DEAR COMPETING COFFEESHOP,
We see you over there, slinging lattés with your newly bought portafilter that glints in the sunlight. We see you using that certain tamp that all the baristas are saying is the next best thing since boba. We see you drawing in all sorts of coffee-lovers—the flannel-shirt-wearers, the frappé-slurping teenagers, the families who are on the hunt for chocolate milk. Gosh, we’re impressed.
Our new volunteers may still be learning about the coffee world and, yes, not all of us can do latté art and, yes, it does get so busy that the line goes out the door, making you stand under the Florida sun (in which case, we are deeply sorry for that but assure you it will be worth it).
However, Competing Coffeeshop, we want you to know: we have no sour grapes towards you. We love your coffee. (In fact, some of us drink it.)
We’re excited to have another set of baristas who value a good shot of espresso as much as we do. We love talking coffee with you. We love competing alongside you in the latté art throwdown.
Okay. There is another reason we don’t harbor any hard feelings towards you. It’s because we’re different. Like an apple and an orange.
Look at you making moola and taking care of business—that’s great! You’re a coffeeshop. That’s how coffeeshops work.
But for us, we’re more than a coffee shop. We’re a mission. Our love for what we do doesn’t stop at a good cup of Colombian. Neither does it stop at our mega-muffins (even though, yes, they are delicious).
Our heart is to fight human trafficking. That is our goal.
What can I say? We’re different.
So please come by and try our coffee. It’s really good. Is it better than yours? Maybe. Maybe not. But the profits from every item go to ending modern-day slavery once and for all. And that’s pretty awesome if you ask us.
So dear “Competing” Coffeeshop, we just want to say: we love you and we’re excited for you. Welcome to the neighborhood.
Love, YOUR PALATE FAMILY
Tagged: barista, BaristaLife, humantrafficking, trafficking, SexTrafficking, Missions, LoveMissions, coffeeshop, coffeenearme, Palate, PalateCoffeeBrewery
