Neeeerrrrdddd!

 Long ago, in the ancient times, before the invention of the World Wide Web, back when Nintendo was still only known for their playing cards, a couple of guys got together and designed an interactive tabletop role playing game called Dungeons and Dragons.  Now I know what you’re thinking; this coffee blog has now entered the realm of super dorkdom that could never have a coffee crossover!  Let me make one thing perfectly clear.  If someone can make money from it, it can definitely have a coffee made for it.  Think of any hobby you enjoy and I’m certain I can find a coffee themed around it.  Dogs, video games, YouTube personalities, Disney, you can find almost anything, which is great for gift giving and supporting smaller roasters.  Patrick Ballesteros, a San Diego artist, partnered with a local coffee shop to hand draw labels for some of their Shop Blend bags, so yes, even art sells coffee.  But D and D?! What the what?

Something I imposed upon myself at a young age was to take an interest in everything.  Even if you don’t think it will be something you like, learn about it anyway.  It creates an open door to starting conversations, making friends, and finding out what truly makes you happy.  Knowing a small amount on a larger subject, especially one that a loved one shows a great interest in, is the best way to engage with them and make them feel important and heard, which in turn, builds their confidence, and is powerful in shaping their personality.  I love to hear the excitement and passion in someone’s voice when they get to share something they enjoy.  That said, several important people in my life play this interesting game of dice and storytelling.

Without going into detail, Dungeons and Dragons, has an extensive library of fictional characters to choose from, to play as, and to have in your stories, either as foe or friend.  The person hosting the game (Dungeon Master) chooses a tale from the books or creates their own story, taking the players on an adventure.  The numbers on the dice align with predetermined stats that can represent many things, such as damage taken, how much attack ability becomes available, or whether or not your character has enough charisma to complete a task.  Spread on the table are various maps or vignettes representing where the character tokens (miniature figures) are at in the story.  The randomness from the die makes the game fun and unpredictable.  I have heard that a good Dungeon Master adapts to create the best possible outcomes or funniest scenarios.  The game was designed for group gatherings in person, as seen on Stranger Things, but with time and technology, several of my friends play online, which is great for pandemic situations, and in turn brings us back to me taking a larger interest in what my mates love.  I played my first, and so far only, online D and D game last month with my bff, my cousin by heart, and her husband.  As intimidating as the game seemed, it turns out we all had a great time but I’m so bad at math that I put my fellow adventurers in charge of my gold to be safe.  

In my never ending quest to be a well informed friend, my nerd culture well runneth over.  While thumbing through my feed, I see that Emerald Knights Comics and Games has posted the newest item to hit their shelves.  The two-story shop, located near several other of my favorite independent comic and gaming shops in Burbank, Ca, is set up with ¼ of the store dedicated to comics, ¼ dedicated to tabletop games and accessories, and the last half of the first floor is all D and D related.  The loft’s second floor has tables for in-shop game matches and tournaments (pre covid, of course).  Back on the first floor dragon's lair, Emerald Knights has everything you need to have a D and D campaign at home, (paintable mini figures, books, paints, maps, and a knowledgeable staff) as well as offering a weekly mini figure paint night to encourage their overall community loving feel.  I was elated to see right at the checkout counter was a cardboard display of Geek Grind Coffee.  I’d not heard of this brand prior to buying their product but the quick overview is they hand harvest their mountain grown Columbian coffee and roast in small batches, then package and ship it themselves, being one of very few companies that are a “Certified Origin Production”.  The coffee is themed to have a broad hand over the characters found in tabletop adventure gaming, as well as a few flavors themed to the Pathfinder series (similar to D and D).  Elves, Wizards, and Dragons are a few of the eye catching words in a reflective font on the packaging.  I grabbed the Wizard’s Mist Blend of Ages light roast for myself, the Elder’s Fathom Ancient Blend medium roast for my cousin, and the husband wanted a Pathfinder blend just for kicks.  I was only slightly swayed on the Elder blend as it had a green, blue, and silver monstrous Cthulhu with its tentacles wrapped around a ship and the Lovecraftian kaiju was a large part of other in-store purchases that day.  At checkout, I can’t say I was shocked by the price, but I don’t normally drop $20 for whole bean coffee per bag but the 14 ounce bags and speciality of it lined up with what I was expecting to pay.  

Freshly ground then immediately brewed, from bag to mug, the Wizard’s Mist had a fruit forward aroma and taste.  I’m not sure if the roasted coffee flavor was playing second fiddle because the roast was so light or because the description on the back of the bag reads like a boozy produce section.  It is a good coffee.  I’d like to try the other flavors but not at that retail tag.  Because of its single origin status, to buy the coffee it can be found in very few shops like Emerald Knights or the next known location being a comic book shop in Las Vegas, or the internet.  Geek Grinds online shop offers the same size bags for the same price as in stores but in addition they offer sampler sizes for under 5 bucks, some gifting collections, and merchandise like tees and mugs.  I found some samplers on Amazon for the same 5 dollar price but sold from a 3rd party calling itself a coffee shop so I feel that might defeat the “straight to you” ideal the company wants to carry.  Overall opinion would be to get it only if you are gifting to someone who is a huge fantasy fan or if you are hosting a tabletop adventuring game and want to show off your mega nerd status, I mean, your passion for this genre.  

Now I’m not going to leave off this blog letting you still think that you shouldn’t at least open your mind and heart to the idea of Dungeons and Dragons, or anyone’s favorite pastime, for that matter.  The point of D and D is storytelling.  Something I got out of all the game’s paraphernalia was a series of storytelling guide books called Table Fables that is hands down, the most creative book for writing ideas and inspiration I’ve ever picked up.  Part unique dice rolling, random decision making, and part absolutely detailed imagery, these books give any aspiring author a lightning fast way to build stories for any reader and I think that is an invaluable tool for hobbyists of any kind.  Still don’t feel like you can relate to something so seemingly out of your league?  Here is a small list of celebrities who are in the D and D scene:  Joe Manganiello (has his own line of dice and related merch), Patton Oswalt, Wil Wheaton, Felicia Day, Vin Diesel, Anderson Cooper, Napoleon Dynamite himself- Jon Heder, James Franco, former 2020 presidential candidate- Andrew Yang, Mike Myers, Robin Williams (who was such a nerd that he named his daughter after a video game princess), the absolutely animated Terry Crews, many musicians and others (I only named the ones I verifiably know), but my favorite of all has to be Stephen Colbert.  He wears his love for Lord of the Rings and Dungeons and Dragons on his sleeve and the child-like sparkle in his eyes when he brings up these topics makes my lips start to turn up like when The Grinch’s heart grew 3 sizes that day.  Own what you love (keep it legal), share it with the world, and let others do the same.  

“Being a nerd is not about what you love, it’s about how you love it” -Wil Wheaton

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