I want some coffee!

... and hello Fall. We seem to be getting the last bit of rain from our share of monsoon season. It can get pretty wet around here when the rains come to visit but bye and large Benson is indeed a desert. And we have the cactus and mesquite to prove it! San Pedro Valley is kind of a special place as we have the San Pedro River flowing North out of Mexico right thru the middle of this unique valley. The San Pedro River is one of only two rivers in the US which flow North out of Mexico (yes, a repeat of info I posted here a few years ago).  Much of our little piece of 'uniqueness' is below the surface of the sandy river bottom: most of the water flow in our San Pedro River is below the surface of what looks like a dry river bed. That river bed is sand and I've read that it is very deep- as deep as 2,200 ft if memory serves. That river bed sand originates from the sandstone hills, cliffs and mesas that make up San Pedro Valley. And for that matter much of Southern Arizona. The...

 ... but I really do roast coffee! Usually once each week. Most Wednesdays find me in the shop with the roaster heating, stabilizing, then roasting from 3 to 6 batches of greens. The typical yield is about 450 gm of coffee (almost a pound) per 550 gm batch of greens. That's been the weekly routine for several years now. Initially I bought greens from a different country every few weeks, but for about 2 years now I have been locked onto greens from the high-country of Chiapas, the most Southern state in Mexico. To our taste these greens yield the most consistent morning cup. Initially I was buying greens from Sweet Maria's in Oakland, California. But the owner/operator, Thompson Owen, likes to provide a variety of choices. What you buy one week may not be back in stock for months or even years. Once I discovered we really enjoyed the flavors of the high-grown Chiapas greens I found myself drifting to other sources. Unfortunately I think I may be on a path to disappointment thank...

Yeah, it's summer here in San Pedro Valley of Southeast Arizona- just like it's summer in the rest of the continental USA. And to be honest it's not as bad as I have felt here in our neck of the desert near Benson, Arizona. Daytime highs are over 100°F but (so far!) under 110°F. So not as bad as it can get down here 58 miles North of the US/Mexico border and the town of Naco in Sonora, Mexico. And this year seems to be giving the US a particularly nasty fire season. Yikes! I haven't checked any stats to confirm but it seems there are reports daily even in states like normally-wet Washington that are getting some serious fire damage this 2026 season. Fire crews are getting hammered very hard. Even with frequently smokey skies I've been able to grab a few nice sunsets as a reminder that this is a beautiful place to have a camera close at hand!  These startling reds are pure luck with timing... most nights are just not this intense!