It’s Sunday in Tarapoto, and a sometimes cloudy, sometimes blue sky day with steamy temps and that jungle sultriness that is welcome when coming from Lima, but tortuous on a hot night when every sound is amplified and your skin is covered with a thin film of sweat. One can hope for rain, it feels imminent.

The coffee has shipped, it’s slowly working its way to Manzanillo, Mexico, where after a brief port call will head on to Los Angeles and finally to the warehouse there. At that point, we’ll have the goods, and the hard work of sending samples, meeting with roasters, and following up on web contacts and sales begins. Meanwhile, the waiting is the hardest part…

 

Waiting, Always Waiting

Life in rural Peru (and I imagine any emerging nation,) is often spent waiting. It can be a long line at the bank, waiting for the next colectivo (long distance taxi,) praying that the power will come back on, or waiting for the internet to reconnect, so that one can finish another whatever project that you’re working on.

As in any enterprise or activity that is regulated by government entities, the waiting can be at times frustrating. We had thought our ship had already sailed (literally,) but it turned out that we had to await one more final inspection at Peruvian Customs before we could do the final loading & missed the original booking.

I may have jinxed us by announcing a little prematurely, but I really didn’t know. Why? Because we were waiting for another email, or an update. (By the way, the coffee is truly on it’s way…)

So, now onto the next step, and we’re waiting. The excitement is building. There are so many details to attend to, and barring any complications at US Customs, the coffee will be arriving shortly. Woo hoo, we really did it…

© 2015 Ben Gangloff

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Real People, Really Good Coffee, Update August 2015 (with our 2015 Offerings)

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Musical Bonus: (The Waiting)