EP 85: All About Coffee with Kirby Crenwelge | Part 2

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Hey, you are about to hear part two of a two part conversation. If you haven't yet, be sure to listen to part one, which aired last week.

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 thank you so much for giving me earspace today. I hope you enjoyed listening to part one of my conversation with Kirby from last week. We really had so much fun recording. I mean, I don't know another way to say this just than other than saying Kirby is so freaking cool. We got to hang out for an hour or so before we started recording, and we just talked and talked and talked and talked, and it was so much fun. Actually, after we recorded, she showed me how the whole coffee roasting process works, and I actually got to roast about two and a half pounds of my own beans, which obviously were the Think Happy roast, and I got to take them home. And it was so cool, like, getting to see the beans go from, I mean, infancy, not infancy, from, like, pre roast all the way to being fully roasted. And now, literally, they are the beans that I am drinking right at this exact moment in time of me recording this intro. If you have not tried them yet, believe me when I say you absolutely should. I'm totally hooked.

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I mean, if the fact that I brought home two and a half pounds of beans with me doesn't say anything, then I don't know what does. Okay? So enough with that. But before we roll with part two of my conversation with Kirby, let me first tell you about the newest addition to Think Happy Co's product suite, and that is the Becoming Your Best You course. Okay, so you've probably heard about the Becoming Your Best You group program, but if you haven't felt quite ready for it, if you don't really know if group coaching is your thing, then the ByBy course is right up your alley. So this course is for you. If you want to learn how to identify time you waste and identify time that you use unproductively, it's for you. If you want to learn time management practices, you can start incorporating immediately. If you want to learn how to manage and prioritize your tasks, if you want to learn how to identify tasks that you can delegate, and most importantly, I say most importantly because this is one of my favorite parts of the program. It is for you if you want to learn how to build a routine that is sustainable and fosters being your best you.

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If all of that sounds intriguing to you, if all of that sounds like things that you want to learn, then the ByBy course is calling your name. Inside the course, you're going to learn all about tackling, time management, task prioritization, delegating, building sustainable routines, and just so much more. And the best part of the ByBy course is you get all of the same exact training materials as the ByBy group program, just minus the coaching. Okay, so you get all of the same training materials, minus the coaching for less than $200. That's a really great deal. I'm going to say it again. You get all of the same exact training materials. It's all online, it's all self paced. You get lifetime access to it for less than $200. So if you want more information, send me a DM on Instagram that says BYCourse. I'll answer all your questions. I can send you a behind the scenes look at what it really looks like inside the course and just help.

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You get all set up with it.

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So, yeah, By Course is what you should send me on Instagram if you have questions and if I can help you get set up. And without further ado, here is part two. That rhymes. Maybe I should start saying that more. I think it's kind of cute. Okay, for real this time. Now, without further ado, here is part two.

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How do you guys pick which type of beans you're going to roast and what temperature? Actually, no, I'm not going to ask that. Second part.

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How do you pick what types of beans you're going to roast?

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So right now it comes down to what this coffee shop owner wants. And we kind of know she has a blend that she really likes of Brazil and Kenya together. And so we try to keep her stocked with that. But initially, whenever we were ordering coffee, there's tons and tons and tons of types of beans that you can order. Right? Now, we only have, I think it's eight total types of beans, and one of those is a decaf.

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Okay.

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The seven others are from different countries. Whether it's South America, Central America, or Africa is where we currently have beans from. That honestly came down to either this coffee shop owner told us, hey, I recommend you get these beans. She has been in the coffee business for lots of lots of years and has roasted in the past. Right. Or we have had close family and friends say, hey, I absolutely love beans from Guatemala, Colombia. Those are the two that I think of whenever I know of the requested beans.

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Right.

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And so we ended up getting those.

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Yeah. So one thing I realized when we were first working together on our partnership, when I was getting to taste all of the different beans from the different I almost said companies from the different countries is each country does really have kind of like a signature flavor. Let's say someone's listening, watching this right now, and they don't really know what their palate likes when it comes to coffee. Do you have any suggestions or tips or, like, how can we educate ourselves on what we really like when we are drinking coffee?

