The Coffee Club

I'm building a coffee company.

Not someday. Starting now. And it starts with something simple: a club.

Join, and every month I'll mail you a fresh bag of beans from a different coffee brand, plus a few goodies to go with it. Like a wine club, but coffee.

Keep it for yourself. Give it away as a gift. Whatever you want to do with it. You just sign up for the club and a fresh bag shows up every month, for as long as you're a member.

And I'll tell you about every one. Where it came from, who roasted it, the science of why it tastes the way it does. You get good coffee. I get to talk about coffee. Everybody wins.

I want to start a little movement. Something fun and fresh, where you get good coffee and I get to trade energy with people who love good coffee and want to try something new.

That's what a good coffee shop is, if you think about it. A room full of people who don't need much from each other, just a little company and a good cup. I came from that culture. This is how I get back to it.

Other people already do this, and that's good news. It means people want it.

• Trade matches you with coffee from dozens of independent roasters after a quiz.
• Atlas Coffee Club sends coffee from a different country each time.
• Bean Box ships coffee from Seattle-area roasters, one bag or a sampler.
• Roastful sends three coffees from different roasters every month.

Those are bigger operations, some with quizzes and algorithms. Mine is a guy who loves coffee, picking a bag he's excited about, telling you why, and showing his work on camera. Small, on purpose.

Here's the rule: no loans, and no debt, until it's absolutely necessary.

I'll use my platform to launch it, and I'll keep the business lean. The next big goal after the club is a truck and a warehouse, and I want to buy both in cash. So for now I'm focused on the finances, and I'll make content about building this thing as I go.

I'm going to review things, out loud, on the way to the farm.

First, coffee and books: books about coffee, and books that feel like a good cup on a beautiful day. Then the gear: grinders, kettles, machines. Then the projects. All the way to a coffee farm, with plants that make beans I can sell.

Starting from scratch, on camera.

The club isn't open yet. When it is, the newsletter hears first.

Let's get this party started.