September Bean of the Month: Wilderness Blend

Be Wild. Listen Closely. Caffeinate & Recreate.

September brings cooler mornings—the kind that make a hot cup of coffee taste even better. Before heading into the mountains, we start with an AeroPress.

The AeroPress Go is our favorite lightweight way to brew Wilderness Blend in the backcountry. It’s compact, simple and capable of producing an incredible cup without requiring much extra gear.

The process couldn’t be easier: boil your water and let it rest briefly. Add one scoop of finely ground Wilderness Blend, pour in the hot water, give it a stir and press. The result is almost espresso-like—thick, sweet and concentrated—with the bright characteristics of Wilderness Blend coming fully to life.

There’s something special about drinking that first cup in the mountains, headlamp still on, while everything around you is quiet. It brightens the morning long before the sun comes up. That first cup also gives us a chance to slow down and experience coffee for what it is: the aroma, sweetness, body, acidity and all the subtle nuances that went into creating it.

Like life, the wilderness doesn’t always give you what you went looking for. You can hike for miles through acres of National Forest, hoping to find a herd of elk or hear a bull screaming from the next ridge. Sometimes, you find exactly what you came for. And sometimes, you find silence. But the wilderness is never truly silent. Start listening. There is a lot happening when we slow down enough to hear it.

Mating Season in the Mountains

September is when the mountains come alive. Mating season is upon us, and bull elk are beginning to bugle across the mountains as they gather their harems and challenge other bulls. On a crisp September morning, standing on a ridge somewhere in the great American West, it can sound like a wildlife symphony.

As I write this, I’m sitting on a wilderness ridge, watching a young two-point buck, still in velvet, feed his way across a scrub-oak hillside. Looking across these mountains, I can’t help but think about the wilderness where the coffee in my cup began.

Papua New Guinea and Peru:

These two mountainous places lie thousands of miles from this Utah ridge. Both are incredibly beautiful and full of life. Farmers and harvesters work their steep landscapes to grow the coffees that eventually make their way to our roastery and into Wilderness Blend. This year, that connection feels especially meaningful.

Later this month, I’ll travel to Peru to connect directly with some of the growers and harvesters whose hard work and passion allow us to enjoy their coffee so many miles away. There is an incredible journey inside every cup. From a mountainside in Peru or Papua New Guinea, to our roasters in Utah, to an AeroPress Go or thermos tucked into a backpack somewhere high on a ridge.

This September, Be Wild.

Grab a bag of Wilderness Blend. Wake up early. Brew a cup or fill the thermos. Then fuel your way into the forest or up onto a ridgeline and listen. Chase the hope of finding a herd. Listen for bulls bugling and cows chirping back through the timber. And if you don’t find them? Appreciate the unsilent silence of the wilderness.

Those thousands of acres of public land belong to all of us. Don’t take them for granted. Get out there. Explore them. Respect them. Protect them. And appreciate how fortunate we are to have wild places where we can still disappear for a while. And while we’re talking about things we shouldn’t take for granted, don’t overlook what we simply call our House Blend.

Wilderness Blend may be our everyday coffee, but there is nothing ordinary about what it takes to make it. There are farmers who grow it. Hands that harvest it. People who process and transport it. And there is a crew here at Daily Rise putting their own passion and hard work into roasting, blending, packaging and brewing it for you. That’s a lot of people and a lot of miles behind one cup of coffee.

So this September, slow down enough to appreciate it. Drink the coffee. Climb the ridge. Listen to the wilderness. And most importantly—Be Wild.

Wilderness Blend — September Bean of the Month:

Use code BOMSEP26 at checkout during the month of September.