The Ek’s Files

I’m no Starbucks snob–probably 99.9% of the coffee I drink is either out of my coffee maker at home or the coffee pot at work. But that’s not to say I don’t know a good cup of coffee when I taste it. A friend of mine recently put me onto a coffee roaster up the road in Boulder, CO called The Unseen Bean. The unusual name stems from the fact that the master roaster there, Gerry Leary, has been blind since birth. My friend, who also happens to be blind, brought some samples from The Unseen Bean to one of our recent board meetings (we serve together on the Board of Trustees for the Colorado School for the Deaf and the Blind). With the unemployment rate for visually-impaired citizens running as high as 75%, my friend is always seeking ways to promote employment, self-sufficiency, and prosperity for blind people. He is a tremendous advocate for the visually-impaired, and I applaud and admire him for his efforts.

At any rate, I got this coffee home (a roast called Costa Rica Tarrazu El Roble) and gave it a try. I was hooked! This coffee is wonderfully smooth and flavorful. It’s worth spending money on (regardless of who roasts it), and I just ordered three pounds of beans. Now, for you coffee snobs (and you know who you are), I can’t tell you whether it’ll compare favorably with your own favorite roasts. But if you enjoy a good cup of coffee, I can’t imagine how you could possibly be disappointed. If buying coffee from this roaster furthers the cause of self-sufficiency among visually-impaired people, so much the better.