Winter means different things depending on where you live. Winter in the Sonoran Desert is vastly different than winter here in the Pacific Northwest. While many lament the low-hanging clouds, gray days, and constant wetness it’s a season I look forward to. Plus, there’s no better time to drink coffee than now.

It’s 4:00 PM and the skies are already darkening. But I don’t mind. You can still adventure and explore but you simply need to get an earlier start and maximize the limited daylight. I love it because the weather invites more reflection. Socrates once said that the unreflective life is not worth living. No other time of the year forces us to slow down and reflect than now.

Whether the clouds and rain have socked us in or the snow there’s a reset that happens in the winter. While we do ride admittedly it’s not as much as in the summer with seemingly endless sunshine and long days. We don’t have to plan as much too in the summer and rides after work are easy since it gets dark late. But in the winter? Things slow down. We slow down. We hit the gym more. We ride our other bikes. We drink more coffee.

Life is about seasons. We do best when our life has rhythm to it. For years living in the desert I felt as though my rhythm was off. There seems to be only two seasons: oven hot and blissfulness. Even in the times of bliss you inwardly harbored seasonal bitterness because all too soon the temps would soon again soar. But in the Pacific Northwest? We have four distinct seasons. Each are welcomed and needed. Including winter. Rhythms.

I’d be the first to admit my mountain bike is going through a little bit of neglect. I also detect jealously towards my other bikes … particularly my gravel bike. I even took my pedals off my mountain bike to use for my gravel bike. Now we don’t seem to be on speaking terms. But I reassure it that it’s only temporary. I promise. Winter means more time on pavement and gravel. I need the switch-up as well.

What I love about the Pacific Northwest is the diversity of weather and climate. On the western half of the Cascades we’re hemmed in under a cloudy canopy as the weather gets hung up on the mountains. Rain is a constant reality. Higher up and the rain turns into snow. While it’s dark, rainy, and moody in Portland there are feet of epic snow to ski on in the mountains. The coastal towns are damp and dark but life on the east side of the Cascades is sunny in the high desert. I guess in Oregon you can have your cake and eat it too. There are seasons and climate varieties for all. If you want to live as a webfoot you can. If you crave the life of a desert rat that’s available for you as well.

But the dark brooding winter is what I crave.

This is the time of the year when I’m most grateful for coffee. Not because I need. I simply crave it more. No, not as a stimulant to energize me through the short days. I mostly enjoy the taste and temperature of coffee. I treasure making it by hand every morning. The warmth of the mug. The heat as I take a sip. It’s comforting. Soothing. It’s like it gives you a big every morning and whispers in your ear … “we got this today." Let’s do this.”

What would we ever do without coffee?

Words and Photo by Sean Benesh

Founder of Loam Coffee