Coffee Kick Boots Up with a Box of Beans from Seven Denver Roasters

Photo by Jonah Neuss (@Jonahmoose), courtesy of Coffee Kick.

When tasting things in quick succession, subtle differences jump out more readily. This is true around roastery cupping tables, and it is also true of a new whole-bean online retail offering from Denver-based startup Coffee Kick.

The multiroaster package launched this month, encouraging customers to drink a different coffee from a different roaster every day of the week.

The first Coffee Kick experience ships with seven individual 1.1-ounce (roughly 31-gram) packets of whole bean coffee, each roasted by a different roasting company based in the Denver metropolitan area. Using the recommended 16:1 brewing ratio, this provides enough for two 8-ounce cups of coffee from each sample. Each coffee is also available on the Coffee Kick website for purchase in regular 12-ounce bags.

“When the coffee drinker has finished their seven-day experience and discovered which ones they liked the most, they can head back to our store to buy a larger 12-ounce bag of those coffees,” Coffee Kick Co-Founder David Huff told Daily Coffee News.

Coffee Kick Co-Founders David Huff (left) and Cory Westerfield. Courtesy photo.

Neither Huff nor co-founder Cory Westerfield had any professional coffee experience prior to launching Coffee Kick, though both are longtime coffee enthusiasts whose work in the tech industry as software developers at various startups and agencies has provided helpful experience in getting Coffee Kick online and networked with roasters around their home city.

“We’ve been inspired by the Denver coffee scene, and what the independent coffee industry is doing as a whole,” said Huff. “We wanted to create a coffee experience company to share that with people, newcomers and coffee experts alike, the astounding diversity, skill, and quality that local roasters bring to a beautiful cup of coffee.”

As a subscription company sending coffee straight to people’s homes, Coffee Kick has experienced no negative impact due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Huff said that Coffee Kick’s partnerships with roasters were also already secure prior to the onset of COVID-19 shut downs, and that all partner companies have thankfully remained active in their roasteries throughout.

“Since the closures began happening around Denver, we kept in contact with the roasters to make sure everything was going okay,” said Huff. “It’s great to see the Denver community helping coffee shops stay in business by supporting them through online and walkup orders and we hope to be a small part of that support.”

Photo by Jonah Neuss (@Jonahmoose), courtesy of Coffee Kick.

The first box brings together coffees roasted by Sweet Bloom Coffee Roasters, Unravel Coffee, Middle State Coffee, Copper Door Coffee Roasters, Jubilee Roasting Company, Huckleberry Roasters and Corvus Coffee Roasters. Among these there are five single-origin coffees and two blends.

The Coffee Kick team is currently brewing up new product ideas, such as a tasting experience that might involve numerous roasters’ interpretations of a single green coffee. Based on feedback since the launch, the startup may also expand the multiroaster package to feature roasters from other cities.

“We are excited to bring more awareness to amazing coffee scenes around the US,” said Westerfield. “We have plans for boxes exploring particular origins, roasts, and styles, in addition to cities. We can’t wait to get those unique experiences started and share them with everyone.”

The company also aims for its curated seven-day sample boxes to appear by checkout counters in physical coffee shops, boutiques and other independent businesses. The Denver Coffee Kick package, regularly priced at $29.99, is currently on sale for $24.00.