I feel very happy with the tapestry we have woven over the last seventeen years since Mattie’s Mountain Mud was perked and I am honored to have been able to roast specialty coffee for you the last 24 years. I must say, sitting by the fire with a cup of Saplin’ on an extended winter’s evening has never felt better.
When I think back, I am amazed at the multitude of experiences we have been through. So many beautiful moments, so many trying times, so many events of compassion, and so many cups of coffee.
A few souls stand out in my mind tonight and still render my heart into sheer gratitude. The Kistlers that believed in me unfailingly, the Pepsi priest that stopped the bleeding with a prayer when those fated shelves fell upon me, My father, Frank, who braved the deep down under prohibition jewelry shop world to install the bar stools with me, my staff that cleaned the toilets and smiled over the counter awaiting to fill your mug with supreme concoctions topped with homemade whipped cream, the organic berry farmers and artisan pastry makers, the Greenbrier Valley Theatre for a coffee filled dressing room and home away from home, the ceiling painters-it was such a grand ceiling, Season, Ali, Jeanne, Joe, Erica, Kristen, Ena, Sharon, Josh, Lyla, Melvin, Breeze, Tom, Rebecca, Emily, Marie, Hoss, Eric…too many to name, you know who you are, one of the blessed hundreds of baristas at Mattie’s, the Dolans for carrying on a Lewisburg love, the navigation of flood waters by John, the Barneses for a new home for my roaster in the wilds of Virginia, the individuals from across the United States that support me still, my mother, Donna, whose business savvy kept us afloat in times of turmoil and great abundance, the coffee houses, bakeries, restaurants, and merchants that provide the front line with Mattie’s Mountain Mud for tomorrow’s morning, the precious coffee farms that nurture such a splendid crop for us to partake in, to my coffee roaster, Red-tailed Hawk, for being so dependable and true, and to my husband, Charles, who unloads the green beans…still, helps at the first sign of need…still, and remains a true example of salt of the (coffee) earth.
My cup overfloweth…I cannot thank you enough. Here’s to another pound of beans and another year! Happy anniversary everyone, Mattie