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So I'm not super good with that. I will say that I like black coffee from Africa by itself. If I'm going to mix any kind of creamer with it, that's going to go better with the South America ones.

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Okay.

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And from what I understand, it sounds like the Central America and South America places are the ones that do the water blasting to get the fruit off of it because they have an abundance of water there. Whereas in Africa, where there's not an abundance of water, that's where they're putting the outer sun. Yes.

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Okay.

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So it's going to give it those different flavors. It's going to have, I don't know, more citrusy or acidy kind of flavors. More so in those Africans from Africa, that makes sense. Versus, I don't know, a lot of times I think of, like, chocolatey flavors whenever South America and so I'm not the best person to ask for that, but I tend to lean towards the light blends coffee okay. Just because I like the I don't know, the smoothness to it, I guess.

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Yeah.

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And my favorite is probably Ethiopia light Roast.

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Yeah. So as I'm sitting here listening to you thinking about the question I asked, I'm remembering what I was doing when I was tasting all the different beans, and I just had, like, a little notepad on the kitchen counter where I would write down where the beans were from. And just, like, the first couple of words that came to I keep getting tongue tied. I almost said the first couple of words that came to my mouth. The words did come to my mouth, but the first couple of words that came to my head about the flavor of what I was drinking and, like, richness tang smooth, even though I guess that's more of, like, a feeling, not a taste. So what I was doing was trying to pick up on different flavors from different countries. I think I'm kind of talking in circles here right now, but when I think about myself at the grocery store now, looking at the huge aisle with a plethora of options of coffee now, since I've done that, I know, like, oh, okay, the beans from Africa, or I remember that they tasted more you said citrusy. I think I was calling it, like, tangy in my notes.

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I know those are tangier than the ones over here from Mexico or something like that. So it is interesting. It's really interesting.

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Well, and since starting this, I have not bought coffee from the store. Why would you? But I was also somebody that I was perfectly happy with a keurig. And I like that because you can find Keurigs anywhere. It has turned me into kind of like a little Miss Pris. And now I don't like the Keurig now that I have a ChemX in my office now because I love that I can't even drink the keurig. And it's just so I've turned into a princess.

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But that's okay.

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It's okay.

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I mean, you have a roasting business. I think that's acceptable.

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So I wouldn't even have advice for somebody going to a grocery store because I look at it and like, oh, well, those beans are probably a month old or older. They're not going to be good.

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Yeah.

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And should definitely be buying Kirbybeans.

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Right. I'm just like.

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So now that you've been in the industry for a hot second, what are some misconceptions that just, like, your everyday consumer might have about coffee?

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Yeah. So something that was really interesting to me is I always thought, well, why wouldn't I not get ground coffee? Like, it's already ready to go.

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Luke and I have talked about this.

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It makes it stale. I can taste a difference occasionally. For instance, for my ChemX at work, I have to grind that before I go go into work because I don't have a grinder at work. And so there's been a few days where I'll grind it, and then it's like, oh, well, I have a lot of extra. I'll just use that later on this week.

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Yeah.

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But even those few days, I can taste a difference of like, oh, it doesn't taste as much.

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Wow.

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Or like, if I go to my parents house, my mom has her Folgers Colombian coffee. And so I don't know if my problem is that it's, like, old coffee or it's ground coffee.

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Yeah.

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I don't totally know what the problem is. All I know is, mom, you can do so much better.

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Yeah.

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So this is funny. We recently lost my grandmother. That's not the funny part. But the funny part is she insisted that her instant coffee was better than freshly ground, freshly poured, over coffee. And to this day, I'm still just like, why?

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Why did you think that?

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I will never understand. That is crap coffee.

