I went into last year’s farmers market season with few expectations. I knew I had something great to share, and most of the Upper Valley hadn’t tried it yet, but I had faith. As the summer went by, I started hearing from people- some customers became regulars, stopping by my booth regularly for another bag of beans- others came by the market every week just for a cup of iced coffee.
Over the winter, with the parks covered in snow and ice, a lot of the people I’d seen regularly week after week at the markets started showing up in my inbox- subscribers! Those faces turned up again at the New Year’s market, but I’ll admit, that as the summer season approached, I was a little apprehensive. The same people, over and over again, tend to frequent Farmer’s Markets- sometimes they bring out-of-towners along, but by this point, I had to wonder if I’d already reached them. A lot of people in the area had heard about my coffee already, and a lot of them were already customers.
The weather conditions for the opening days of both the Lebanon market, and the Enfield market, were challenging. One was scorching hot, the other was pouring rain, but this is New England, that’s just how it goes. Still, I got a pretty wonderful surprise. You wouldn’t believe how many people stopped by. Not all of them came strictly to buy coffee, many people came to introduce themselves- they had subscribed over the winter months and wanted to connect with the person behind the website.
People wanted to let me know how much they appreciated the easy ordering system or express their delight at how quickly it had arrived. One high schooler stopped by just to say “My mom bought your coffee at the high school auction, and she loves it. Thanks for bringing it to the Upper Valley!”
You can’t know how much that means to me. There just isn’t better compensation for my hard work, then when people like you stop by with your feedback and encouragement. You don’t have any idea how much I appreciate you all.
If you haven’t already seen me there- find me at a farmer’s market- we’re branching out this summer and my plan is to be at 2 or 3 markets throughout the Upper Valley every week. We’ll see you there!
Yani