My time at the Blind Bean

Yesterday was a great day.  I drove over to Boulder to interview Gerry, a blind coffee roaster.  Being a huge fan of coffee, the thought of being surrounded by thousands of coffee beans was too good to pass up, not to mention the intrigue of seeing how a blind man roasts coffee just by sound, smell, and touch.  I was greeted at the door by two big dogs, one of which I recognized as MidKnight from his cameos on the coffee signs and labels. 

Gerry has been blind his whole life.  He was a car mechanic for 40 years before he decided to try his hand at coffee roasting, a new passion.  I heard his shouts from somewhere in the building.  We played this marco-polo-esque game until we finally found each other.  He stuck his hand out, trusting I would see it and shake his hand.  After sitting down with Gerry and asking my usual string of questions, he showed me around his palace.

In the warehouse was an infinite number of coffee beans.  Some in big sacks, threatening to burst, others separated into plastic barrels.  He started feeling around the barrells, eager for me to smell and look.  The braille labels on the side allow him to know where the Panama, Zambia, Columbia, or countless other varieties of beans reside.  However, it seems as though the labels are just for back up, he appears to have memorized the maze of bean barrells.  I smelled the raw, unroasted green beans.  They had an earthy, unripe smell to them--not the delicious coffee bean smell I love. 

He showed me his first roaster, a quarter pounder machine that could only produce a pound of coffee beans an hour, at best.  This is where he got his start, roasting tiny amounts of coffee in his shed in his back yard, until finally he could afford a large roaster, one which could produce several pounds at a time.

Finally, the finished product.  The barrels of freshly roasted barrels were heaven.  I was tempted to crawl inside and ask to be left alone for a while, but that probably would've been inappropriate.  Needless to say, I left with a pound of beans that made my car smell wonderful.  I quickly made a pot of coffee and enjoyed my remarkable cup of coffee.  A smooth, medium blend, and just roasted in the past day.  It spoiled me, and I doubt I will ever be okay with mediocre coffee again.

If you want to try this amazing man's coffee, you can order it online at www.theunseenbean.com  

Trust me, this is not a solicitation, I'm just a fan.