environment, good for fire management and pretty affordable as I understand it.

Armando is the shepherd or "goatherd" in this case (I looked that one up). He is from Peru where I assume he was in a similar line of work and he is diligent in his duties. He moves the goats every few days across the steep slopes where the goats clip down the tall grass right to the dirt. In doing so he provides a great service and is paid for it. His family also milks the herd. He then sells the fresh goat milk to the local goat cheese makers here in the Bay area. This ensures, I suppose, that Whole Foods and Trader Joes are well stocked for charcuterie delights. Smart goatherder... a nice model....win, win all around... but I digress...

During my walks this past week with one of my sons we have been watching the expansive goat herd working the slopes. While there are goats of every size, shape and color, they are all busy doing the exact same thing. Each and every goat is head-down and clipping the grass with an enviable and focused efficiency. Recently, however I have noticed one particular goat. She stood out because she was in a tree. Yep, up in a tree. One goat in a tree and hundreds of other goats on the ground. To get the full picture, think of a low but wide tree with small green leaves in an open field of wavy blowing grass surrounded by hundreds of multi-color grazing goats. Now envision a single black goat standing high inside the canopy of that tree. There, you pretty much have it. Now I admit that at first, the sight came as a surprise and I quickly mentioned to my son, "look at that crazy goat-in-the-tree". We both laughed at the unlikely sight and kept walking. Yet over the next few days I soon realized that this goat-in-the-tree was not so crazy after all. She was enjoying the finest eating to be had by any goat in the valley. This enlightened goat was feeding on the small tasty leaves of the tree that were just out of reach of the other goats on the ground. She seemed to be enjoying the advantage too. Funny thing, there were plenty of other similar trees and many other goats but only this goat was the Goat-In-The-Tree.

Every day that we passed she has been consistently in that tree so she must be on to something. Today was no different, with many goats heads-down on the ground and this one black goat in the tree eating leaves. Keeping with the social spacing suggestions of late, I slowed to ask Armando (said goatherd) about that goat. He smiled and simply said, "Ella es mi cabra inteligente" or rather, "She is my smart goat". A man of few words, he then turned and went back to goatherding, as one does. So, no matter if that goat-in-the-tree is the smartest in the herd, she certainly is doing something unorthodox and different, leveraging that differentiation, finding value there and reaping the benefits. This is a powerful equation, I have come to know, if you can find it or create it.

Now, if those other goats on the ground could talk (and they DO seem to make a lot of noise so who knows what is going on out there) undoubtedly they would be rolling their goat eyes at that goat-in-the-tree, invariably telling the goat-in-the-tree she is a doing it wrong, explaining that this is not how proper goats behave, suggesting that being a goat-in-a-tree is a dead-end path, advising with "well-meaning" commentary that this activity could actually be detrimental, that this course of behavior could even put the entire herd at risk and generally encouraging her to put an end to this nonsense by "coming down out of that darn tree as soon as possible as no one needs a goat-in-the-tree in these parts". Or worse yet, maybe they would say nothing at all. Dismissing her as different and therefore not relevant and not part of the "herd".

I feel for Goat-In-The-Tree and I believe I know where she is coming from. I could not help but think about the beginning of El Parche Coffee where we found ourselves introducing what we humbly call Certified Origin Production. COP is a lot of things but one thing it is not, is "local roasting". Now don't get me wrong. We love local coffee roasters, we love all angles on coffee, "to each his own", "live and let live" and all such platitudes. We mean it too. Doing coffee how local roasters do coffee is "all good" for us, even if it is different from us. Just to say that we are set-up in a different manner being that we do all our growing, production and finishing work in Colombia and bring that fresh roasted product to our customers directly in the US. That, and more, is the foundation of Origin Coffee Production which we follow and advocate for. It is a process that dramatically and permanently shifts the entire value chain to origin. It was an idea that led to an experiment that is turning into a business and as a result, many good things can happen, the details of which are best left for another article. 

Back again to that Goat-In-The-Tree. As we began to tell our differentiated coffee story and offer the details of Origin Coffee Production, we found ourselves constantly explaining why we were not following the local roaster path. Note that the current coffee industry and local roasters in the US typically buy dry green coffee from origin or green coffee agents who import that unfinished green coffee. The domestic roaster then roasts, brands, and sells that roasted coffee as whole bean packaged coffee to be served most deliciously to consumers. Yet this process adds the vast majority of value (and margin/profits) domestically in the US for US companies as it is served and sold to US customers. In other words, the "hockey stick" of value traditionally leaves the flat low-value foot or blade of the stick sitting at origin and then drives up that handle of profit and margin only after arriving in the states. Nothing wrong with that as it is simply a natural process of profits and margins following value creation when and where it happens.

