Pricing Updates
First, the bad news. The commodity price of unroasted coffee beans is roughly triple what it was when I started Doney Coffee in 2020, so I need to raise the irresponsibly low price of roasted Doney Coffee beans. So far, I should be able to get away with only raising the price by a dollar or two per pound. Hopefully the massive Brazilian coffee farms will have a better year in 2025, and we will be able to adjust accordingly.
Now the good news! I put in an order at Walmart for some Black Rifle Coffee, for research purposes, and found that they did not charge sales (TPT) tax. It turns out that Arizona considers coffee to be a grocery item and exempt from the sales tax, so long as you don't serve drinks on premises. So I have removed the sales tax from all my coffee beans/grounds, and it will save us a decent amount of money!
I have also started offering 8oz and 5lb options for coffee, so I had to adjust the way subscriptions work. It doesn't make sense to have the same flat $2 per bag discount if the bags are different sizes, so I switched it to an overall 10% discount for subscriptions.
Finally, I'm a bit nervous about future coffee prices. Hopefully the current administration will step away from the precipice of massive tariffs on coffee producing countries such as Colombia and Mexico. If he follows through on those tariffs, the US coffee market will see significant price inflation, because that is how supply and demand work in free markets.
C-Price (Coffee futures) since I started Doney Coffee:
What interests me about introducing social learning through school projects is how a broad idea becomes part of an ordinary day. A shared project can give pupils a reason to explain their thinking to someone else. I would keep that thought nearby when looking for ideas about social learning projects. A short discussion of an everyday example would make this easier for me to connect with, especially as someone still learning about the subject. What helps students learn from one another instead of only dividing up the work?
I can see why building confidence through adult education would invite discussion, since different people will bring different experiences to the same question. A practical learning goal can make returning to a classroom feel more purposeful. I would keep that thought nearby when looking for ideas about adult skills courses. A short discussion of an everyday example would make this easier for me to connect with, especially as someone still learning about the subject. What would help an adult learner recognise progress early in a course?
I find planning an academic writing project easier to think about when there is a concrete question to start from. A clear outline can reveal gaps before a writer invests time in full paragraphs. That connection helps me see why academic writing planning can be worth a closer look. I would probably come back to this question after trying to work through one concrete example rather than deciding immediately. How do you decide whether a section supports the main question or merely adds background?
My first thought about developing confidence in language practice is that the everyday experience deserves as much attention as the larger explanation. A low-pressure conversation can help a learner use words they recognise but rarely say aloud. This is why I would approach language practice confidence with a specific question rather than a fixed expectation. I do not have a settled view yet, but this seems like a good place to slow down and look more closely. Which activities encourage speaking without making every mistake feel important?
When it comes to supporting teachers through shared learning resources, I would rather understand one useful detail properly than rush through a long list of ideas. A resource becomes more useful when it includes enough context for another teacher to adapt it. That is the kind of detail I would keep in mind while exploring teacher learning resources. I am more curious about the process than a polished result, because the steps in between are usually where questions appear. What information would you include when sharing an activity that worked in your classroom?