Just before our grand opening, we had the privilege of hosting a small group from nearby Olin College of Engineering for a special event. But these weren't just your ordinary exceptionally bright and curious engineering students, they were also the current leadership team for ACRONYM, a pop-up campus coffee cart that has become a long-standing tradition at Olin. And they weren't just here for a tour; they came to create something new.
The idea for this collaboration was first proposed to us by Laura Dill, Director of Annual Giving at Olin College, earlier in the summer. Laura had heard about Wavelength and our approach and saw an immediate alignment with Olin's values and those of it's student-run coffee cart. Her plan was for the students to create a custom blend of Wavelength's coffees to be used for cortados, pour-overs and the like at ACRONYM and, when packaged in our steel cans, could also serve as special gifts to the school's donors. Needless to say we were honored and immediately started working with Laura to put her plan into action!
Once the group arrived and got situated, we first gave them an introduction to our company and an overview of our 3-prong approach to sustainability (roasting, sourcing & packaging) followed by a tour and a demo of our Air Motion Roaster. As engineering students they were especially interested in all of the technology, science and data collection that goes into to creating the perfect roast. I may have geeked out a little.
But the highlight of the visit was the coffee tasting and blending. This was clearly not their first coffee rodeo. Like total pros they quickly set to work evaluating each origin's flavor profile, experimenting with various combinations while jotting down copious tasting notes until, after about an hour, deciding on a versatile, well-balanced blend.
We have no doubt that their bespoke creation, dubbed "Olin Original '06" in a nod to the class of '06, will be a hit both on and off campus!
What a thrill to be involved with this incredible group of young adults and the visionary faculty who made this happen. And, honestly, I could think of no better introduction to our newly adopted career path. Deanna and I like to say that coffee's unique ability to connect people was one of the big reasons we started this company. Connecting with Olin and ACRONYM felt like a good omen, and hopefully a sign of great things to come.
Cheers!
-Jim
For more about this collaboration and perspectives from the students, read this story from Olin College.
Interested in a cupping, tasting or similar event at Wavelength? Let us know!
All images courtesy of Olin College.
