A picture speaks a thousand words.
Earlier this year we won a photo competition based around the theme of community (large image below).
On the outside Sacred Bean is a small local business, a business with a story mind you, but on the inside, at its heart, we are a community. This image captures who and what we are. It’s taken from one of our roast training days, pre Covid 19, when we used to have a community lunch and “eucharist” together afterwards, using coffee rather than wine, of course, because some of us are in recovery and Ribena just doesn’t cut it. This is how we drink our Brazil Bom Jesus. At this table, over the weeks and months we were blessed to be able to do this, drinking our sacred coffee in our sacred cup, we had the most profound and intimate experience with the most random blend of people. Doctors, reverends, engineers, intravenous addicts, people on day release from prison, people with serious mental health struggles, people still entrenched in alcohol addiction, and many people who’ve been sober for years. This table is an inclusive table, where everybody counts, where every body matters, where everybody contributes, and where everybody has a voice – where everybody is equal.
All sitting together.
We miss it dearly.
A picture speaks a thousand words.
So, we’re not allowed to meet like this to brew and sacramentalise our sacred brew anymore. But the show must go on. The cup must still be passed around. Sacred Bean community extends beyond the four walls of this physical table. Indeed, every customer who buys our coffee is more than just a stat or number to us, they’re part of our story, they’re invested in a narrative from farm to cup, farmer to themselves. And so they too become owners and guests and hosts and prophets in the story and of the new world we’re are trying to create and embody using coffee.
Our metaphorical “coffee table” is bigger and extends out beyond the table in this picture, out into the most wonderful and beautiful of places. A picture speaks a thousand words.
That’s certainly the case with this “cracking” photo, taken by Rachel, one of our contemplative customers. Here’s how Rachel drinks her Bom Jesus.
How might you drink yours?
This image sparked an idea in us to host a photo competition. In this competition we want to capture our collective human stories, centred around coffee, life, connection, and our human rituals. However, at the same time, we hope to generate a bit of interest in what we are doing here at Sacred Bean and to share our story wider – because we think we’ve got a great story to invite people into. Also, we’d be lying if we said we didn’t want to also increase sales, so we can build on what we are doing for people and our community.
How might you serve and drink yours? What’s your ritual?
With permission and consent from those who submit a photo we would also love to create a montage to put on our website and social media platforms. To show the world that this is our story.
x x x x x x x x COMPETITION x x x x x x x x
Here’s what the prize is and how to enter:
Win a 850g bag of Sacred Bean Coffee of your choice, a v60 Drip (and filters), a Sacred Bean Brew Guide, and a reusable bamboo mug.
Post on your Facebook Page an interesting, obscure, funny or random photo of you drinking Sacred Bean Coffee. Tag Sacred Bean FB page.
The winner will be the photo with the most likes. The more you get your friends to like it the better chance of winning. Introduce what you’re doing with a short text and then with this text underneath it:
“Here’s how I drink my NAME OF COFFEE, how might you drink yours?”
This competition will run over the festive period and the winner will be announced on the 18th January, just in time to for that well needed boost we a need in the darkest of our winter months.