Our lives are enriched by our passions. As we become interested in something, we learn more about it. If it’s a practice, as we do it, we become more skilled. It’s fun to share these with others, and sometimes they also become intrigued. I call them ‘Secret Clubs’. As you share your passions with others, it’s an invitation for them to join the ‘Secret Club’.
When Heather ‘Anish’ Anderson (who recently published her latest book Adventure Ready) was doing her Calendar Year Triple Crown in 2018, she and her then-fiancé/now-husband took a rare zero day at our house in Bend. I picked them up off the PCT, and we brought them home for some showers, home-cooked meals, re-supply, laundry, and some sleep in a real bed. During their short visit, Anish explained how her previous boyfriend had been hanging out in Ethiopia at one point, and been shown by some locals how to roast coffee in a pan over a fire. He started roasted coffee on the stove at home, and so now Anish roasts her coffee on the stove. She told me how, and now I roast my coffee on the stovetop at home. It’s great because it’s so simple, and you’re always drinking the absolutely freshest coffee possible. You just take a heavy skillet, heat it up for about 5 minutes, turn on the vent, put in some green coffee beans (Sweet Maria’s and Dean’s Beans are good sources), and stir until you like the color. Winnow it to get out the husks, let it degas for 6-10 hours, and then put it in your expresso machine, or your burr grinder.
I’ve shared this with a number of friends who are now enjoying roasting their own coffee. I recently had my annual checkup with my doctor. I don’t see him often, but as we’re chatting about this and that, somehow coffee came up. When I mentioned I roast my own, his eyes lit up. It turns out he is quite the coffee aficionado, and was intrigued to hear about how he could easily roast his own! I returned later that day and left him some green coffee beans and written instructions. So now he’s an excited new member of the Secret Club of Home Coffee Roasters, and we have something else to talk about during my annual checkups!
What are some of the ‘Secret Clubs’ you belong to, and have invited others to join?
Hi Glen,
I love this story. You had me at Coffee Roasting, but then blew me away with the hook about Heather Anish Anderson and her Calendar Year Triple Crown. And she taught you how to roast coffee? You were both heroes of mine already, but your stock has now risen further. I have not tried roasting coffee myself, but I have a friend that just suggested I try it with a vintage popcorn air-popper. I was going to bring some fresh beans and a hand grinder to the GGG, but thought it might be bad form for those that had packed in their ultralight kit with instant packets. I do enjoy freshly ground coffee at home and on car camps, and now I need to try freshly roasted too. Great to meet you and I’m enjoying the website.
Bob, so great to meet you. I can’t believe we lived a couple of miles from each other for years and just connected! We’ll just have to make up for lost time. I like the simple, even primitive nature of stove top roasting. Remind me to tell you the story of getting my doctor roasting coffee next time we chat.