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Coffee People: Nick Visconti, DRINK COFFEE DO STUFF · Coffee People Podcast

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In this podcast show notes. Hey, good morning everyone.
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Welcome to the coffee people podcast, which is part of the
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roast, West Coast, Coffee Network and presented by rho
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Star Coffee packaging. If you are roasting coffee, and
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you want to put your perfectly crafted beans into a
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fine-looking package or tin. You'll want to check out roast,
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our dock, Huh? I'm Ryan Walt.
1:25
And this is the coffee podcast where we meet really
1:28
interesting. People, from all corners of the
1:30
coffee industry. Today I'm conversing with Nick
1:33
Visconti, former professional snowboarder and current
1:36
co-founder of drink coffee do stuff based in South Lake Tahoe.
1:41
California, Nick's obsession with the dark art, as he calls
1:44
it began on top of a mountain, it led him down the path into a
1:49
years-long pursuit of coffee education even while he was
1:53
Still winning medals as a snowboarder and eventually to
1:56
the creation of drink coffee. Do stuff, a specialty Coffee
1:59
Company. Built with the belief that
2:01
extraordinary coffee leads to an extraordinary life, Nick, and I
2:05
chatted, while he was sitting outside his Lake Tahoe, shop in
2:09
our video chat, I could see the Tall Pines reflected in the
2:11
glass window behind him here. The slight whistle of wind.
2:15
And even the occasional young bird chirping, I found myself
2:19
craving the mountains more specifically a craving for a Cup
2:23
of coffee in the mountains as for me for once, I wasn't in my
2:27
closet podcasting Studio, A thanks and a big shout out to
2:30
the team at Hosea coffee Source. One of the show's industry
2:34
partners and some excellent green coffee importers based out
2:37
of Anaheim. California for letting me post
2:39
up in there, cupping space for the morning.
2:42
Today's conversation served as a reminder to me that I need to
2:45
get out more often because there are good things out in the world
2:48
wherever you are having an adventure today, you can still
2:52
scroll the drink. He underscored do stuff,
2:54
Instagram, feed, or peruse the merch on, drink coffee, do
2:57
stuff.com, I'm a size large and my birthday is coming up.
3:02
I'm just saying, if you can't find the links on your own, I
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got you there in this shows podcast notes on your favorite
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podcasting platform and in the newest post on roast
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westcoast.com where you can also sign up for this shows
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newsletter. That way you won't miss any of
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these interviews or our coffee. Smarter education pods, okay?
3:23
Okay, let's get after it. My coffee mug is full all the
3:27
way to the brim with coffee and excitement for this conversation
3:30
with Nick Visconti, co-founder of drink coffee.
3:33
Do stuff on the coffee people podcast.
3:41
If you could introduce yourself to the coffee people audience,
3:44
just your name and the company that you run, where you are.
3:48
And what your favorite Ninja Turtle is, who Ninja Turtle,
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okay, right on my name is Nick Visconti and I own drink coffee
3:58
do stuff. We are Lake Tahoe.
4:00
Specialty coffee roaster on the Ninja Turtle question, you know,
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it Knitted lie. I was more of like a rocket
4:09
power type of guy and with my background, you know, Autos my
4:15
man. So I'll do a little pivot from
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Ninja Turtles and to my other favorite childhood cartoon and
4:22
hopefully get the probably gets a probably says, a lot about me.
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I was gonna say, immediately changes the, the topic, the
4:28
questioning. Yeah.
4:31
You know, he's always finding his own path.
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Well, I want to talk about drink coffee.
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Do stuff a lot about that. That and coffee in general.
4:38
But coffee is not your first career and it's not the only
4:42
thing there is to know about you, so I'm wondering if you
4:44
could share some background. What were you doing before?
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This Enterprise came along Yeah, absolutely.
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So, in many ways, drink coffee do stuff is the culmination or
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almost Persona fication of my history.
5:00
And we always say, work hard play harder and the first, you
5:05
know, 10 years of my career life.
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I was a professional snowboarder and I played really hard.
5:11
And so now I'm making up for it on the work side.
5:13
But I started at 18 as a professional snowboarder.
5:19
And then my final contract ran out at about 28 years old and
5:23
there was a couple years in between there and we launched
5:26
drink coffee do stuff when I was 30 and I was about six years
5:30
ago. So that kind of dates me and I'm
5:31
now 36 but my history is all in Winter Alpine Sports and
5:38
particularly snowboarding. But it was pretty rad because at
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the Apex of my career maybe between 2008 and 2013, 14.
5:50
I was traveling a lot and one of the things that I found not only
5:55
incredibly engaging them on a global level was but also on a
6:00
personal level. It's just simply that that
6:02
snowboarding was like this great conduit to all these different
6:06
cultures and and and peoples. And and I'm was very fortunate
6:11
and thankful to travel around the world and, and be able to
6:15
ride in all these incredible spots for sure.
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But also, You know, really engage in a global community.
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And and so one of the things in those travels over that that six
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year time period, that I also found was that was a great
6:29
conduit to people. And was coffee and and I wasn't
6:35
necessarily even a coffee drinker.
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I we can talk about how the drink coffee do stuff.
6:40
Kind of Brandon Mantra came about later, but what I really
6:43
loved about it was very much what I was experiencing and
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snowboarding is there was this Global culture Global community?
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And I thought that was really fascinating and I think that was
6:54
perhaps the, the first segue from from snowboarding into
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coffee. While it might seem like a
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complete World apart. They're both.
