Revew: Awake Minds Burundi Single Origin

(2020) Any time a quality brewery like Tired Hands Brewing Company in Ardmore, PA, promotes a coffee roaster, it is imperative to take note. Awake Minds Coffee, the side project of Tired Hands Brewing - the caffeinated counterpoint as they say - has echoes of Kurt Vonnegut’s Billy Pilgrim in the About Us section. And why not with libations at their pub called Tralfamadorian, their French-style biere de garde, to don the name of Vonnegut’s alien creation. Tired Hands sign harkens to visions of the Once-ler’s shadowy arms.

Tired Hands does beer well, with people coming for miles for a pilgrimage. With that in mind we had high hopes for their single origin roast, Awake Minds’ Burundi. Excitedly we sliced open the whole bean bag and began the experience by ‘tap tap it open’ instead of their other suggestion: ‘force your way inside.’ For the latter we let the grinder do the work.

The opened bag presented two senses with rewards. First a wonderful, clean aroma wafted from the dark Awake Minds coffee bag. A sugary and syrupy scent filled the air to give off a pleasant aroma. This was followed by the sight of compact dry beans. These were the type that leave no residue on the grinder. We were off to the races so far. 

After a quick brewing session the coffee was excitedly sampled, then consumed. For a side project, this was impressive coffee. The Awake Minds website highlight notes of strawberry, chamomile, Indian coriander, and cacao nibs. The sweet flavors step forward and linger for a bit. Other notes of syrupy sweetness come through such as brown sugar, fig, and jam. The flavors came through as balanced. This is coffee that could be consumed all day with the feeling of smooth thought process. It helps the coffee drinker come unstuck in time, shall well say. 

Awake Minds is a small roasting effort, sporting five different roasts. Two roasts are barrel-aged with either cognac or rum kegs. Having Awake Mind roast to get through the day and a Tired Hands libation to celebrate the day’s accomplishment would support the same company twice. One notion to celebrate is not destroying the universe Tralfamadorian-style earlier that day. Perhaps the alertness provided by Awake Minds’ Burudi Single Origin coffee will prevent that.