Martin’ s winemaking expertise gives his coffee a unique flair. Whereas most places create blends, he focuses on single-origin roasts from countries that produce the highest grades of coffee, all in pursuit of achieving the best flavors. So far his coffee has gotten positive reviews, but he’ s unsure if it will become a large-scale venture.“ I’ d like it to, in a way, because I think that people deserve to drink better coffee than they do,” he explained. Although he sells his coffee at the winery, currently the main focus is the joy of the process and bringing joy to others through it.

The more passionate Martin became about roasting, the more it ignited a bit of a crusade for him.“ We get in these habits and we forget what’ s possible. We just go day to day drinking the same thing we’ ve always consumed, but coffee is boundless in flavors,” he said. Everything from the type of coffee to how it’ s stored and prepared affects the final outcome, but what Martin hopes most is that people will move away from dark roast coffee, which gives coffee a sense of weight or fullness often described as“ body,” but usually lacks subtlety of flavor.“ If you want to experience the true flavor of the coffee from the area you purchased it from, a medium roast will contain more of the acid and sugars and you’ ll get what we call in the wine business“ terroir”— a sense of place— and notice these different flavors. Whereas in dark coffee these differences in flavors are subdued and replaced by this body flavor,” he explained.

Martin understands that it’ s hard to let go of habits that have served us for years, and he does make a dark roast for those who can’ t kick the habit, but he encourages everyone to broaden their horizons. He offers coffee tastings at Martin Ranch Winery, which is open Friday through Sunday the first and third weekend of every month, so that people can see that coffee can have nuanced flavors just like varieties of wines. He hopes it will inspire others to elevate their coffee experience.“ I can remember most of the great wines I’ ve had over the years, and it should be that way with coffee,” Martin said.

It ' s hard to say what Castaneda and Martin’ s lives would be like without coffee, but both feel that their days are brighter for it. Their stories show how coffee highlights the beauty of human endeavors, our connections to each other, and how our cultures and destinies continue to intertwine.

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Images by Mike Sanchez

Images by Dan Martin

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Dan Martin shares the joy and nuances of coffee at Martin Ranch Winery in Gilroy.

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