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Passion projects for a lot of people and I got really stoked
7:05
on that. Was there a first kind of
7:08
experience with coffee that besides the interaction with
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people? But a first experience of coffee
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that made you think this is something that I'm is going to
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be part of my life. I'm going to pursue this or this
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sparked an interest that later on retrospectively.
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You can look back and be like. That was the beginning.
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Yeah, absolutely. So there's a glacier in
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Switzerland called sauce. Faye, it's right next door to
7:30
the infamous Matterhorn zermat. And because much of the Alps is
7:36
All you can ride your round and so I would go there every fall
7:40
for weeks and months on end and and train, and a top of sauce
7:46
Faye up at 12,000 feet, is one of the highest cafes and the
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Alps. And so, our days on the glacier
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where like snowboard espresso, snowboard cappuccino, snowboard
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long, black, and, and so on and so forth.
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And, you know, I got, I mean, we were like, just caffeinated and,
8:02
and killing it up there, for sure.
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But at the same time, I was Being recruited by energy drinks
8:08
sponsors. And I found I could never get
8:11
behind the synthetic ingredients and artificial sweeteners.
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And so I started just drinking a lot of coffee and and that's
8:18
even where the drink coffee do, stuff, Mantra began.
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Well at that point, you know, we're it was like, well, drink
8:24
coffee do shit. And before means for means, I
8:26
was the mean but that wasn't as PC when we launched the brand.
8:30
But yeah, back in 2012 on top of the sauce Fay.
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Glaciers is really one of my coffee.
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Session started in and it started as a, as a fuel source
8:40
for outdoor active lifestyle, and nothing more, definitely not
8:43
specialty coffee or even any kind of concern for for the
8:47
coffee industry in itself. It was very much a part of my
8:51
fuel program for snowboarding when snowboarding was, when you
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were nearing the end of that kind of phases, your focus and
9:00
drink coffee. Do stuff is on the horizon.
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You, you found this passion for a product you're using it as a
9:06
fuel. What was your process?
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How did you pursue this New Path?
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I mean that has turned into an entirely new Enterprise. that's
9:15
a great question, and thanks for bringing that up, you know, I
9:18
think that In my snowboarding, career work ethic was not lost
9:24
on me. In fact, I remember one of the
9:28
first sponsor trips that I took we had gone up to Seattle and I
9:32
was with all of these Heroes of of the day and the spent my own
9:36
money to get there and all I ended up doing the entire week,
9:40
was digging stairs and building jumps for these super Pros?
9:44
You know, and I was kind of like a new kid on the block with a
9:48
lot of talent or something like that but I hadn't I Really
9:51
proved it yet and I remember coming home so pissed, you know.
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Could I just spent all this money so that I could go shovel
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stairs for these people and and some of the the Hero factor
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definitely dropped down but What I learned in snowboarding from a
10:06
young young age is that Excellence requires work and
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perhaps the best skill set that I was able to to transition my
10:20
snowboarding into coffee, career was a sense of of grit, do
10:24
whatever it takes do or die, trying, you know, fall down, get
10:27
back up, that type of thing. So, I mentioned that because I
10:34
guess it would be like 2014 2015 I was still snowboarding and but
10:40
I knew at that point that I wanted to get into coffee.
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My wife and I had gotten married and moved to Seattle and I
10:46
literally started donating my time at the, at a local cafe on
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Ballard. It Ballard Ave, there was a
10:53
counterculture account and I wouldn't even let them pay me
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because, you know, I was like, hey, I need I want to learn and
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so I worked for almost a year without detection.
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I'm paid, I don't even think that was that was legal.
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They were probably stoked but so I Barista and learned everything
11:11
I could. And every time there was a
11:13
counterculture wrap and or coffee events, and I was in
11:16
town, I have tended. And yeah, I got really just
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caught up in that educational Journey.
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Then I started doing the same thing up at a pretty will say,
11:28
heritage roaster up in Seattle called Herkimer and they really
11:34
Took me in. And and this guy Nathan Reasoner
11:36
in particular, he would allow me just to hang out in the
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Roasterie. And, and I would watch and I
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would see and I would smell and I would taste and they would be
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talking about all these flavor profiles, and I'm just like,
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well damn man. I'm tasting coffee.
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That tastes like good coffee, but, you know, it tastes like
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coffee and and so, there was years of learning the Dark Art,
11:56
and being in that Roasterie was really a huge component to the
12:01
inspiration for us. Starting a Roastery.
12:04
Sourcing coffees from all around the world and, and engaging in
12:08
some direct trade relationships, and getting to Skype, and meat
12:12
producers when they were in town.
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And, and that's where the parallelism came with with
12:16
snowboarding and on that Global level, I was like, this is
12:18
awesome. And I love working with the
12:21
international component. So we then moved to Portland and
12:25
I was after a couple years, well, it's actually kind of
12:28
funny. So in 2013, I think or 2012, I
12:32
got a bronze medal at X Games and the next day, from Nas, the
12:36
rapper. And the next day I was I was
12:38
sweeping trash cans at at the local coffee bar for three
12:41
because like such a man who is it was a romantic time because
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you know when you're getting into anything new and you're
12:49
just Enamored with it, you know, but at the same time that was
12:55
kind of my two worlds that I was living in on stage, you know, an
12:59
international contest and and then, you know, behind the bar
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doing whatever it takes to to learn the coffee industry.
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So then I started working with the McIntyre's, Emily and
13:10
Michael. And in Portland, they have gone
13:13
on to launch Catalyst trade, which is a an incredible
13:18
incredible coffee importing company they do.
13:21
Believable boots on the ground work in Ethiopia.
