Making mistakes & leaving an impact
(A blog about the recent preliminary competition I joined)
I had a chance. It felt like I did. What got me into trouble? Rules. I failed to fully understand it. I failed to pour more coffee into the judges’ cups. Another thing? I changed my grind size for the actual performace, didn’t fully understand the flavor of my cup with the variables of my brew. I spoke of a wrong ratio. I should’ve elaborated more on flavor & had better analysis of the cup. I brewed like I was brewing a light roast. I forgot that this is Kona we’re talking about. I failed to find the balance for the cup.
These are my realizations after a day goes by, since the competition.
How should I have done better? Where was I lacking?
More than the realizations of my mistakes, I also try to recognize the situation and the composition of my performance. Now that I think about it…. People actually loved it.
It was a small audience, and so I had to call their attention to come together, and feel comfortable as they joined me for this presentation. I chose a coffee that reminded me of the good attributes to find in a cup of Kona coffee. It was one by Hala Tree Farms. On the day of the presentation, it turns out that the producers of the coffee I’m representing, Danielle and Jean Ozlowski, are sponsors too, and they happen to be the designated time keepers for the competition!
I found more value, presenting this coffee, really. I’m like…. “Wow, the world is in my favor”.
My scores for service was said to be good. I have captured my audience’ attention, I believe. The few people who were present praised me for it. They haven’t tasted the coffee, but the essence of what goes into this single cup, has maybe brought people to be excited to have a sip. I don’t know… It is what it is. I love speaking about coffee. No, I actually love performing too! As I brewed my coffee, I told my story like everyone was a friend, was a companion, and was part of something special. It was a feeling of everyone from the chain, hearing me out, appreciating my favorite aspects of every part of the process.
Success for me is having an impact, no matter how small it is. And maybe making those mistakes will simply lead me to a much greater impact.
A saying that my choral group lives by, We win not golds but hearts. Somehow, I still found success by making mistakes and leaving an impact.
