Escape Elsewhere

Drinking coffee is a daily routine that allows many people a quick escape while fueling them for whatever lies ahead.  For coffee roasters like myself, the roasting process opens up an extended escape that allows me to work on my own mental health.

As Mental Health Awareness Month wraps up this month, it is noteworthy to state that this subject doesn’t end this month, but is a daily battle for anyone and everyone. Even though we are blessed here in Summit County with beautiful surroundings that can make you stop and just soak it in, we can’t have the ups without the downs. 

Even for the ones that seem like they’re holding up well, we all have weight that without any attendance can become toxic over time. It can be anything from heartbreak, to work related stress, or simply the weight of the world hitting you hard on a gloomy day. I believe for many, the stimulation of the creative side of your personality allows for us to free ourselves of this accumulated weight while acknowledging it at the same time.

Roasting coffee is a beautiful creative medium that we are blessed to engage in on a regular basis. The roasting process is both very tedious and explorative. The continuous rotation of the filling, loading, charging, adjusting heat and air flow, marking first crack, dropping, cooling and all the meticulous tweaks will never produce an identical roast. This fact gives us a challenge that allows for an escape and creative freedom to try and make the best roast every time. 

However, as attentive as we have to be while roasting, our eyes would shrivel into raisins if we stared at our monitors every moment. Roasting allows us to take advantage of this “down” time. At Breck Coffee Roasters, roasting coffee in the mountains has given us a unique place to be creative and combat glum vibes. The majority of the time I roast, it is out in a place we like to refer as “Elsewhere.” On a property surrounded by pine trees and blue skies, two shipping containers have been repurposed into the heart of our roasting operation. 

The ways that one can keep busy out  at Elsewhere are like the uses of rubber bands--limitless. Cleaning, shooting hoops, taking golf swings, chasing chipmunks, practicing Tai Chi, shoveling snow, raking leaves, building snow jumps, hanging out in an old VW, just to name a few. I would like to share three that mean a lot to the mental recovery I’ve been lucky to have while roasting.

First off: Books. I always used to have the excuse of saying I don’t have time to read, but roasting gives me enough time to finally get to those topics that I’ve always wanted to finish. One of the most memorable ones so far has been named after one of my worst enemies, The Mosquito. Written by Timothy C. Winegard, he revises the history of mankind through its most impactful combatant, mosquitos. My next book to tackle in June is Black Elk Speaks by John G. Neihardt, the accounts from Nicholas Black Elk and the Oglala Lakota people during the 19th century. 

Second, out at Elsewhere we have a blank canvas around our container after we built out the frames, so we decided to go back and revisit the love of spray-painting. It’s been a while but I feel comfortable enough out there to try again, and all I have to say is, it’s been really fun! Our friends that visited have enjoyed seeing it and put in their own marks. 

Finally, what would my life and mental health be without one of my day ones, music. I can’t imagine my life without it, helping me face obstacles, deal with emotions, fuel creativity and just jam out. I know there is a time and a place for the right music, but luckily Elsewhere allows for an escape to whatever tunes you please. Check out my Spotify playlist, Sunshine Groovin, if you’re looking for tunes that hopefully make you spin, slide and shuffle wherever you are. It’s what I prefer when roasting.

I just wanted to share my story, to say especially during these times of social distancing, that I hope that my love for roasting and the healthy reflection it has brought me, brings you joy and grounding in your enjoyment of our coffee at Breckenridge Coffee Roasters.