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They've also just launched Peru. But prior to Catalyst trade and
13:28
and all of the incredible credentials that they've
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accomplished in the past 57 years, I was working working
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with them in their basement, learning everything.
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I could from what I would say is, maybe a guess, let's see,
13:45
how do I say that? I was learning everything.
13:48
I could from a master roaster like a bona fide Master roaster.
13:54
That is where I think my heart for roasting was was really
13:59
galvanized and I knew that whatever Venture was ahead of me
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was going to primarily be a specialty coffee roaster.
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So I just had these incredible people and and I want to honor a
14:13
mall. While I put in the work, my
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pedigree came from people that were just as devoted to me as I
14:23
was devoted to. Theon and a very thankful for
14:25
them so far. Your you've been traveling
14:28
internationally, your Seattle, you're in Portland.
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How do you end up in South Lake Tahoe?
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We're in that Tahoe, Truckee Reno area where you're at now,
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or was there another step in there that I've been poor
14:40
missing? Well so, so I'm from Tahoe and
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being here, this was home base for my snowboarding career, I
14:49
moved to Seattle when I got married wanting.
14:54
A little bit more of a urban balance.
14:56
And the Sea-Tac Airport was easy for me to travel out of.
14:59
And at that point in my career, I was pretty much living out of
15:02
a board bag, six to nine months out of the year, so I could kind
15:05
of live anywhere. But yeah, my passion for for the
15:09
mountains and snowboarding was was multi Generations deep and
15:12
and so I lived in Truckee at the North Lake Tahoe.
15:14
So we came back and at that point, the drink coffee do stuff
15:18
business plan and start up was 100% in the Forefront of our
15:23
minds. Ines.
15:24
And and we had already started, you know, developing you know,
15:27
our financial plan to make that happen.
15:28
Etc, etc. So I came back to Truckee to
15:31
start drink coffee, do stuff with my wife, Laura and my
15:34
business partner, Brad farmer. Howdy, how did you guys start
15:38
working out? The roles of that partnership.
15:40
Knowing that this was a business here are going to build, you
15:43
know, working with a spouse and then bringing in a third party
15:45
as well, is a challenge just because there's all kinds of
15:48
different levels to that relationship.
15:51
Absolutely. So Brad and I go way back his
15:54
entire history was in the snowboarding industry as well.
15:57
A really decorated past from International brand management,
16:03
bringing a lot of new products and Technologies to Market.
16:06
Kit, as well as working on the resort side and editorial.
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He comes from ESPN and TV when fuel TV was a big deal.
16:20
And so, we had worked together for like, 15 years during my
16:24
snowboarding days. And so, we already had
16:25
established a really great trusting, work relationship and
16:29
friendship. So when I was going on to launch
16:32
dcbs well with Laura and I were we're going on to do that, it
16:35
was It's critical to have someone else that we could trust
16:40
and it's been the best partnership and everyone says
16:43
don't get into business with family and friends, but for me,
16:45
it was essential like if I can't work with my wife and one of my
16:50
best friend's, I mean, well then who would I be able to work well
16:52
with and and it establishes trust and balance of powers and
16:56
and you know in the beginning everyone's wearing every hat and
16:59
before we sold a pound of coffee and we just all drink beer and
17:04
and created. But as the business grew and and
17:10
the brand scaled, the roles became clearer and also our
17:14
skill sets and necks for business became a little bit
17:17
more, more defined here. We are five and a half years
17:21
later and we all are very distinct roles and separations
17:25
of powers and it works really well at the beginning of that
17:29
when you're launching this was there did you find in any
17:32
pushback in your life to this idea that you were going to go
17:35
from snowboarding? Into coffee.
17:37
And I'm going to ask next about the name and The Branding which
17:40
is unique in that it literally just tells you what to do.
17:44
Yeah, yeah, exactly. Well hell yeah man, everyone
17:48
thought I was asleep. Had hit my head too many times
17:52
for sure. I'll never forget it.
17:54
Yeah, 2013-2014 family friends astonished that I was leaving.
18:01
Well one because I've worked so hard in it.
18:02
I really did leave it at the top of my snowboarding career and To
18:07
like everyone kind of thought I had it made and and I don't say
18:09
that in any type of arrogant way.
18:12
I mean that's not my heart at all but it was my reality yunos
18:16
getting paid to snowboard and traveling around the world.
18:19
Six nine months out of the year and and I mean it was a hell of
18:23
a thing and I'm so thankful for that time in my life what was
18:26
happening behind the scenes was was one of a passion that I
18:32
didn't want to be distracted from more which was coffee and
18:34
people too. Entry into a Marketplace that I
18:38
really believed in, which was specialty, coffee and outdoor,
18:43
active lifestyle, and, and trying to to merge those two
18:46
categories together. And I'd seen a lot of successful
18:49
examples of that and fuel beer and gear other consumer packaged
18:53
Goods. But three is like, man.
18:56
I'm at the end of the day, like I'm a family man, like and I was
18:59
away from my wife and the idea of developing a family with that
19:02
type of transient career, while it was cool.
19:05
For me, it wouldn't have been Been cool for our kids to be and
19:09
I really wanted to well, I still love snowboarding and make time
19:13
for it, but but I wanted to be in a place with the people and
19:17
building something that was my own and and and I think to some
19:21
degree in, I don't know how this will sound to all the listeners
19:23
or whatever, but it, but it is true when you are a professional
19:27
athlete. You are the product, and it's a
19:30
rad product. And, and it came with A lot of
19:34
opportunities, but I got tired of being the product and I got
19:39
really excited about creating a product and allowing people to
19:43
engage with that rather than the pressure being on me.
