Postal Bloom is excited to present June's featured coffee roaster, MiddleState Coffee. Based in the back of Steadbrook, a small retail clothing store located in downtown Denver, Jay Louis DeRose and Dustin Roderick Pace roast and bag amazing specialty coffee.  At first, Jay and Dustin were coffee brewing rivals in the Denver area. They eventually decided to partner up in hopes to push the envelope of locally roasted specialty coffee.

Both Dustin and Jay started from the bottom of the coffee industry. Dustin manned a small coffee kiosk in the front of a bike shop, while Jay pulled shots behind a coffee bar of a more established coffee shop. They both fell in deep with coffee and haven't seemed to look back.

Dustin had begun developing Steadbrook with some friends when he had the conversation with Jay about maybe opening their own roastery. They weren't very happy with the coffee scene in Denver, at the time, and they wanted to do coffee their own way. Dustin moved forward with Steadbrook and the empty room in the back turned into the perfect place to put MiddleState's coffee roaster. They hadn't planned on opening the roastery quite yet, but when Steadbrook's space became available, it pushed them to dive right in.

Early on, Jay and Dustin set up pretty tight guidelines when it came to coffee buying accounts. They didn't want to sacrifice their integrity to just make a sale. They have tried to grow organically and thoughtfully by only picking accounts that seem to do their coffee justice. These principles have really helped them along the way and have kept them happy as a company.

They have now partnered with Little Owl Coffee, MiddleState's coffee being brewed in their shop exclusively. MiddleState didn't really have a flagship store and Little Owl was looking to make a change. According to Jay, this partnership has really allowed MiddleState to become the coffee company they wanted to be. They now have the capacity to source and buy some really unique coffees, that otherwise, would have been much harder for MiddleState to purchase.

“Beyond coffee we try not to take ourselves too serious. We believe coffee is best served with a a good sense of humor and a smile.”

Aside from coffee, Dustin is a photographer and soon-to-be father. When talking about the business, he said "It feels really good to watch something grow. I'm about to be a dad and I feel like that is going to be the same thing - watching something grow into its own thing. That's really exciting to me." Jay spends his time outside of the roastery on his old motorcycle or a skateboard. He seems to be a really passionate dude, who really gets sucked into whatever he picks up - whether it's skateboarding, his motorcycle or even coffee. Dustin and Jay are two really inspiring individuals and we are proud to feature their coffee in this month's subscription.

Explore specialty coffee monthly, right at your door step.

The morning coffee ritual in the Sakurai household almost always starts with Thea, our Shiba pup, licking our faces to get out of bed. Spenser will usually let her out and then will proceed to start the water kettle, giving us a few extra minutes before we really have to get up. In the mornings, the water kettle acts as a snooze button in our house. We might have to hit the "snooze button" another time to re-heat the water, but usually Spenser will spring into action. He brews the coffee while I prepare our breakfast. We really like trying out new coffee and try to take the time to plan a breakfast that pairs well with our morning cup.

I wouldn't say either one of us is a true morning person, however, we both see our morning ritual as a vital part of our day. Without it, we feel the day will just fall apart. This morning ritual is what led us to the idea of Postal Bloom. We believe that slowing down and enjoying your morning coffee, as well as time with yourself or a loved one, is important for a fulfilled day.  

I got this cherry scone recipe from my grandma, Shirley, and it is definitely one of my favorites of hers. It took me awhile to recognize that my family has many traditions around baking, especially with my grandma - blueberry buckle in the summer, Texas sheet cake and homemade ice cream on the 4th of July, cut out cookies for Christmas. Even though these cherry scones are not associated with any particular holiday, they bring back special memories from my trips to Michigan to see my grandparents. 

Spenser is probably one of the pickiest when it comes to desserts, but he loved this batch of scones! They are dense, but not too sweet, with little bits of cherry deliciousness. We found that the tart note of the cherries really complimented the notes tasted in Mariposa's Ethiopia Yirgacheffe 'Z' Konga. My grandma likes to freeze the remaining scones and will set one out for a couple minutes when she's ready for another. Eating them cold might not be for everyone, but I like the texture it gives the scones. Of course, room temperature is just as delicious too. :-)

The recipe can be found below. Subscribe to this blog for more recipes, brew guides and roaster vignettes.

   SHIRLEY'S CHERRY SCONES

INGREDIENTS

3 1/2 cups flour

1/4 cup sugar, plus extra for tops

1 Tbsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 1/2 cup heavy cream, plus extra for tops

1/2 cup honey

grated zest of 1 orange

1/2 cup dried cherries

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat oven to 425°

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.

Add cream, honey and zest. Mix well.

Fold in cherries. Mix until dough is smooth. Be sure not to over mix!

Divide dough in half and into two rounds, flatten dough, cut into 8 wedges.

Lay wedges on greased sheet.

Brush tops with a little cream and sprinkle with sugar.

Bake at 425° for 15 minutes or until edges are golden brown. 

We are Amanda and Spenser Sakurai, the founders of Postal Bloom. We are lovers of travel, camping, our dog Thea and of course coffee! We created Postal Bloom to aid others in the coffee exploration process. We believe coffee is more than just a morning pick-me-up. We want to promote slowing down and appreciating your home brewed coffee. When subscribed to Postal Bloom, we will share with you three carefully selected specialty coffees from one of our favorite U.S. roasters, each month. 

Not only will you get to try unique and delicious coffee every month, but you will also get to see where your coffee comes from. There is a lot of work that goes into your cup of coffee and we believe that story needs to be told. Each month, expect plenty of online content, including roaster editorials, video portraits and coffee pairing recipes. We want to take you inside the lives of these amazing craftsmen to show you what it takes to produce an amazing cup of coffee. 

Okay, so now that you know what Postal Bloom is, we hope you’ll follow along and subscribe to taste new coffee and learn more about the ever-growing craft coffee community.