The Mountain Ground Podcast
This is a podcast about mountains and coffee, caffeine and adventure , and sharing the passion that brings it all together! From bean to cup and base to summit, Gegrond coffee (www.gegrond.co.za) and Mountain Abandon (www.mountainabandon.com) bring you the ultimate podcast on great coffee and inspirational outdoor adventures! Expect to discover a whole new world of coffee brewing and adventure planning through our discussions on the what, why, when, where and how of all things Mountain Ground! Live Unrestricted by joining us on a journey to Abandon your Fears and Embrace the Mountains! MEET THE TEAM: FREDERIK - Always searching for a crazy new location in which to brew his favourite coffee! The Drakensberg is Frederik’s second home and on Tuesdays you can find him at Wolwespruit, running the time trial! NICOLETTE - Probably best known as a professional long-distance and ultra trail runner in South Africa, but with a history in triathlon and mountain biking as well. A lover of wild flowers and nature, trail and ultra running coaching, and a veterinarian in her spare time! PIERRE - An avid ultra-runner, an absolute Drakensberg fanatic and a knowledgeable adventure guide... A mountain-lover at heart, there’s nothing Pierre enjoys more than moving at altitude for extended periods of time. The longer and tougher a mountain mission becomes, the more in his element he is! PIETER - Let’s start off by saying that this guy takes the Nike slogan “Just Do It” way too seriously! Pieter is the ”Yes-Man” who is always on the lookout for his next adventure... A fan of African coffees, Pieter loves the juicy mouthfeel that these grinds typically provide. And, fun fact - on meeting Pieter you may be surprised by the unique qualities of his hair. It is fair to say that he might just be the blondest guy you’ll ever meet!
Listen on:
Episodes
Friday Oct 14, 2022
Friday Oct 14, 2022
One of our most enjoyable episodes to date, we decided to mix things up and chat to a creative figure! Alex Shapiro, an inspiring photogrpaher and videographer based in the lowveld, was kind enough to entertain our wide range of questions for the better part of an hour. From the difference between Drakensberg hiking and primitive trails, to minimalism, drones, what it takes to make a career change, and of course some shooting tips for aspiring photographers, we cover more topics than you can imagine... So take a listen - you're guaranteed to learn something from, or at the very least feel motivated by, @someshap and his Crusade Against The Mundane!
Monday Sep 19, 2022
Monday Sep 19, 2022
In this episode we chat to guest speaker Iain Peterkin about bike packing. An accomplished runner, Iain explains why he loves his old 26er and enjoys riding slower than he runs, and what to pack and eat on a back-road cycling mission... Anyone with a passion for movement and the outdoors is guaranteed to be planning a bikepacking trip after this.
Monday Aug 22, 2022
Monday Aug 22, 2022
Following on from a winter 'Berg fastpacking mission by Nicolette, we discuss the intricacies and art of moving "fast" with a pack. Still very much a grey area between trail running and hiking, we share our personal interpretations of fastpacking as well as some of the gear you'll need to move fast and light in the mountains!
Wednesday Aug 03, 2022
Wednesday Aug 03, 2022
This week we are back to full strength with a Gegrond and Mountain Abandon blend of tales from the past! We each share our first mountain hiking experience as well as our first encounter with coffee - two of life's greatest pleasures that have led us all down this trail and brought us together on the Mountain Ground podcast!
Sunday Jul 24, 2022
Sunday Jul 24, 2022
Ever wondered what coffee processing, such as washed and natural, is all about?
In this episode, the team welcomes Megan (the latest edition to the Gegrond family), bring you up to speed on our Shot In The Dark journey before explaining what is meant by "coffee processing" and how different processes can influence the coffee flavour and approach to roasting. We end the episode with the Gegrond team picking their favourite method for processing coffee. Hope you enjoy this episode!
01:52 - Introduction to Megan
04:58 - Update on Gegrond's a Shot in the Dark Journey
09:41 - Coffee processing methods
14:58 - Megan takes us through how the processing method impacts flavour
28:42 - Frederik explains how processing can influence your approach to roasting the coffee
34:08 - Gegrond team picks their favour processing method
Tuesday Jul 05, 2022
Tuesday Jul 05, 2022
Episode 7 of the Mountain Ground Podcast is a very special recording... In this edition Pieter, Pierre and Nicolette broadcast live all the way from Wales! They bring you the brand new flavors of the Burundi coffee from the Murabi Hills, as well as some raw emotion from Ultra Trail Snowdonia. For more insight into each of their races, from the highs to the lows to dealing with the unexpected, this one is not to be missed!
00:45 -New Coffee Burundi and our ASITD Tanzania beans
04:15 - We chat about Ultra Trail Snowdonia
Friday Jun 24, 2022
Friday Jun 24, 2022
In this episode we answer a few open questions from our previous discussion before Pieter chats about his Seven Sisters Skyrun race. That leads us into the topic of expectations in the mountains... Pierre and Nicolette then brief us on how to pace over challenging terrain, so if you're new to mountain running or racing your first trail event take a listen! We end this episode chatting about the " A Shot in the Dark 2022" coffee roasting competition and Gegrond's ambitions to take the top spot for a second year running!
01:10 - Caffeine content in a cup of coffee 05:20 - Expectations of pace in the mountains37:00 - A Shot in the Dark 2022
Friday May 27, 2022
Friday May 27, 2022
In this episode Frederik takes you on a historic journey of the not-so-old history of the AeroPress; Pieter cracks a few jokes and spills the beans on his personal Aeropress recipe, and Nicolette and Pierre chat about when and how to get your caffeine fix in training, racing and the mountains.
01:55 - Frederik on the history of the Aeropress!
07:44 - Aeropress recipe
21:50 - Pierre and Nicolette - Get your caffein fix in training and racing!
Thursday May 12, 2022
Thursday May 12, 2022
In this episode of Mountain Ground the Gegrond team enlightens us further on the development of coffee, bringing in some detail on coffee to water ratios. Listen out for Pieter's "Golden Ratio" and Frederik's insight into the art of roasting!
Mountain Abandon finally gets around to chatting about coaching and gives some advice on extracting the most from your training. If you're interested in ultra running and the necessary mindset then this one is for you!
01:15 - Development of coffee
12:27 - Extracting the most from you training
37:40 - Coffee ratios
Wednesday Apr 13, 2022
Wednesday Apr 13, 2022
We're pretty proud of Episode 3... Although it's all about extraction there's certainly less "pulling of teeth" as we start to find a conversational rhythm in podcasting! ;)
This episode of Mountain Ground is all about extraction! Pieter and Frederik from Gegrond discuss the elements that affect extraction times for different brewing methods. From the darkness of your roast to the coarseness of your grind, the temperature of your water and available pressure, pulling the perfect shot turns out not to be that simple!
Meanwhile, Pierre and Nicolette from Mountain Abandon enlighten you on the mountain rescue procedures of the Drakensberg. Listen out for a few of their self-extraction stories and what to do in more critical cases when you decide to involve the MCSA Mountain Rescue team.