19:47
That's really an interesting transition from product to
19:51
Creator. I would argue that you're also a
19:53
Creator as a snowboarder just in the vision that you have to have
19:57
going from the top to the bottom of the hill.
19:59
I snowboard myself not at the same scale obviously, but one of
20:04
the things that excites me about snowboarding is the ability to
20:08
go to the same Mountain year after year, after year and find
20:10
new things and new lines, and new places to go.
20:14
Let's get to that name and that branding I said a minute ago,
20:17
but it tells you what to do drink coffee do stuff.
20:20
It's as much of a mission or an ethos as it is a name.
20:25
Why did you settle on that for your company?
20:29
We're there other options? Yeah, yeah, totally.
20:32
Well, let me add a little pause here for a second.
20:34
And from from your perspective, Like okay, so if we were having
20:41
an actual conversation, I would say well damn man, like where do
20:44
you like to ride and and maybe we can hear care of someday and
20:48
tell me a little bit more about about what you just said.
20:50
Because that's really exciting to me on the podcast is your
20:53
preference to make it more interview style where I'm kind
20:58
of continuing to what I want to hear from you too.
21:02
No, no it's a far as I'm concerned.
21:04
This is a conversation we're having Island.
21:06
I could include this that we're doing right now if you're coming
21:09
If we fall, we have and what a whatever stuff.
21:12
Well, I do want to know. Okay, well, where do you
21:14
snowboard? And, and I think what you said
21:16
is super interesting like, and I totally agree that the mountain
21:19
changes in the, you know, what's been your experience with that.
21:22
And so I started snowboarding late in life, in my early 20s,
21:27
my brother-in-law was a lefty at Copper Mountain in Frisco
21:31
Colorado. Are you from Colorado?
21:33
I'm from Wisconsin, originally from Wisconsin.
21:36
Okay, so, yeah. And we had this Plan to go out
21:40
there. And I was going to learn to use
21:41
going to teach me to snowboard and was going to be this thing.
21:44
My new brother-in-law and he died.
21:48
He passed away. He was killed in an accident and
21:52
that trip was like the first thing.
21:54
We had planned afterward after that, and it just coincidentally
21:58
in the timeline and we decided to continue and do that trip.
22:02
Even though we were all in this kind of state of grief, and my
22:05
wife's family was in a state of grief, and we went up to storm
22:08
king where he was the lifty, which was Way Out of My League
22:11
by a million miles and we had a moment there and that could have
22:15
been it to be truthful but it's now been 16 years.
22:19
And we've gone back to that same Mountain every winter.
22:22
Wow, with my wife's family and and have been doing that and
22:26
it's become a passion, not only because of that experience but
22:31
it's a sport that my wife and I can do together and you know we
22:35
can be at different levels of skill but we can still enjoy
22:38
coming down the mountain together Absol.
22:41
So we've been going to that same place consistently for 16 years
22:45
among others and so so that's my experience, that's so important.
22:50
Well don't be a stranger. Up here in Tahoe and we'd love
22:56
to, we'd love to share a chair up here too.
22:58
And thank you for sharing that about about your brother and I
23:01
think that's very powerful and, and obviously, being married
23:05
myself as well. I agree with you being able to
23:08
experience the mountain with with my wife, Laura and, and
23:11
it's really cool. You know, my family all all
23:14
rides together as well and you know, my grandfather lived in an
23:18
incline which is North Lake Tahoe.
23:19
And, and I've always he's since passed away.
23:22
And I've always felt a real connection to this place and to
23:25
the mountains because of the passion that he had 44 it here
23:30
too. And so you know snowboarding is
23:34
well it's an extreme sport but the reality is it's an
23:38
opportunity to enter into nature and you know and sometimes
23:42
you're rippin and sometimes you're just marveling at where
23:45
you're at and I think that for those that we've lost or the
23:49
people that we get to continue writing with and you know our
23:52
Rider dies, it's it can be a very powerful powerful thing for
23:56
relationships, so I appreciate your active on that I find and
24:01
it could be snowboarding. It could this be hiking?
24:03
It could be anything. I ride my bike.
24:06
I'm a bike commuter. Yeah, there are moments of
24:11
Purity. I would say there are moments
24:14
where I become clear headed for may be the only time that month
24:18
when I'm doing one of those things and coffee for me is also
24:22
one of Of those things where I have moments where I'm working
24:25
in coffee, or where I'm, in an interview where I can feel that
24:28
flow State and I'll link that roll back to the name.
24:32
But this brings up. Another question I had for you,
24:34
I think more naturally which is after you left, professional
24:39
snowboarding, have you found that in the industry?
24:42
You're in now or in other areas of your life?
24:44
Are you able to kind of slack that competitive desire that
24:48
competitive drive that you had? Because that's something for me
24:52
that I found very difficult, isn't it as an adult man?
24:55
Yeah. Yeah, you know, I thank you for
24:57
asking that because not many people have ever asked me that
25:01
if ever I think that's an incredible question.
25:04
So admittedly I am only competitive with myself when I
25:09
was snowboarding and and still to this day with coffee
25:13
competition or the the local or Regional or national brands that
25:17
that were up against I don't really look much to the left or
25:22
to the right. I'm very self obsessed.
25:27
With what I'm capable of. And I'm have that has
25:32
transitioned into the business side where I'm very obsessed
25:35
with what, drink coffee do, stuff can achieve, and will self
25:43
is obsessed, sounded really narcissistic and I didn't mean
25:46
it, maybe just I'm obsessed, but without the self part, but I am,
25:53
I am. I am obsessed with with life and
25:56
experiencing Life and trying to get the most out of it.