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My grandpa is 90, and he told me he bought some Kirbeans, and I ground it up for him because he doesn't have a grinder. And he said it's too weak. I had to put two scoops of folgers in with it. No, actually, our coffee is stronger than please don't do that.

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Please don't put folgers in our coffee.

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And so maybe it's like an age thing.

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There you go.

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We're millennials. And so maybe it's true that we're just I don't know, we feel like we need to be hipsters and have the cool coffee.

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I don't know. That's true.

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I never thought that I needed the cool coffee until six months ago.

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Yeah, but now you don't think you need it. You know you need it. It is a way of life.

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Yes.

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Okay. One other misconception, and this is something that was very lovely. We learned this very recently. So cold brew coffee does not mean that it is brewed cold. Like, you don't get your whole cold brew pitcher ready and then stick it in the fridge.

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Yeah.

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You leave it on the counter, and it does its thing there. So it's room temp brew coffee. It's just colder than a normal brew coffee. And that significantly changed the taste of our cold brew for the better.

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Wow.

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That we now do it on the counter, and then once it's done brewing and you take the grounds out, then you can stick it, then you put.

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It in the fridge at that point. That's so interesting. I definitely did not know that. Okay, this is like a two back to back question. What's your favorite cup of coffee to drink at home? And then if you're at a coffee shop, what do you order? I'll tell you mine if you tell me yours.

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How about you tell me your favorite home one, and then I'll go home. And then I go store. And you go store.

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Perfect. Okay, so my favorite home one I do have to give a shout out to Think Happy's roast Kirby's Coffee, which is a dark roast from Mexico. I love the very first sip of a cup of those beans with my vanilla unsweetened almond milk.

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Oh, interesting.

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Yes.

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Okay.

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I love it. And if I'm not drinking that, then I'm drinking a French roast with the same almond milk.

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Yeah.

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So that's what I'm drinking at home. As I'm sitting here, I'm drinking the most delicious cup of Kirbeans coffee. Kirby's is a wife and husband duo who turned their passion for coffee into a business. They are so sweet, and it makes me so happy seeing their business thrive. Now, let me tell you why Kirby's is thriving. To put it simply, it's because their coffee is amazing. Think Happy has had the honor of getting to pick a Think Happy signature roast. These dark roasted Mexico beans smell like a good day waiting to happen. When brewed, they create the smoothest cup of coffee you have ever tasted, and it is even still good after being reheated. If you're like me and frequently get pulled away from your coffee, you know that's important. And I have a special treat for you. Think Happy listeners receive 15% off their order of Kirbeans head to Kirbeans Coffee. Kirbeans is spelled Kirbeans and use code Think Happy at checkout for your 15% discount. Again, that's Kirbeans coffee code Think Happy for 15% off.

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So my snob answer here is whichever cup of coffee Luke brings me. Yes.

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That's a good answer, though.

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Yeah, but typically so I started mixing Ethiopia and mexico light blends.

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Okay.

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And just doing a half and half. And so another thing, as we are roasting coffee, if we're making a blend of coffee, for instance, this coffee shop has a Brazil and Kenya blend.

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Okay.

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We roast all the Kenya, get that set aside, and then we roast all the Brazil, and then we mix it.

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Okay. and then you grind the beans together?

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Yes.

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Okay.

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I thought that we could just throw it all in the pot and roast it all together.

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Okay.

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We've never tried that. I don't know if it would still taste the same. I'm not totally sure. We're still fairly new at this, but we were basically told, no, don't do that. Just roast it. Singly.

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Yeah.

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And so light roast Mexico and Ethiopia, half and half ground together.

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It's just so black.

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Yes.

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I just said yum. I don't drink coffee black, but my sister does. But it sounds good.

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I don't drink coffee with creamer.

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There you go.

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Okay.

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And then at a store, at a coffee shop, depending on the season, is either iced or hot. But vanilla latte, I just feel like you can't go wrong. And I don't want cinnamon on top because the cinnamon doesn't blend in well with it.

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No, it's on grainy, right?

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It makes you cough.

