Abouts are segmentations of self… never a whole image. And while I find myself doing just that in conversations - I guess that is kinda what conversations are - it’s not what I consider the best way to represent who someone is. That and I don’t consider myself a good enough writer to distill my core into a succinct description of me. But if I write nothing, then there is nothing to know… so here are some things to know. Not all, but a good representation of most of them.
Nothing has been written in any sort of order. Importance or otherwise.
I am an art director, type designer and coffee roaster. I have become immensely influenced by yoga (vinassa in particular) and am in love with a beautiful woman named Christy. Her daughters Anna and Maia, who I love very much, are each amazing and unique small humans. I love quality food - the flavors of fresh pure ingredients, simply combined is, to me, the highest expression of food and the place it comes from. Single malt scotches. What can I say about them. I simply love the way an amazing scotch can perk up your spirits on a dreary day with it’s peat, caramel and, in those really unique expressions, flowers (Rosebank). Crazy good tequilas can do the same thing in the high desert sun. Then there is wine - though I have a pretty limited understanding, I am fortunate enough to have a close friend (Jennifer, Christy’s best friend) who does. Grilling - even late into the fall. Even in the winter. There is just something about how a good charcoal grill improves the flavor of good steak, onions and fresh corn. I’ll go on. Biscuits and gravy. Woodworking. Photography, art, films and architecture. Pattern making (like wallpaper, not clothes). And on and on.
Okay, but this site is about coffee which is an everyday passion for me. I am addicted to exceptional coffees - it’s not the caffeine but to the amazing flavors in really really good coffee. Days that something is off with my coffee are days I simply cannot get enough. It’s like insanity. I could drink until I am completely jittery and still not feel satiated. The complexity and balance are what grabs me, spiritually, when I began roasting coffee in my apartment almost 10 years ago (huh?), I had no idea what I was starting, but my nature is to dive into something with intensity, and I dug deep. I love to learn, to understand all there is - just geek out on it. And so I did. I read a much as I could find (most notably: alt.coffee, sweetmarias.com, and books like Ukers’ All About Coffee and Mark Pendergrast’s Uncommon Grounds) and began exploring different coffees - tripping out on the simple differences between origins, regions, even estates, roast degrees, etc.
Then the professional bit started with Christy and her family. We opened Blue Gardenia (in Portland, Oregon) together, which was supposed realize this idea of producing the best baked good and coffee possible. Christy’s mom has this rare ability to bake that you almost ever experience. I had a vision of what I wanted to create with regards to roasting coffee, while learning how to control a commercial roaster as fast as I could. And for a little over a year, while we were struggling, learning and basically being a new business, we began to make headway. My roasts got better, my understanding of what was happening to the coffee during roasting grew… but the partnership showed itself to be dysfunctional and Christy and I split from our partners in a turn of events I never could have foreseen. None of our original intent exists now except in our own selves. But then again, I believe that it wasn’t really ready to be realized either.
As painful as that separation has been, I came away with an understanding of how deeply I love roasting coffee. More than that, I realized that I have an almost intuitive understanding of what is taking place inside the roaster. Not that I completely understand it, just that I can almost see the steps involved.
And that is where I am now. Working at continuing my education of the bean, as it is. Working to put my ideas out in the world again. And most importantly, maintaining, deepening, widening my passion for coffee. So this business, this sit, this effort by me is simply means to pursuing the most interesting, beautiful, expressive coffees I can find, tell you about them, and then sell them.