I don’t know about you but I love coffee. It wasn’t always that way though. I actually couldn’t stand the stuff until working at a good friends coffee shop, Zaney’s, in Hailey, ID. Those early mornings finally broke me of my aversion. When I moved to Reno I wanted to keep supporting local coffee. A couple years after moving here I caught a news story featuring a local man who had just started his own roasting business, Blind Dog Coffee.
His name is Mark Berry and his story is pretty remarkable. He was diagnosed with cancer as a young child. The treatments affected his eyesight but he was able to beat the cancer and have a normal childhood. By the age of 48 his eyesight was further disintegrating and is now considered legally blind. He could no longer make a living doing the same job he had done for years so he searched for something new. He began to research coffee and taught himself how to roast with his remaining eyesight. He now roasts the coffee by smell and sound. The coffee tastes great and proceeds are donated to the Angel Kiss Foundation which helps fight childhood cancer.
You can pick up bags of Blind Dog Coffee at almost every local grocery store in Reno.
My name is Nicole Carlsen. I'm just a 20-something grad student trying to figure it out.
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All those early mornings at Zaney’s haha I had a lot of fun working with you and Zane. Great blog Nicole!
Miss working there for sure, it was a lot of fun.