But what if one could change the "when and where" the value creation happened in coffee? Could we shift the entire value chain to origin and build value not only at the farms but also add value at origin across graphic artists, roasters, processing, packaging personnel, marketing leads, legal, logistics and so many other roles that traditionally origin has been locked out of? Therefore, could we leave exponentially more value there as a result? Could we allow origin to participate in the large percentage of the coffee value chain that they historically have had zero access to? In effect we were proposing essentially the opposite of the industry standard. Now, nothing is so simple and we must note that many local roasters big and small "give-back" in many ways to support origin with fantastic, well meaning programs. Yet still, what if there was not a need to "give back" because you "left it there" in the first place, so to speak. That is an oversimplification granted, and in no way judgemental to any players or corners of the coffee industry, but still you get the idea.. that we had an different idea... based on our particular control points and access in Colombia so we set out to test it.

At this point you might say we were pretty far up that tree with lots of explaining to do. Suddenly we were the new (and unknown) goat in the herd, entering an established mature business. That established herd was doing just fine, doing good things for good people. But there we were, nonetheless, the Goat-In-The-Tree working to explain why we were even in the tree in the first place and not down on the ground like every single other goat. Now it is a fair question, that one about "how does Origin Coffee Production and the resulting value chain disruption differ from the accepted traditional local roasting paradigm?" and we are always happy to talk about it. Just ask us :) Seriously though, we have been grateful for the opportunity to explain why we are up in that tree, why we look different and why different can work to earn a place in the herd - to make the herd stronger and not just bigger. We have found outstanding and understanding partners who have been willing to listen and support us, for which we are very grateful. You know who you are, as they say.

We also know that being up in our particular tree is not for everyone nor should it be. Our manner of coffee production and go-to-market relates to how our family "does" coffee in the mountains of Colombia and our situation therefore is unique. Many domestic coffee brands and local roasting companies are just not in that situation. So to some degree we were going to be in that tree one way or another because I simply can't and won't do it the "traditional way". To borrow from Mr. Simon Sinek, our "WHY" at El Parche Coffee always comes back to family as our center of gravity and supporting our family and their neighbors in coffee country to grow a side of the industry that they have never had access to. If I have learned one thing over the years, I have learned that family is a sustainable "why" for all the right reasons. It helps guide you to the right decisions that resonate with your own personal truths. It leads you to the right partners and steers you from some pitfalls. Origin Coffee Production then naturally emerges from this, for us to pursue and advocate for. We did not set out to change the world but we can start small and work from there. As a small company what choice do we have right? :) Maybe we will surprise ourselves in what we can accomplish. Still, there is no getting around the fact that this puts us "in the tree" with that goat, so to speak.

So we are near the end of our walk together in this article and "what is the point" you may be asking? El Parche Coffee will not likely be offering Goat-In-The-Tree coffee anytime soon so where is all this going? Simply that I saw an opportunity through my personal experience and my muse, the goat in the tree in the valley this week, to encourage others to believe that it is OK to be different. If you find yourself being the Goat-In-The-Tree, in your business or in your personal life, resist being called back down to the herd if you have faith that you are "up that tree" for the right reasons. Find the courage and surround yourself with the support to stay in the tree if you feel it is indeed where you belong. Further, if you find yourself as the Goat-In-The-Tree, and your tribe, your desired customers or your supporters are nowhere to be found, don't worry, you now have a vantage point from which to find them. You simply must trust that others are looking for the value that you offer and will align with what you believe in when they see it. So you might as well be that unique Goat-In-The-Tree when they pass by. The ones that should stop to learn more, will see you standing out of the herd and will stop to learn more. Be ready to share your story with confidence.

These days I am up my own tree but getting more comfortable with it. I have been up the creek too and trust me, the tree is better.

Thanks for taking this walk with me today. More importantly, let me know if you are currently, or ever have been, the Goat-In-The-Tree. I welcome you to share your personal experiences and thoughts here too!

Stay safe out there.

Patrick In-The-Tree Meyer