There's something about Thursday mornings that calls for bold choices. Maybe it's the fact that the week is in full swing, or maybe it's just that almost-the-weekend energy asking for a little more grit. Either way, this week we're pairing FB Roasters' Cowboy Blend with a book that reframes one of America's most mythologized journeys: Lewis and Clark Through Indian Eyes: Nine Indian Writers on the Legacy of the Expedition by Alvin M. Josephy Jr.
The Blend: Cocoa, Caramel, and the American West
Cowboy Blend isn't subtle, and it doesn't apologize for it. This is a coffee that combines medium and dark roasted beans to create a cup that's rich, slightly smoky, and layered with cocoa and caramel notes. Think campfire mornings, wide-open skies, and the kind of coffee that could fuel a cross-country journey on horseback.
The flavor profile here leans into dessert territory without tipping into overly sweet. You get that deep, roasted cocoa bitterness balanced by smooth caramel undertones and a whisper of vanilla. It's the kind of blend that works whether you're brewing it cowboy-style over an open flame or using a French press in your kitchen at 6 a.m.
What makes Cowboy Blend stand out in the world of single origin coffee beans is its intentional blending. While single origin coffees spotlight the unique terroir of one region, blends like this one pull from multiple growing areas to create something greater than the sum of its parts. The beans hail from Indonesia, Central America, and South America, each contributing its own character to the final cup. The result? A coffee that feels like the American West: bold, rugged, and unapologetically flavorful.
The Book: Whose Story Gets Told?
Now let's talk about the book you're holding in your other hand. Lewis and Clark Through Indian Eyes is a collection of essays by nine Native American writers who examine the Corps of Discovery expedition from perspectives that rarely make it into the history books. Edited by Alvin M. Josephy Jr., this anthology asks a crucial question: What did the Lewis and Clark expedition actually mean for the Indigenous peoples whose lands they crossed?
Most of us grew up hearing the Lewis and Clark story as one of adventure, exploration, and Manifest Destiny. Two intrepid explorers (and Sacagawea, often reduced to a supporting character) charting unknown territory for the young United States. But "unknown" is a loaded word when you're talking about lands that had been inhabited, cultivated, and navigated by Indigenous nations for thousands of years.
The writers in this collection, including Vine Deloria Jr., N. Scott Momaday, and Debra Magpie Earling, don't just critique the expedition. They contextualize it. They examine what came after: the displacement, the broken treaties, the systematic erosion of tribal sovereignty. They also celebrate the resilience and continued presence of Native communities who are still here, still telling their stories, still reclaiming the narrative.
Reading this book isn't comfortable. It shouldn't be. But it's essential if you want to understand the full weight of American history and the real cost of "exploration."
Why This Pairing Works
So why pair a bold Western-themed coffee with a book that challenges Western mythology? Because sometimes the best pairings aren't about harmony, they're about tension.
Cowboy Blend evokes a romanticized version of the American West: rugged individualism, wide horizons, the frontier spirit. Lewis and Clark Through Indian Eyes strips away that romance and asks you to sit with the harder truths. It's a pairing that invites reflection. As you sip that rich, caramel-laced coffee, you're also absorbing perspectives that complicate the very mythology the blend's name invokes.
There's also something fitting about pairing a blend with a book that emphasizes multiple voices and perspectives. Just as Cowboy Blend draws from beans grown across continents, this anthology draws from writers across tribal nations, each bringing their own experience and insight to the conversation.
Brewing Notes: How to Make the Most of Cowboy Blend
If you're brewing Cowboy Blend at home, here are a few tips to bring out those cocoa and caramel notes:
French Press: Use a coarse grind and a 1:15 coffee-to-water ratio. Let it steep for four minutes. The French press method highlights the full body and lets those caramel undertones shine.
Pour Over: For a cleaner cup that still showcases the blend's complexity, try a Hario V60 or Chemex. Use a medium grind and take your time with the pour. You'll get more clarity on the cocoa notes this way.
Cowboy Coffee (Stovetop): If you want to go full frontier, boil water in a pot, add coarsely ground coffee, let it steep for a few minutes, then pour slowly (the grounds should settle at the bottom). It's rustic, it's traditional, and it pairs perfectly with the themes in this week's reading.
Reading Notes: How to Approach the Essays
Lewis and Clark Through Indian Eyes isn't a single narrative, it's a conversation. Each essay stands on its own, so you don't have to read it cover to cover in one sitting. Start with the introduction by Alvin M. Josephy Jr. to get a sense of the anthology's scope, then pick an essay that resonates with you.
Vine Deloria Jr.'s contribution is sharp, funny, and unflinching. N. Scott Momaday's piece brings a poet's sensibility to historical analysis. Debra Magpie Earling's writing is visceral and deeply personal. Each writer brings a different lens, and together they create a multifaceted portrait of what the expedition meant, and continues to mean, for Indigenous peoples.
Pair this book with time to sit with your thoughts. Don't rush through it. Let it challenge you. Let it make you uncomfortable. That discomfort is part of the learning.
The Bigger Picture: Coffee, History, and Storytelling
At Dale's Angels Inc., we believe that coffee and books aren't just about comfort, they're about connection. Connection to place, to history, to the people whose labor and land make our daily rituals possible. When you pour a cup of Cowboy Blend, you're engaging with a product that draws from bean-growing regions around the world. When you read Lewis and Clark Through Indian Eyes, you're engaging with voices that have been historically marginalized but are essential to understanding the full American story.
Both the coffee and the book invite us to think beyond the surface. What stories are we told? Who benefits from those stories? And whose perspectives are we missing?
Final Sip
This Tuesday, give yourself permission to sit with complexity. Brew a strong cup of Cowboy Blend, crack open Lewis and Clark Through Indian Eyes, and let yourself engage with history that doesn't fit neatly into a heroic narrative. The cocoa and caramel notes in your mug will remind you that even bold, rugged flavors have nuance. The essays in your hands will remind you that every story has more than one side.
And if you find yourself thinking differently about the American West, about exploration, about who gets to be called a pioneer, well, that's a Tuesday morning well spent.
Ready to explore more coffee and book pairings? Visit Far From Beale Street for our latest recommendations, or reach out to us at our contact page. We're always here to talk coffee, books, and the stories that shape us.