Desert Sun Coffee Roasters- Sunrise

Here we have Desert Sun Coffee Roasters Sunrise espresso blend. Located in Durango, CO and an elevation of 6,512′, they’ve been roasting since 2004.

In keeping with my self-imposed cycling connection, this particular coffee arrives here via my friend Matt Phillips- Senior Tech Editor for Bicycling Magazine. Matt’s easily among my favorite people in the cycling world, and one of the most fair, honest, and knowledgeable tech editors on the planet. I’ve truly enjoyed working with Matt over the years, and even more enjoyed slowly getting to become friends too. He and his wife Amy are bother pretty awesome. Having had some really nasty cycling injuries themselves, they sent a wonderful care package for my recovery from my current injuries.

Another cycling connection to Desert Sun comes via another friend- Chris McGovern of Real Wheels Bicycle Studio and McGovern Cycles– who says that Desert Sun was one of the sponsors of the Fort Lewis College cycling team during his time as their coach.

So Desert Sun passes all the necessary “cycling friendly” benchmarks for review with flying colors.

Now on to the beans!

“With love from 6,512ft” is an excellent intro to the coffee. The “dark espresso” roast falls on the lighter side, without being “light”, and has a great aroma. The first few cups were brewed with my long-forgotten French Press. As mentioned before, I am a pretty diehard fan of the Aeropress, but due to the wrist surgery, it was nearly impossible to use. I was truly bummed out when I thought I would have to wait until the wrist healed more … but then stumbled upon the French Press in a cabinet … dusty and waiting. So I broke from the usual routine and used the FP to get the job done!

The flavor of the coffee is really good. It’s “lighter”, as espresso roasts go, which makes it perfect for those who try to stay away from bitterness in their coffees. The flavor holds up with cream and sugar, without getting lost. Out of the FP, it was perfect straight black. I tend to favor really dark roasts with strong(er) flavors, so this one is a touch mellower. That said, I loved it. I was able to use the Aeropress for two cups and the flavor improved- the AP just does a better job of “extracting” the flavor of the coffee from the beans. If you like the French Press or pour-over methods, this will produce a nice, full-bodied cuppa without bitterness, unlike a lot of other darker roasts.

Desert Sun does sell online, so don’t be bashful about giving the beans a try. They’re good … and the folks there have some good cycling street cred.

Tim

Up Next …
Steaming Bean Mountain Harvest