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- Erinn Morgan
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Sample trays display coffee beans in various stages of the roasting process./Photo by Todd Nwecomer.
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Durango is home to one other resident roaster, Durango Coffee Co. In addition, the Steaming Bean roasts its own blends in Telluride.
Durango Coffee Co.'s Carl Rand began roasting 20 years ago, around the same time he opened the Durango Coffee Co. on Main Avenue. It was a culinary background that moved Rand in this direction. "I went to the Culinary Institute in New York and worked as a chef for many years," he says. "I thought there was a need for better quality coffee in restaurants 20 years ago."Having just sold the coffee shop end of his business in March, he is focusing solely on roasting now. "We focus on balancing and trying to bring out the subtle characteristics of each coffee," he says. "Certain roasts can hide the characteristics of a coffee. I am trying to balance all the subtle and primary components: the sweetness, the acidity and the body."
This roaster's java can be found at numerous stores and restaurants in the Four Corners, at the Durango Coffee Co.'s Main Avenue shop and at the company's mail-order website. "We have about 30 coffees, including flavored varieties," says Rand. "We also sell chocolate, flavored syrups and espresso supplies, and sell and service espresso machines."
Steaming Bean Owner Michael Hill opened the first Steaming Bean coffee shop in 1991 in Telluride. Several locations followed, including Durango and Gunnison. He also began to source raw green beans for his own blends and he worked with an out-of-state roaster. His background served him well. Previously a green coffee trader in New York and London, Hill had the connections and the knowledge to source the right java. "I always got my own green beans and had somebody roast them to my specs," he says.
Today, each of the coffee shops are independently owned, but they all carry Steaming Bean roasts. The Durango location has been owned by Julie Dunn since 1999. There are also privately owned locations in Denver, Gunnison, Parker, Telluride, and Mokena, Ill. "I decided to get out of the retail business in '95," says Hill, who has also helped open many other coffee shops around the country.
Moving in a new direction, Hill has recently purchased a roaster and will begin cooking up the beans locally in Telluride with a roastmaster from Portland who has eight years of experience. "We will be roasting all our Steaming Bean coffees except the flavored varieties," says Hill. He will also launch a line of locally roasted coffee called Tomboy. Currently, his company offers more than 100 varieties of roasts, which are available at all Steaming Bean locations as well as theirwebsite.
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