The Running Barista

I am an expatriate from San Pedro Sula, Honduras now living in Harrisonburg, Virginia. I am an architect, barista, and marathon runner. If you're into coffee and running, then this is the blog for you!

[josethompson]

Freshly milled flour for today’s bakes.

[josethompson]

Progression of pan pizza bake.

1. Shaping dough on half sheet pan,

2. Application of sauce prior to parbaking.

3. After parbaking

4. Finished product with toppings.

[josethompson]

Here is a photo of our coffee packaging. Being a designer and obsessed with how things look, it was really important for me to have packaging that stood out from the crowd. We thought about this for a long time. And after many different iterations, we arrived at this.

We had three main goals with our packaging:

1 - it had to be stackable. Because we could fit more on a display shelf. You can’t do that with typical coffee pouches. Plus, the box shape by itself would stand out in a sea of stand-up pouches.

2. We wanted it to show you not only where the coffee comes from and it’s tasting notes, but also the brew methods recommended for each particular coffee. That way you know if we recommend the coffee for espresso, or French press, or pour-over.

3. We wanted for the coffee box to be sturdy enough to be mailed as is, with no additional mailing packaging required. Just slap a shipping label on it and drop it off at the post office.

Chestnut Ridge Coffee Roasters

Brew your Next Adventure Our Coffee

[josethompson]

Sunday sourdough.

[josethompson]

Daycare is so damned expensive!

Spending more than $1,000 a month for daycare is insane. But in these parts, that’s just about average. And I tend to be pretty stingy with money (unless I’m traveling internationally) so parting with that much money every month goves me some annxiety. All I can think about is how I can’t put that money into savings anymore. Sigh.

I don’t know how people with more than 2 kids do it. Much less single parents.

[josethompson]

Here are a few photos from event we participated in a few weeks ago for Sub Rosa Supper Club in a totally remote area of the George Washington National Forest. Sadly, I was out of town for this, but my business partner David was there to make some kick ass coffee for the dinner guests. You can read more about it here: www.subrosasupperclub.com/blog/2019/7/27/florafauna www.chestnutridgecoffee.com

[josethompson]

5:00 AM Runs

I love waking up at 5:00 AM for a morning run. It's quiet, the sun isn't out yet, and even though it is humid, it feels quite nice. By the time I'm done with my run, the sun is barely starting to come out. I have plenty of time to make breakfast, sip coffee on the porch, shower, and get to work For the longest time, I struggled with waking up early and it really frustrated me. I'd wake up too late, plan on working out after work, and it never happened. And that cycle repeated itself every single day. And part of the problem was me staying up till midnignt watching Netflix or Hulu. I love having my iPad and iPhone, but those things are such time wasters. So now, I go to sleep at 10:00 ish and have no problems waking up by 5:00. Having a crying baby wake you up at 4:30 - 5:00 am also helps.

[josethompson]

Hello again, tumblr.

It has been quite a while since my last post. A few years at least. And a few things have happened since. 1. I had a baby girl. She’s a little over 4 months old now and I am happy beyond words to have her. She’s my little angel. Those of you who follow me on Facebook or Instagram have seen her, I’m sure. 2. I finally started the coffee roasting business that I talked about for years and years and years. It took years of planning, city bureaucracy, food safety inspections, and a bunch of other lame stuff to finally get it done. The amount hoops one has to jump through to start a food business is nuts. If any of you want to check it out, here is the link www.chestnutridgecoffee.com. That’s it as far as major changes. I’m still running (whith Milo, of course) although not as much as I would like to. Having a baby wake you up once or twice in the middle of the night makes it a bit challenging to get up at 5:30 to run or go to the gym. But I get my runs in when I can. I’ll start posting again more often. I’ve missed having this as an outlet for all my random shit especially since Facebook has turned into such a clusterfuck of people trying to convince each other that their political views are the wrong. Until next time, tumblr.

[josethompson]

These are all the croissants that are leftover after this morning’s bake.

[josethompson]

Look at that stack of cheesy pupusas. Yum!

[josethompson]

What's your favorite Christmas movie?

I'm compiling a list so I can watch them all!!

[josethompson]

This loaf came out particularly amazing today. 85% hydration and 6-1/2 hour final rise.

[josethompson]

I forgot how amazing sunrises are. Especially during an early morning run.

[josethompson]

I decided to try a new route on my bike today. The first half was pretty awesome with some rolling hills. But about a mile after I took this photo, the hills got way worse. I swear there was one hill that felt like a 45° slope. Near the end, I was barely maintaining enough momentum on those hills to stay upright. Talk about burn!

[josethompson]

Tomorrow morning's breakfast is going to be great. Sixteen naturally-leavened croissants.

[josethompson]

Apricot pie for the week. Although I doubt it'll last more than a few days...

[josethompson]

Yesterday afternoon, I went on an pretty hilly 15 mile ride. And about halfway through the ride, it started to pour. I can't tell you how amazing that rain felt. especially since it was 90°F with a heat index of 98. I'm still not sure how my phone survived.