26:01
You know. And I was laughing with some
26:02
friends on the chairlift the other day and maybe a crude way
26:04
of saying it. But you know, it's like my life
26:06
has always been pretty balls to the wall and and now I just have
26:09
my balls on a different wall. It sounds about right.
26:15
I grew up playing competitive Sports and as an adult of tried
26:18
to transition into finding that outlet you know as my body is
26:22
starting to fail and I've gotten older I can't do those same
26:25
things anymore. How do I get At that in other
26:27
areas and is it business? Is it you know, some other
26:30
Challenge and and so it's I find that to be an interesting
26:35
perspective that could be a whole show on its own.
26:37
Yeah, yeah. Okay well in brief, where do you
26:39
find that? And are you able to do you like
26:42
get into the flow Zone and in business or you find it other
26:46
places, it's very rare. Now, I used to be able to tap
26:52
into it, almost daily playing sports.
26:58
Now it's it's much more at random.
27:00
Now I'm just I'm going about my life and I'll find a moment
27:03
where maybe I'm riding my bike. You know, 220 miles but I get
27:08
excited about going up some hills or something.
27:10
I'll find a moment in that where I'm like, oh this is it, there
27:14
it is but they're briefer and part of being an adult to is
27:19
there's a modulation of emotion over time.
27:22
I mean, you know, when you're 15 and 16, you feel everything.
27:25
So passionately IE, everything is important because your
27:28
experience in the world is is smaller.
27:31
And as an adult, I find that with a wider range of
27:35
experience. I don't get to those same highs
27:38
or those same lows, but I feel things more deeply well said, I
27:44
almost say that I feel a higher quality of emotion over time,
27:48
you know, it's like my relationship with my wife, we've
27:51
been together over 20 years and so I still see her and go, oh my
27:56
God, how did I get? A lucky, but at the same time,
27:58
like that same like see each other and throw the door open
28:02
passion that we had when we were 21, we probably don't get to
28:06
that on a daily basis. The way we used to do because
28:08
we're going about our life. Yeah.
28:11
But the feelings that I had the feeling of love, I have for her
28:13
now, feels much deeper than it did.
28:16
When I said I do. Is that me?
28:19
Yeah, well that I mean 100% And that is so eloquently said, so
28:24
I'll just say did it? And I Oh, I did all that out.
28:29
I'll be fine. Oh yes, Joe guys.
28:32
Joking apart. That's what makes us.
28:37
That's what makes us us and yeah, I agree with you.
28:39
We just celebrated 10 years. So congratulations, aren't
28:42
funny. That's it.
28:43
That's absolutely incredible. And yeah, Lord, I just
28:46
celebrated our 10-year anniversary, which was I just
28:51
yeah. Did I agree with everything you
28:53
just said. It's our love is becoming deeper
28:55
and and our experiences are becoming deeper.
28:58
We Have a daughter. Now, she's a year and a half and
29:01
that has not only expanded our family, but but the love and
29:05
devotion and and familial shared experiences that we have are
29:09
just that much more meaningful and Purpose Driven and, and
29:13
well, fun too. So I can I completely agree with
29:16
you. Let's get back to Coffee, okay?
29:20
For just for a moment, we can walk down that want to have a
29:23
beer sometime popping off podcast.
29:26
We sure that the name, let's get to that.
29:30
You chose a name that is very bold and in your face was there
29:34
were there other options and what made this one the one that
29:37
you said no this is what feels right and not saying you could
29:41
have had moments that you thought maybe I could have gone
29:43
a different way. But this is what it is.
29:45
This is the the brand and so I think that our name is a
29:53
personality flaw of mine that sometimes works out.
30:00
I always for no other reason than I think that's just how I'm
30:05
wired. I've always found a very unique
30:10
path and tried to honor the Authenticity of other people
30:21
particular places that I visited myself, drink coffee do stuff is
30:26
just who we are. We love drinking coffee and
30:30
doing stuff. That was a love it or hate.
30:34
It brand name. We didn't know if it was going
30:39
to measure up particularly in certain business categories,
30:44
that might be a little bit more Antiquated or are Archaic like
30:48
grocery. Like, how does, how does drink
30:50
coffee do stuff perform on the Shelf at local Regional and
30:54
Coastal grocery stores. But, you know, at the end of the
30:58
day, we just believe so strongly in it, and it was so eccentric.
31:01
And it was, so, it was so damn real.
31:04
And it's also what everybody does every single day that I'm
31:09
not sure if we could have put the same amount of passion and
31:15
invested the same amount of Blood Sweat, and Tears into
31:18
anything else, that didn't feel like truly genuinely 100% hours
31:24
and drink coffee. Do stuff, is that I was actually
31:28
surprised I knew of the South Lake Tahoe location and a second
31:33
location. But when I was kind of doing
31:35
some research for the show, I realize you've actually got
31:38
several locations all over the place.
31:40
You know, carts and shops and things are.
31:43
You primarily a brick-and-mortar business?
31:45
Are you an online business? Are you a wholesale business?
31:47
Where did you where have you taken this company?
31:50
And when you're presenting your coffee out, under the DC dies
31:56
brand? You know, what is it?
31:58
You hope people get from it. When we launched drink coffee,
32:01
do stuff and 2017. You know, we had a business plan
32:04
and, and we quickly learn to crumple that up and to really
32:10
experience or we had to, we had to learn, you know, where we
32:15
were going to be able to be successful.
