Hello my name is Patti Lee,

I’m 24 years old, married and my husband and I have two awesome children. I also love awesome coffee. My first introduction to this wonderful black liquid was at the ripe age of 14 when my parents opened a coffee shop named Eureka Coffee and Tea. It was located in a tiny town called Lathrop, CA, so basically kind of in the middle of nowhere. We served it all though, you name it, coffee, tea, smoothies, muffins, bagels, sandwiches, and much, much more. This is what started my interest in coffee, and obviously, drinking large volumes of it. My first “drink” was a venti caramel macchiato with extra caramel. Let me tell you, I would drink that baby every single day! No, I am not proud of this decision, but at the time… man, it was the bomb.

As I grew and matured, I started making my own lattes at home using a home espresso machine called the baby Gaggia Classic. It pulled shots, it had a steam wand, and to me, that 53mm basket and plastic tipped steam wand was everything I needed to make a great cup of coffee.

Eventually, I would start attending a church in Pleasanton, CA that had a small coffee shop inside their building named Inklings Coffee and Tea. They served Ritual coffee (based out of San Francisco, Ca) and offered pour overs. I decided to join the volunteer coffee team to further my knowledge of the art of coffee. Before attending this church, I don’t think I even knew what a pour over was, but after a few short months, I was pouring three at a time. It was fascinating to learn a new method of brewing coffee. I never realized that so much flavor could be extracted from coffee beans. Realizing that coffee had so many beautiful flavor profiles depending on their origin had me instantly hooked.

I discover later that the church was planning to open a retail location for the coffee shop in town and the man running it all, Devan Blair, asked if I would be interested in joining on as a paid barista once they open the shop. Of course I said yes. I was very excited, and little did I know of the rabbit hole I was about to get myself into. This was the first step of many towards my love for the art of specialty coffee and coffee making.

During the process of raising money for the coffee shop to open, Devan, Hannah (later to become coffee shop manager) and I would frequently go on coffee crawls together. We talked about how the shops looked, how the flow of the bar worked, what kind of coffee they served, and how it tasted. Even though we drank a little too much coffee and never enough water, it was always an exciting and very jittery time.

Ritual coffee would later give us the amazing opportunity to have our team learn from their baristas about the art of making espresso drinks. At the time, I was terrible. My rosetta looked like a spinach leaf and my espresso left much to be desired, but by the end of the day I learned a lot about how delicate and meticulous the process can be and I embraced it.

When the coffee shop finally opened in 2015 Inklings Coffee and Tea was born and I was hired onto the team as a paid employee. Me and about 15 other individuals got to have a two week training course of the ins and outs of all things coffee. The amazing team at Stumptown extensively taught us about the tasting notes of coffee, the delicate process of espresso, and the fun of steaming milk and pouring lattes. It was one of the most exciting things I had experienced so far when it it came to learning about coffee and the process it took to get from crop to cup. During my time working there, not only did I discover how much more I could love coffee, but also how much I loved making and serving it as well.

Later on, I left Inklings to join the team at Story Coffee Company (based  in Livermore, CA.) They were a coffee cart that was one of the most popular secret nooks in town. The people of Livermore loved the appeal of a small cart that would pop up for farmers markets, weddings and business events. Story Coffee definitely put the pop in pop-up. To explain, they had farmer’s market space until they found a temporary location inside a performing arts theater called The Bankhead Theater, only to later move into a job sharing space called The Switch, and now finally opening their own brick and mortar location in the up and coming town of Livermore. Owner, Paul Halvorsen, taught me every day about the art of loving coffee and the art of loving the customers and community.

Having learned more about coffee and the community surrounding it, the handpicked world of coffee bean farmers, the long and meticulous roasting process and the amount of care that each barista has put into the drink that they serve you every day. I’ve been given a new appreciation for every cup of coffee. This new perspective has helped me to see the importance of every hand that goes into the art and craft of making coffee what it is, as well as given me a sense of community and belonging in every cup that I serve. This is my coffee journey, so far.

Now my goal is to dive deeper into the world of coffee with my husband and children and to share what i learn with the rest of the world or whoever will listen.