Before she founded Savorista with her now-husband Daniel, Kait was guzzling coffee on her way to work, drinking more coffee to get her through the afternoon, working until 2 o’clock in the morning, and getting no sleep because she’d drunk so much coffee during the day. And, as if that weren’t stressful enough, her father was diagnosed with cancer, and she never got to see Daniel, who’d recently moved to Chicago to be with her.
As everything she cared about started crumbling around her, Kait felt jittery, anxious, and close to collapse. She knew she should give up coffee, but it seemed like a horrible idea. She loved the flavor of coffee. She loved the ritual of coffee. And she loved her relationships that were built around coffee. Worst of all, she’d never even tasted a decaf that, quite frankly, didn’t suck. That’s when she started to wonder, what if?. What if you could actually craft really good decaf?
A year and a half later, Kait was caffeine-free and feeling better, and she knew she was ready for something...more. So, she and Daniel packed their bags, put everything in storage, and took off for a coffee quest in South America. They traveled through Colombia, Kenya, Rwanda and Ethiopia, where they met with growers and decaffeinators, talked to producers and exporters, and tasted hundreds of coffees in blind taste tests. When the coffee they loved most out of sixteen turned out to be decaf, they realized decaf could be delicious. And with each day that passed, they discovered that their backpacks were a metaphor for the life they were living together—a life where THEY, not external factors and pressures, determined what they would carry on their journey. With their newfound clarity leading the way, they got engaged in Ethiopia, made amazing connections with exceptional growers, and focused on starting a world-class, caffeine-conscious coffee business
Today, Kait and Daniel are committed to helping others find their True North by encouraging them to use coffee to slow down, become more caffeine conscious, figure out what belongs in their own backpacks, and lead a life of joy.