32:17
What opportunities, the market truly had for, not only
32:21
specialty coffee, but Lifestyle brand like ours and then we had
32:26
additional Challenges because we live in such a tourism driven
32:31
place, with Incredible seasonality, Truckee is where
32:35
our headquarters is. That's a North Lake Tahoe.
32:37
We started simply as a Roastery and an e-commerce business and
32:43
wholesale. Those were the two categories
32:45
that we've launched with. We really believe that there was
32:50
this ability for us to leverage our destination and impact
32:55
consumers and coffee Drinkers. And And, and people that are
32:58
were both into craft coffee as well as the outdoors.
33:02
So, if you were to think of another business model that
33:05
similar to ours and we did Source some inspiration from it,
33:09
it would be like Kona Brewing, right?
33:10
Like you go to the islands. Get your long board logger and
33:13
then you go back to your hometown and and you can find it
33:16
there. There's memorabilia attached to
33:19
it. There's memory attached to it
33:21
and experiences attached to it. And so, it was our goal to
33:26
really develop Islet and emotional connection with our
33:29
consumers and not just a caffeine connection.
33:32
For the first three years we were e-commerce and wholesale
33:35
business exclusively. And there was a lot of people
33:39
crushing it on the brand and and we had some opportunities to
33:43
dive into retail. And so, we felt confident that
33:48
retail was a part of the future, but not the, The X Factor to the
33:53
dcts. Brand we have since opened up.
33:56
Three coffee shops. We have one and downtown Truckee
33:59
One in North Lake Tahoe in Incline, Village one, in South
34:01
Lake Tahoe, We also have for in-store collaborative, cafes
34:07
with Raley's and Reno, Truckee, sacramento Roseville.
34:12
Those are kind of, like, what you would think of?
34:14
Like a Pete's Coffee Shop in a grocery store?
34:16
Do we have drink coffee, do stuff, coffee shops and those
34:19
grocery stores then we've developed a pretty strong
34:22
grocery program. So our four categories are
34:25
grocery food service, wholesale, and our own native retail, and
34:30
e-commerce, and each one of those categories.
34:32
Has has a pretty exhaustive and, and robust.
34:36
We'll say business behind it at this point but ultimately you
34:41
know all of those are just our channels to connect with
34:44
consumers and our goal is to care.
34:48
Just that much about what goes into the cup as as what happens
34:51
after the cup. We really do, believe the
34:53
extraordinary coffee leads to an extraordinary life and I think
34:57
that's one of the reasons that the brand has been so widely
35:01
received and and perform so well in those categories, Because
35:06
people get it, like, we're telling them what they already
35:09
know and it's fun and we have a lot of awards behind the coffee.
35:14
At this point, we want a good food award or our first year in
35:17
the business that the coffee in and of itself, validates the
35:22
brand and the brand validates our consumers and, and that
35:29
seems to be a really positive sustainable word-of-mouth growth
35:34
model. What about the coffee itself?
35:38
I think I read somewhere that you guys are selling coffee,
35:42
that is at high elevation maybe exclusively, but what is your
35:46
philosophy with sourcing coffee and working with people around
35:49
the world, you know, how have you transition that into a
35:53
business that also needs to make money?
35:56
A hundred percent. So that's a great question.
36:00
Some of what I'll say is is Theory.
36:02
Some of what I'll say is marketing and some of what I'll
36:04
say is science and at this point it's just all our brand.
36:10
So so I suppose that's the preface before fully in
36:16
exclusively answering that we Source all of our coffees
36:22
primarily from mountainous regions around the world.
36:27
Typically above 50 200 up to 90 100 feet, I think is is the
36:33
highest elevation relationship that we have.
36:38
There's some advantages of that. And then there's also some
36:44
marketing to that specialty coffees grow at high elevations.
36:49
We all know this, it's often indicated by meters above sea
36:52
level, but not as actually incredibly impactful for the
37:00
development of the coffee cherry, and obviously the seed
37:03
not only from an organic material component but from A
37:09
sugar content component. And then that leads into the
37:14
very popular differences, between specialty, coffee and
37:17
commodity coffee, right? Which is more nutrients dense,
37:21
soils, the terroir slope wind shade-grown.
37:28
Diurnal, temperature swings, picking the cherries when
37:32
they're ripe and and not using commercial farm equipment to
37:36
strip pick, and most people in special, To coffee.
37:38
No, no. All those things but it does
37:40
happen at high elevations. And these places are often not
37:46
even commercially farmable. So what's really cool for us?
37:51
And maybe think so, maybe you don't.
37:53
I think it's cool is that we roast our coffee at 6,000 feet
37:56
in the Sierra. So, one coffee that I always
37:59
point to is a long-term producing partner of ours, Peru
38:04
root. Estelle Inca varietals are
38:07
mixed. They're Cooperative is up at
38:10
9,000 feet in the Andes and so we get to Source coffee from the
38:13
Andes roasted in the Sierra. And so this is really cool
38:16
Mountain connection between the coffee's that were sourcing and
38:20
the coffee's that were serving that translates really well to
38:24
our consumer base, as well, wanting to experience something
38:28
that is totally Tahoe. And that is, that is unique to
38:32
the region. Now, in addition to that, we
38:34
have some unique advantages to roasting at high altitude, You
38:38
would also have these unique advantages in places like Denver
38:41
Reno the actual Farm level down at sea level, your water boils
38:47
at 212 up here, depending on the humidity, we boil between 198
38:52
and 202 degrees. Now, what that does is it
38:56
actually allows us to enter into sugar caramelization sooner.
