Mariposa Coffee Company — Photo from MCC website

Howdy,

If you are ever traveling on your way between Mariposa and Oakhurst, enjoying the California scenery of climbs and pines on Highway 49 — maybe to or from Yosemite National Park — you have got to stop at the Mariposa Coffee Company and pick up some roasted beans.

(If you don’t figure to be passing by 2045 Hwy. 49 South, Mariposa, CA 95338 any time soon, you can also get it online, of course. Flavors listed below.)

Even if you’re not much of a coffee drinker: but especially if you are — you’ll love the wafting, or a should say permeating, aroma of coffee hanging around the place. It’s strong and wonderful from the onsite roasting and creative variations of flavor.

I started the last paragraph with the idea that you should stop by even if NOT a coffee drinker for two reasons. One, if you are, it’s an obvious stop and your car will probably veer off the highway and into the Mariposa Coffee Company’s lot on its own anyway; I know ours does. And, two, the coffee — roasted by owner Gerry Caputo, a friend of mine (which isn’t why I’ll call his coffee the best. That’ll be because it is the best) — is the best coffee around!

Seriously.

The best.

And here’s why it’s a great roast for those who aren’t always into coffee. That is, those who aren’t addicted to the morning cup. Would you believe I made it all the way through college without coffee. Even after an all-nighter near the end of my college career I didn’t have any coffee to get a boost for making it through the day. I hadn’t met Sarah yet.

But back to here’s why Mariposa Coffee Co. is a great roast for all. It’s not bitter.

It’s strong. Oh, it can be strong. A good, strong coffee.

But not bitter.

Smooth, so you can even drink it black (when you’d think it’d be too strong.)

Even the dark roasts, which is what we go for, aren’t bitter.

Believe it or not, I had someone tell me this week, “We were just up in your parents’ neck of the woods, Mariposa, and we stopped in at the Mariposa Coffee.”

Being that we are both from the Turlock area, I asked him if that’s where he typically gets his coffee, mentioning that we do, and he said, “I’m not much of a coffee drinker, actually, but when I do, that’s what I like. Good stuff.”

And I told him — you know the answer yet — “Yeah, that makes sense; it’s not bitter.”

Sarah and I have tried lots of roasts and flavors and have locked in on the “French Silk” (a smooth, dark roast, such as I was describing) as our mainstay, but there are all sorts available.

Before I present the list of them all, I’ll comment on a few others:

First, a recent discovery! The “Double Chocolate.” Amazingly good. It’s amazing because it tastes just about like a mocha, delicious, without needing the dairy or added chocolate. A dessert sans the calories. Pretty shockingly great. We’ve used that roast to make espresso for some fantastic lattes/“mochas.”

“The 49er Blend” is a best-seller, I understand, and it’s good, but again we choose the darker roasts and the 49er is a medium. People like it. Especially up in them thar hills — where the gold is. Where my parents are and their grandkids run free, and we can sneak a nap.

Caffeine or decaf, parents of young ones can make a nap happen if the opportunity arises. Though Gerry’s coffee (as we call it), can challenge that idea.

Another fun mention is “Mariposa Morning,” especially because in the Turlock Raley’s it sells under the name “Turlock Morning,” which is just kind of cool.

And, finally, the list of coffee roasts and flavors as given on the Mariposa Coffee Company website:

 

—Billy

Reading. Writing. Living.

Word Count: 56,555 / On Pace: 57,200 / Year’s Goal: 200,000

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