Like many of you, I awake daily looking forward to a great cup of coffee. It’s no overstatement to call me a coffee snob, although my status as one is interesting since I didn’t start drinking coffee until after 40 and I’m pretty sensitive to caffeine. I'm so sensitive to it that I need to abstain before high-intensity workouts as it sends my heart and respiration rates so high that they limit my efforts. Thus, quality over quantity is my coffee game.
Since I don’t drink more than a cup per day, and I’m picky in general when it comes to food and beverages, I allow myself to indulge on beans from boutique, third-wave coffee roasters which tend to be pricey. Some of my favorites are from Vesta, Bird Rock, Blue Bottle, and Intellagentsia (their Organic Black Cat Espresso is my go-to for espresso).
With this in mind it was with some skepticism that I recently ordered coffee beans from a friend’s new roastery, but I did so out of a desire to support him and his new business. I was thus pleasantly surprised to experience some of the best coffee I’ve made using his beans. My initial order was for Ethiopian beans, as this variety is consistently my favorite regardless of the roaster, but based on his recommendation I went with Guatemala beans on my second order and have been even more impressed. My only regret is that I used the last of these beans this morning and I won’t have more for the next few days.
Since I want to experience his full range I need to choose between Bolivia and Columbia beans next. Decisions, decisions...
While savoring the taste of these beans in my mind I almost forgot to give the name - it’s Brown Dog Roasting and the proprietor is Fernando Riveros Paez. If you’ve followed professional cross-country mountain bike racing you’ve undoubtedly seen his name at or near the top of the results until his retirement a few years ago. It’s obvious that he’s put as much effort into selecting and roasting coffee beans as he previously did with training and race preparation.
However, even more important to me than his athletic achievements is that he’s one of the nicest and most giving people you’re likely to meet. He’s the type of person I want to see succeed, which in addition to the excellent quality of his product is my motivation for writing this.
The more I think about it the more I’m leaning toward ordering the Colombia Cocaine 4 Project Beans next. After all, a Colombian coffee roaster should know how to get and roast the best Colombian coffee beans. Besides, there's a pretty cool story behind these beans that you can read about here.
If you appreciate good coffee as much as I do, order some of his beans. I don’t think you’ll regret it. I look forward to hearing your feedback.
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