39:01
We can stay there longer while preserving Sweetness in our
39:07
coffees. Roast degree at the same time.
39:11
Making acidity more palatable and this is where we're really
39:15
science and theory and marketing are are somewhat
39:19
indistinguishable because there's only so much natural
39:24
sugar content and coffee. And there's only so much
39:27
palatable acidity that needs to be decorated to actually become
39:31
palatable for us. However, our roasting style and
39:35
and profiles has really taken advantages of the Fireman and I
39:39
would say that it's it's not unlike anyone coming to
39:42
Elevation Runners that come to Elevation to train their lungs
39:46
are certain advantages to that and then you can go, then they
39:48
go crush it. What I'm not saying is that our
39:51
coffee is any better because we're at high altitude.
39:54
What I am saying is that we have harnessed the environmental
39:57
conditions, just like specialty coffees in, and of themselves to
40:01
maximize their sweetness and flavor potential.
40:05
And I believe that we can do that to a pretty significant
40:10
degree uniquely at 6,000 feet, that's kind of the rub.
40:14
Yeah, that's a really interesting idea.
40:16
I'll be honest, like, I'm my job on this show is to The coffee
40:20
idiot and to learn about other people's stories but yeah, I
40:24
can't say that I thought much about how elevation impacts the
40:29
after growth period. You know, I think about it from
40:32
a growing standpoint, but I don't necessarily think about it
40:34
from your perspective. So that's really something I'm
40:36
going to look into what is coming up.
40:39
What is next for for you? And, for this company, you've
40:42
come through a bunch of different phases, from, really
40:45
in depth, in the learning, phase into an online wholesale than
40:49
retail. A land and so on, as you've
40:51
grown, where are you going? What's on the horizon, we we are
40:56
no longer a small company, we're in the very odd growth phase of
41:04
being a teenager. We're freshman in high school or
41:08
freshman in college for a mental picture.
41:12
And what I mean by that is we have a fantastic business, a ton
41:16
of opportunity and Incredibly specific and unique and well.
41:22
Performing Vision what we've sought to do.
41:24
We've done through grit and Grace but I believe where we're
41:28
currently pivoting is going from running a really cool brand to
41:32
running a really good company and those are two very, very
41:36
different things. Okay, sexy packaging cult
41:41
following really penetrating your target audience, developing
41:45
products, that sell through, and, and perform and build
41:50
momentum for a brand going from our Northern California region,
41:54
and, and further developing the performance of the brand on, on
41:58
the west coast and, and certain other lifestyle oriented regions
42:03
Across the Nation. But the company side is bottom
42:06
line top Line, you know, navigating the current
42:09
uncertainties in the economy and smart sustainable growth and and
42:13
that's what we're really focused on right now and definitely not
42:16
a expensive. The culture that in addition to
42:20
our award-winning coffees will continue to be the predominant
42:24
vision for what we're doing. But what I'm learning a lot.
42:28
Now, we have 42 employees. We operate four locations.
42:33
We have a national e-commerce business and And a very West
42:37
Coast, Wholesale business and and very strong grocery business
42:42
and well and what I'm learning is how to be a boss and not just
42:46
how to be a an eccentric snowboarder.
42:48
So it's really exciting. It's challenging.
42:50
I have days that are really hard and I learned just as much is as
42:55
I teach and then and then there's days that, you know, I'm
43:00
stomping my Landings and like We're doing the damn thing.
43:05
But regardless, you know, credit needs to be given, where
43:09
credit's, due and we have an incredible staff.
43:11
An unbelievable Community that's been super supportive.
43:14
My wife, and I, and my business partner, Laura and Brad are
43:19
higher level leadership within the company.
43:21
Everyone really deserves to be honored while this might have
43:25
been my brainchild, it's all of our company.
43:30
And the truth is, People that need to be probably.
43:34
Thank the most is, is all of our customers, the marathon runners
43:37
and, and the city. And the cyclists down in the
43:41
valley. The people that love Outdoor
43:43
Adventure that come to Tahoe or down to Mammoth.
43:46
And those are the folks that have really allowed us to
43:50
leverage the brand, with our commitment to the values of our
43:55
coffee sourcing, and roasting, and we've grown an incredible
43:58
company. And it's grown pretty
44:00
substantially and I'd like to continue to do that especially
44:04
to continue providing more opportunity for our crew.
44:08
You know. Like I could say, oh yeah, well
44:10
the brand sick and, you know, not and I'm doing fine and and
44:13
that's great. And we've gotten through some of
44:15
the high-risk phase of business. But what does that?
44:17
What does that say to all of our leadership?
44:19
And so we're going to continue to grow to give them more
44:22
opportunities and be better employers and and to engage with
44:25
more people and and yeah, see where it goes.
44:28
When you are out on the road. Let's say, you've just Come off
44:33
the mountain, on a vacation or a trip and you stop and do a
44:35
coffee shop and you're going to order a cup of coffee or
44:38
something. What is it that you order?
44:42
I well. Okay.
44:43
Well that's a great question. If I'm going into a coffee shop,
44:47
I admittedly kind of size up the Barista that's on bar and if the
44:52
shots look like they're pulling, well, I'm 100% getting an
44:54
espresso but I also know that that you can't be perfect.
44:58
Every time and I have so much grace on on the overall coffee
45:02
industry, as its burgeoning, especially the specialty coffee
45:06
Market. I have a ton of a ton of respect
45:10
for entrepreneurs And anyone that's willing to put all chips
45:13
in and whether the coffee is good or bad, I think that
45:16
everyone deserves a, you know, a head nod.