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Yeah. Okay.

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So at a coffee shop, this changes sometimes. But right now, what I'm ordering, either hot or ice, is a lavender latte.

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Interesting.

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Yeah.

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So it's just lavender infused honey as the sweetener. I love it with almond milk, but I also love it with just, like, whole milk or something like that.

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So good.

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It's so good. Please try one.

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Okay.

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 They’re really good.

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So this coffee shop that we're out right now, she actually mixes in mushrooms. So, like, lion's main mushrooms, like ashwagandha. I think that's a root. So she's very into health and wellness, and so it's been really cool to try that. And some of that helps with inflammation. Some of that will help with your immune system. And so it's been cool to be able to try that out, too. And it's stuff that she can mix into the coffee that you don't even taste it, but it's still providing that. And so that's been interesting, too, to realize, oh, you can mix in other stuff. I don't know that you mix in your protein powder with your coffee.

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Some people mix in collagen with their coffee.

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I've heard that.

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Yeah.

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I don't know what collagen does for you. I know that it's good for you.

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But we have an episode on the Think Happy podcast about collagen a very long time ago. A very long time ago.

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Okay.

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Maybe if I remember, I'll link it in the show notes.

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Yeah.

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If you hear this while you're editing, remind me to link it in the show notes.

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Okay.

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Have I not asked a question about coffee that I should have asked? Loaded question. It's fine. If you say no.

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Okay.

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Not necessarily about coffee, but I think where I see this going.

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Yeah.

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So for Luke and I, I guess I didn't totally answer the full question of how we got to where we are now, something that we have always just dreamed about doing. Luke is very into the production stuff, so he's the one who I don't know if they know this does a lot of your production stuff for your podcast, whether that Luke is the brains.

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Behind the Think Happy podcast. I'm pretty sure I've talked to Luke on the podcast, and it's been aired, like, hey, Luke, shout out to Luke. If not, here we are. Shout out to Luke. He's blushing.

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Luke does all the production stuff, whether that's sound he's really into lights, video, that kind of stuff. He has worked at a recording studio before and producing music, audiobooks, all different kind of stuff. And so he really enjoys that type of thing. I enjoy people. And so we just kind of started thinking about, okay, what is something how can we mix this together? And we just kind of started dreaming one day of we would love to have some collective space that includes a recording studio, whether that's for a band or for somebody to come do their podcast or an audiobook, something like that. That also maybe includes a photography studio because he's also very interested in that. I like to do things more with my hands, whether that's I do have a pottery wheel. I have used it.

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That is so cool.

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One time, though, because it's really messy, and we're in an apartment, and it's like I have dreams and aspirations of we get a house. I'm going to be doing my pottery thing all the time. And so I like doing more of that and interacting with people. And so we just kind of talked about, what if one day we open a coffee shop that has all of these different spaces?

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That is so cool because it still.

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Has that aspect of, hey, after you're done writing and mixing music, what if you go get coffee and you sit down and you talk it out with your friends or just, like, having this big collective space? And so that's where I would hope that this could one day lead to. Is that kind of the starting value? But right now, I don't see it becoming a full time thing for us in what we currently do, but it's a fun thing to do on the side and get to learn together with one another.

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That is so exciting. I want that to become a reality.

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Oh, me too.

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I am 100% behind that idea.

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Okay, thanks.

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Yes.

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We'll call you up.

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Yes.

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You can be the first podcast that gets done in there. Absolutely.

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Count me in. I will sign on the dotted line. Just sign away.

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Okay.

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My final question that I ask every guest on the Think Happy podcast. Do you have a life or happiness hack that you use in your own life that the listeners might want to adopt in their own lives?

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Okay. Can I give you a suggestion? And then I guess my hack?

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Absolutely.

