Roasted by Elliot · Greenville, SC

Mountain Drip

Blue Blazer Blend

8 oz bag$1525 bags in this first batchGo Blazers

The coffee

Two coffees, one cup

Blue Blazer Blend pairs a fruity Colombian with a sweet, clean Costa Rican. Elliot and his dad built the blend together. Elliot helped roast it and drew the label himself.

25%

Colombia

Anaya Strawberry, washedCandied strawberry, jam sweetness and a floral, perfumey lift.

75%

Costa Rica

Aquiares African, washedThe polished base: caramel, milk chocolate and a little red apple.

What it tastes like

Milk chocolate
Caramel
Red apple
Strawberry preserves

Sweet and fruity, like strawberry shortcake in coffee form, but not sugary.

It smells like strawberries before you even sip. The Costa Rica keeps the cup grounded, so it stays juicy, smooth and clearly coffee. Try it as a pour-over, and notice the strawberry get louder as the cup cools. With milk it tastes like strawberry cream.

Freshly roasted Blue Blazer Blend beans in a white bucket

Fresh out of the roaster, Oct 10

The story

Roasting with Dad

Elliot wanted his own coffee for the school market. So on Saturday we roasted it together and did every step: weighing, loading, watching, and bagging. Here is how a green bean becomes Blue Blazer Blend.

Elliot and his dad at the Diedrich roaster, Elliot holding a pitcher of green coffee

Elliot and his dad working side by side at the roaster

Elliot and his dad at the Diedrich IR-2.5.

Weigh

Measure the green coffee

Each batch starts as pale green, unroasted beans. They get measured out and poured into the roaster's hopper, a Diedrich IR-2.5.
Yellow

Watch the color change

Through the small window we watch the beans go from green to yellow to tan. Elliot kept an eye on the roast curve on screen while the beans changed color.
11:49

First crack

Around 11 minutes and 49 seconds in, the beans pop like popcorn. That is first crack, and it tells us the roast is getting close. We log every roast in Cropster, so we can make the next one the same.

Roast log for the Colombia batch: first crack at 11:49, finished at 13:30.
13:30

Drop and cool

When the roast is done, the beans drop into the cooling tray and a stirrer keeps them moving until they are cool to the touch.
Bag

Weigh, bag, seal

The coffees are blended together. Elliot weighs out each 8 oz bag on the scale, fills it, and we heat-seal it so the coffee stays fresh.

Quality

How we make sure every bag is good

Elliot's coffee gets the same checks as the coffee we sell at Canvas Coffee + Art House.

Good beans to start

Two specialty-grade, washed coffees from Colombia and Costa Rica.

Every roast is logged

Time, temperature and first crack are recorded, so the next batch matches this one.

Weighed, not guessed

Each bag is weighed to 8 oz on a scale before it is sealed.

Sealed fresh

Heat-sealed bags with the roast date on the label. Best brewed within a few weeks.

The mountains

The view from school

Greer Preparatory Academy sits in Taylors, in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. On a clear day the ridgeline rises up behind the school. It is his favorite view, and it ended up on his label.

He drew the mountains first, then added the sun coming up behind them. The name followed: Mountain Drip.

His first idea for the bag was called "Canvas Fall Blend."

Elliot's crayon drawing of a coffee label with mountains and an orange sun

Elliot's second crayon label drawing with mountains, a sun, and the words the drip within

Elliot's business plan

A first small business

Elliot is a student at Greer Preparatory Academy (home of the Blazers) and this is his first product. He chose the coffees, helped roast them, and designed the label.

25bags, 8 oz each

$15per bag

$375if every bag sells

Why we're doing this

10% of every sale goes to the playground

10% of everything Elliot sells goes to the Greer Preparatory Academy playground fund. Thank you for helping Blazer kids get a better place to play.

Find Elliot at the school market: Thursday, October 15, 4–8 PM

Two coffees, one cup

What it tastes like

Roasting with Dad

Measure the green coffee

Watch the color change

First crack

Drop and cool

Weigh, bag, seal