Sunbeams and coffee beans

Two brothers with a passion for thinking about things a little differently put their heads together and came up with a good idea.

Mike Hartkop had apprenticed as a coffee roaster, and Dave Hartkop had a bent toward inventions. They built a solar collector from an old satellite dish covered with plastic mirrors and discovered that by rotating the contraption to stay aligned with the sun, they could raise the temperature of a coffee-roasting chamber several hundred degrees. They could turn green coffee beans chocolate brown in less than half an hour. And that was all done using only the energy from the sun.

And thus was born a new business, Solar Roast Coffee in Pueblo.

"We named our collector Helios 1, after the Greek sun-god Helios," Mike said.

Helios became part of the logo that is on bags of their coffee beans roasted by solar energy.

Their idea took off in 2004, when they still lived in central Oregon. Their discovery was coupled with a desire to move to sunnier climes.

"We heard about the incredible number of days of sunshine in Colorado and started looking at places here to move our business," Dave said one Saturday at the Colorado Farm and Art Market, held behind the Margarita at PineCreek restaurant. "We decided on Pueblo and moved there in 2007."

And with 13 coffee roasters in Colorado Springs, Pueblo was probably a better choice, even though that wasn't their reasoning.

"We liked the small-town feel of Pueblo," Mike said. "We wanted people to look at Pueblo in a different light - not as the stepchild of Colorado Springs. Pueblo is a nice little town."

On Saturdays, the brothers travel to the market at the Margarita and set up a portable coffee roaster to demonstrate how the solar unit roasts coffee. They also have a booth where they sell cups of hot brewed coffee, as well as bags of coffee beans.

"In Pueblo, we have the fourth generation of Helios," Mike said. "It's a monster that can roast large batches of coffee. In about 15 to 25 minutes, I can roast 30 pounds of coffee beans."

What happens if the sky isn't so sunny?

"The Helios 4, the fourth generation of the solar roaster, is a hybrid roaster," he said. "Electricity is collected in six photovoltaic solar panels. When the weather is not sunny, the roaster is helped with a small propane heat source."

Does the coffee taste good? Richard Warner and Mary Oreskovich, who own Hopscotch Bakery in Pueblo, think it does, and they sell it in their bakery.

"I believe that the process of using the sun to roast the coffee is not as harsh as regular big burners," Warner said. "Mike has a lot of experience in coffee roasting and doesn't over-roast it."

Besides the Saturday market you can buy the Hartkops' coffee in Colorado Springs at Sammy's Organics, 830 Arcturus Drive off South Eighth Street, and Mud Slingers Coffee, 870 Garden of the Gods Road.

In Pueblo their coffee can be found at Hopscotch Bakery, 333 S. Union Ave.; their own store, Solar Roast Coffee, 226 N. Main St.; Perky Tea and Coffee, 421 N. Main St.; and Abriendo Inn, 300 W. Abriendo Ave.

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Contact the writer: 636-0271 or teresa.farney@gazette.com

COWBOY BRISKET
Yield: 4 servings

4 pounds first-cut beef brisket
3 cloves garlic, slivered
4 large onions, thinly sliced, divided
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 cup apple cider vinegar
1 1/2 tablespoons bacon fat
1 cup strong black coffee salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1/2 cup water

Procedure:
1. With long thin, sharp knife, make slits in meat and insert garlic slivers. Place meat in a bowl, spread 1 sliced onion and crushed garlic over meat, and pour in vinegar. Marinate 6 hours at room temperature or overnight in refrigerator, turning several times.

2. When ready to cook, preheat oven to 350 degrees.

3. Heat bacon fat in deep, heavy skillet large enough to hold brisket. Remove brisket from marinade and discard onion and vinegar. Dry with paper towels and add to skillet. Brown meat well on all sides. Remove brisket to platter.

4. In fat remaining in skillet, sauté remaining sliced onions until deeply browned. Pour in 1/2 cup coffee. Bring to boil, stirring and scraping bottom of skillet to loosen browned bits. Spread onions and liquid from skillet in shallow baking dish. Place brisket on onions. Season with salt and pepper. Pour in remaining coffee and water. Cover tightly with foil and place in oven 1/2 hour.

5. Turn down oven to 250 degrees and bake an additional 2 hours or until meat is very tender.

6. Slice brisket thinly against the grain. Skim fat from pan liquid. Return meat slices to pan. Serve at once or refrigerate.

Source: homecooking.about.com

CAPPUCCINO MUFFINS
Yield: 12 muffins

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons espresso coffee
1/2 teaspoon each salt and cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup whole milk
1/2 cup butter, melted and cooled
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup semisweet chocolate minichips

Procedure:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line 12 muffin tins with papers or grease tins liberally.

2. In large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, espresso, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Set aside.

3. In medium bowl, mix milk, butter, egg and vanilla until combined. Stir milk mixture into flour mixture only until combined. Do not overmix. Fold in chocolate chips.

4. Fill muffin cups 3/4 full. Bake 15-20 minutes.

Source: homecooking.about.com

OLD-FASHIONED POT ROAST IN COFFEE GRAVY
Yield: 6-8 servings

1/2 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon each salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 (4- to 5 1/2-pound) beef chuck roast, trimmed of excess fat
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
4 bay leaves
1 teaspoon dried thyme
2 cups water
2 cups freshly brewed coffee
1 tablespoon instant flour (such as Wondra)
2 tablespoons butter, chilled
1/4 cup whiskey (optional)
salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
Wide egg noodles, for serving (optional)

Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

2. On large plate or platter, stir together flour, salt and pepper. Dust beef roast with seasoned flour, discarding any excess.

3. Heat oil in large, heavy, ovenproof skillet over medium heat until hot. Add roast and brown on all sides, about 5 minutes per side. Remove roast from skillet and set aside.

4. Add onions to drippings in skillet and sauté over medium heat until softened. Return roast to skillet. Add bay leaves, thyme, water and coffee. Bring to simmer, stirring and turning to combine seasonings with roast. Cover and place skillet in oven. Bake 3-3 1/2 hours, or until fork tender. Remove roast from skillet, discard any bones or gristle and set aside, loosely covered with aluminum foil.

5. To prepare gravy, place skillet over medium heat, skim off any excess fat and add water, if necessary, to equal about 2 1/2 cups liquid. Sprinkle instant flour over gravy in skillet and cook about 5 minutes, stirring until smooth and thickened. Stir in butter and whiskey, if desired, and season with salt and pepper. Return roast to skillet to warm in gravy.

6. Serve with plenty of hot, buttered wide egg noodles, if desired.

Source: "The Great Coffee Book," by Timothy James Castle and Joan Nielsen