Hello World

Hi and welcome to the Coffee Notes blog. My name is Shahen Naidoo, founder of Coffee Notes. This is my story of how coffee turned from my comfort beverage to a start-up roastery dedicated to delivering your dose of these magical beans to your door.  

I got a degree, found a job and worked like crazy to climb the corporate ladder. I was on autopilot. It was a pretty linear, uneventful route, and I was living the dream... except that it was not my dream. About 3 years ago (not so coincidentally as I turned 40) I started questioning some of my choices, and last year I reached a tipping point. I became increasingly anxious and restless.  My health and relationships nosedived. After much soul searching through the year, I became obsessed with focussing on the things that matter. A big part of this realisation was understanding that corporate success could not be the end in itself. I have started to understand what kind of life I want to lead and what impact I want to have on the people and environment around me.

Fortunately, I was able to exit the corporate rat race before I completely crashed. Through a lot of personal growth, I became hyper aware of the decisions that I have been making through my life. I decided to start Coffee Notes as a company that exercises responsible choices to provide you with fresh roasted coffee delivered directly to your door - from sourcing beans to making socially conscious decisions that promote a sustainable environment.

But why Coffee Notes? My two children are my inspiration for jumping from the stability of a corporate lifestyle to the unknown entrepreneurial roller-coaster. I have two sons - 5 and 8 years old. I've watched them fearlessly take on new things from sport to music. They have both shown me that they can take on learning new musical instruments, and with enough persistence and tenacity, they are well on their way to mastering them. Having struggled to come up with a name for a while, my wife suggested the name Coffee Notes as being symbolic of my inspiration, as well as the various notes that must be developed and combined to create the unique symphony of flavours roasted here at Coffee Notes.

I created this blog to explore and share my love for coffee with you. Coffee is my passion and I want you to find the same enjoyment in this magical beverage. 

Through this blog, I will publish posts about some of our products, share their origins and the backstories behind the roasts you'll find in our store. You will get to know a bit about the farmers, workers and the processing that goes into getting your favourite bean roasted just the way you love it. I'll share some brewing hints and tips to ensure that you transform the beans into the perfect cup, and also debunk some popular myths around coffee. But as much as I enjoy coffee as a drink on its own, I love using it to cook and bake. I will also publish coffee related recipes. There's nothing like having the perfect accompaniment to your afternoon coffee, or an alternative use of coffee. From time to time, I will also share some of my experiences at coffee shops, interview an expert or review some coffee preparation equipment that you may use at home.

I'd love to hear your thoughts so please do comment. If you have an idea for a blog post, also let me know - or better still, contact me if you want to contribute any content or conduct an independent review of one of our products on this blog.

Welcome to Coffee Notes, and thank you for starting this journey with me.

Shahen