My name is Joel and I founded Highlanders Coffee as a passion project to share my love of specialty coffee with as many people as possible. I admit that I am way too enthusiastic about specialty coffee, especially when its been properly sourced and roasted. My experience with coffee has changed how I see various cultures from around the world, what I value in the coffee industry, and most importantly how it helps me enjoy the conversations I get to share over a cup of this delicious elixir. Coffee for me is essential to how I enjoy life! And the best thing about it, I get to experience its goodness every day from the comfort of my home.
Home Roaster
I spent years learning about roasting coffee on a Behmor 1600 (basically a toaster oven for coffee), where I would roast 1/2 pound of single origin coffee at a time. I started buying and roasting coffee from every coffee producing country until I learned enough to know what I liked. As it turns out, I liked it all!!
Roasting coffee was therapeutic for me. After putting the kids to bed, I would spend my nights roasting coffee on my back porch. I learned the aromas of the various stages of coffee development, how to draw the maximum flavor profile from roasting techniques, and what happens when a roast goes too long. Glad to have a garden hose close by!
The Behmor 1600 was a great little machine for learning about coffee roasting, but I wanted to expand this operation so more people can enjoy the wonders of craft coffee. So I convinced my wife to let me buy a bigger roaster and take over the laundry room in the garage. She was able to get the laundry room of her dreams out of the deal, so this was an easy sell! I roasted thousands of pounds of coffee in that tiny room. Neighbors would see the light on and go on their nightly walks so they could smell the coffee roasting while they were out and about. It became a welcomed neighborly routine.
Coffee Brewing
Of course coffee roasting alone isn’t enough! I had to learn everything I could about brewing coffee. And by brewing coffee, I specifically mean brewing coffee 1 cup at a time. Part of what I enjoy about making coffee is perfecting the craft of brewing. The more I practiced, the more I enjoyed the subtleties and rituals of making a pour over coffee. I continue to learn more and more each day, as the possibilities of new and interesting specialty coffees are endless.
My goal is to change the way people drink their coffee… one cup at a time! I hope that Highlanders Coffee can inspire you to take the journey into specialty coffee and ditch the need for fancy marketed low quality coffee.
Thank you!
Joel Gordon