When I was 33, I realized what makes the world go round. Not money or love. The other one. Caffeine! I had my first cup of coffee. Everything changed from that moment forward.
And it’s not that I felt I had been missing something previously. I felt pretty righteous about living my life without the need of coffee to get through my day (nothing against the coffee drinkers of the world). I also disliked the way coffee tasted: it was just water dressed up in brown; bitter, flat, yuck. I also hated the mess that always followed coffee around too; coffee rings, clothing stains, sticky splashes in the car console, half finished cups of abandoned cold coffee left only to be knocked over.
And now? I start my day at 4:30am with a ‘power coffee’ and grab another between 2-4pm for that bump through until the end of the day. I’m in and committed.
So, how did coffee finally win my adoration and devotion?
We were a few months into running our business and I was working 18 hour days, 7 days a week. I am highly motivated but at that pace, I needed something to help to get through the long days and nights in the kitchen. In retrospect, I suppose I could have worked less, but we were trying to get our business off the ground and so much was at stake.
And then that something I needed to stay up and keep going came along.

One morning, Jen was brewing Laughing Whale coffee at the Schoolhouse and it actually stopped me in my tracks. The intoxicating aromas had drifted down the winding staircase and coaxed me out of the kitchen. It was confusing. I uttered four words that had never co-existed in a sentence before for me: “That coffee smells amazing!”. And in my exhaustion and desperation, I poured a cup. Another sentence followed after my first sip, including expletives: “Holy $#>! This coffee tastes like it frickin’ smells! I can’t even believe it! Wow! Unbelievable. THIS is what coffee should be!”. I may have even said something like “Coffee…where have you been all my life?”.
And from that point onward, Laughing Whale Coffee Roasters has kept me fuelled with their incredibly delicious line of coffee and espresso. Located in Lunenburg, NS, their roasting processes use a combination of traditional methods and the latest low-emission, heat recycling technology. Whatever they’re doing, it’s magic!
As a parent of two tiny people who run me off my feet and as an entrepreneur, thank you Laughing Whale for doing what you do. It makes a big difference in a lot of peoples lives!
Onward and up,
Aidan