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Okay. So this whole thing started just because I was in such a pit, I feel like. And so something that really helped for me was I am somebody that, having worked in churches and just like my faith background, that was something that was really interesting to me, that it didn't feel like I could rely. On that. No matter how much time I spent in prayer or in the word, it just didn't feel like it was making that much of a difference. But I picked up this book called Get Out of Your Head by Jenny Allen, and she walks through, she's still talking about faith, but she's talking about the neurological side of things.

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Okay.

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And to me, it made me not feel broken. It made me feel like there is a problem. You can still get over this. And it makes sense that you're going through this. And so it was something that finally spoke to me like, it's okay. It makes sense that you're going through this, but you have to be proactive in capturing your thoughts and turning them. And so if you're struggling in a place like that, I just think that that book Get Out of Your Head by Jenny Allen, which is such a big, life changing, pivotal thing for me. I had a journal, and if it stuck out to me, I wrote it down in the journal. That's amazing because I knew I didn't want to read the book again, but I would read my 30 pages of notes.

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Yeah.

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So that would be something that I would encourage somebody if they're just kind of in that pit and just don't know what that feels great.

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Get out of your head.

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Yes.

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Okay.

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I would hope that it works for somebody. If it doesn't fix all your problems, please don't come at me. It's a great resource.

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Yeah, for sure.

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And for a toolkit.

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Yes.

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And then I think don't let impostor syndrome keep you from trying something.

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Heck, yeah.

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Jump into it. I know that to some degree it's kind of expensive and weighty to do stuff, but if you look around, I know there's a place down in Houston that does coffee roasting classes. And so just look around for those classes. Look around for those YouTube videos and just kind of tiptoe in, see if you're interested. And then if you can jump into it. You're never going to know if you're going to succeed at something if you.

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Don'T at least try something kind of like piggybacking on what you just said. There something that I find myself constantly reminding me of is not to compare yourself to someone's current with your current, because that is not an apples to apples comparison. Like you don't know everything that led up to what their current is right now. They could be on third base and you just are still at the batting. Diamond bat. Yes. Whatever. Not even to first base.

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Yes. You're coming out of the dugout. There you go.

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You're still sitting on the dugout like you're about to put your gloves on and you can't find your bat. That's me, probably. I can't find my bat. That's so great.

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I'm a huge journaler person, and so as I go through things, I like to go back and see this is where I was a year ago. I don't even remember that problem anymore because I'm so far beyond that. It's just so encouraging to me of like even whenever you're in the pits or you're just in over your head to know how that could be used later on in your life as you get.

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Totally agree. I could not agree more. I love it here for journaling always. Well, thank you for being here.

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Thank you.

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Where can the listeners connect with you? Where can we find you?

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Well, we are on Instagram at Kirbeans Coffe, so K-I-R-B-E-A-N-S. So it's like Kirb like you're going to spell Kirby but without the Y. And then instead of the Y, you're going to finish out beans. Yes. Coffee. So just Kirbeans Coffee and then email is Kirby@Kirbeanscoffee.com.

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I love it. And your website.

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Yeah, Kirbeans coffee, which is very interesting that it's not coffee.

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Yes. And for the Think Happy listeners, you guys get 15% off.

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Yes.

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Any order on Kirbeans, use code Think Happy. Very easy to remember. And try out the Think Happy signature roast. I love it. I picked it. So try it. It's really good. And try out other things, too. They're all so good. They're so good.

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Your think happy roast. Is that dark roast? Mexico. It is the prettiest coffee. It comes out the same color. It's just like this rich chocolatey color. And it's a calming thing to look at whenever we pull your beans off.

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Yes.

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Score for the think happy roast. I think that's what it's called.

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Yes.

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Awesome. Well, you guys, thank you for tuning in to the first live video in person episode of the Think Happy podcast. And I will be back in your ears, back in your eyes next week with another episode. I'm already excited for it. Thank you for joining me for this week's episode of the Think Happy podcast. I would so appreciate it if you could leave a rating and review. And if you just can't get enough, find me on Instagram at Think Happy Co. That's co and online@thinkhappyco.com. I'll be back in your ears next week with another episode of the Think Happy podcast.