45:18
And because it's a, it's It's a hell of a thing.
45:22
It's no short feet to start your own business and then typically
45:26
there's a lot of Financial Risk there too.
45:27
So so I try not to. I try not to be very judgmental
45:31
but I do size up the Barista and just to make sure that what I'm
45:36
ordering is the safest bet. You know, if the priest has
45:39
learning, that's totally cool. You know, we all start somewhere
45:42
but in that case, I'm probably just getting a pour-over.
45:45
A drip coffee, Nick, I want to make sure that before we go.
45:51
Ask you, what did I miss? You know, what is something that
45:53
you wanted people to know about your company or about you or
45:56
anything in general as your platform?
45:59
Well, thanks for asking that but but I would actually counter
46:02
that and say, well, you know what have I missed?
46:04
And I'm very interested in hearing back from everyone, we
46:09
get to talk to and and our customers and your audience and
46:13
and stuff like that. I hope that this didn't come
46:15
across as this is me and my company.
46:17
It's not it is it is very Very much the momentum of everyone
46:23
that's ever bought coffee from us at separate, work from us.
46:26
And and that's ever believed in us to give us a chance as a
46:29
vendor. So I don't know.
46:32
I said a lot but I think I think it would be best for me to just
46:36
listen. Now if this were on TV at
46:39
flasher email at the bottom of the screen, there you go.
46:42
Boom, Nick. Thank you for spending almost an
46:45
hour, talking about your company and about yourself and putting
46:49
yourself out there that way with our Since I really, really
46:52
appreciate your time and I look forward to that that beer that
46:55
coffee in the chairlift someday. Hey Manuel, thanks for having me
46:58
on the show, I really appreciate you.
47:00
And I knew we were going to get along right?
47:01
When I saw that saying Archer sweatshirt, you're wearing, we
47:04
do drink coffee, and drink beer after that's, that's the mo.
47:08
So let's let's get together and, and your neck of the woods next
47:12
times. Like I said, don't be a stranger
47:13
appear and and I very much appreciate your time and thanks
47:16
everyone who made it to the end of this, okay?
47:25
It's time for some key takeaways.
47:27
In early 2010's, Nick's passion, for coffee as a fuel.
47:30
Not a flavor started on top of a mountain, which sounds like
47:35
something Ron Burgundy would say to emphasize his point.
47:38
But in this case was true more than fuel.
47:41
What Nick found was connection and a community after retiring
47:45
from snowboarding and learning coffee through some seemingly
47:48
unofficial internships, Nick, and his wife.
47:50
Laura were ready for another relocation.
47:53
They returned to Nick's roots and open drink, coffee do stuff
47:56
as an online. Fe roaster with their business
47:58
partner. Brad farmer in Lake Tahoe.
48:01
A big part of the appeal. For Nick was transitioning, his
48:03
life from being the product to creating a product and providing
48:07
a service. He mentioned that he thought it
48:09
took some pressure off of him and enabled him to create a more
48:12
stable lifestyle for himself and his family I'd argue that by
48:16
creating and putting something out in the world.
48:18
He actually created more pressure for himself but in a
48:21
different less visceral way as a coffee industry.
48:24
Professional and athlete, Nick is driven to compete with
48:26
himself. Blinders on not looking right or
48:29
left, keeping the focus on continually improving.
48:32
Then in the broader spectrum of comparison, the chips will fall
48:36
where they may with DC dies. Nick and his team have embraced
48:41
Mountain culture for their product, not just the brand by
48:44
sourcing coffees from fifty to hundred and ninety.
48:46
One hundred feet of elevation the coffee.
48:49
They serve begins in the mountains, it's roasted in the
48:52
mountains at 6,000 feet and if it's a lucky cup of coffee, it
48:56
will likely end. It's like Life cycle there, too.
48:59
Today, the company has entered its late teen years.
49:01
And Nick is learning how to be a boss.
49:04
I for one left, my chat with Nick inspired and ready to get
49:07
back outside for an adventure. I may never be able to come down
49:11
a Snowy Mountain, like Nick does, but I sure as hell can
49:13
drink a great cup of coffee in the lodge.
49:16
I'm looking forward to sharing one with the team at drink
49:18
coffee. Do stuff in the near future.
49:21
That's our coffee people conversation for today.
49:23
Thank you for listening to the stories of coffee people for
49:26
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49:28
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49:34
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49:38
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50:22
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50:26
smithsonian's National Zoo and conservation, Biology Institute,
50:29
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50:33
We're going to chat about their efforts to spread the word about
50:36
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50:39
Podcast is part of the roast, West Coast Coffee Network.
50:43
And this episode is, was has been written produced and
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recorded by me Ryan Walt with a special.
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Thank you today to our guests in the living room, who are keeping
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quiet for me. I hope this episode is found you
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happy healthy and with that least, a thread of sanity left
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enabling you to make it through the day.
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Or at least a second and third cup of coffee, please always tip
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your Baristas and be sure to drink good coffee.
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Hello, all you coffee, drinkers out there.
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If you are in the early stages of your coffee Journey, we want
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to support you season. Two of The Coffee smarter.
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Education podcast is now underway the first episode on
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Blade versus Burr Grinders is already out if you want to brew
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a better cup of coffee at home. Search for coffee Smarter on
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your favorite podcasting platform and hit the follow.
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Or subscribe button or just go to roast West Coast.
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Calm and sign up for the newsletter and we'll send it to
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your email every single week. Thanks for being awesome.
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And drinking coffee smarter.