Ah… the sweet smell of coffee in the morning! As I reflect on my childhood growing up in a fiery Latino household, I can recall the smell of a big pot of coffee brewing in the kitchen each morning. I was fascinated with the smell and the taste and so my loving parents would give me tiny amounts of coffee as a young child. These core memories cemented in my DNA the importance of family and the fact that if you’re a part of my family, coffee is a daily necessity!
Yes, coffee is rather ubiquitous around the world. Our household is no different. Regardless if it is a busy morning – rushing around for work and getting the kids off to school – or a relaxing weekend, coffee always seems to make an appearance on my kitchen counter. That beautiful, steaming hot cup of java is the perfect way to start, fuel, and even end my day.
This trend is common among many families throughout the country, but for one group, coffee is more than just a drink, it is a way of life. The Latino population in the US report daily coffee consumption levels that are often 2-3X higher than any other demographic.
The Story of Nixie’s Coffee and Family
Much of that passion and nostalgia I feel for coffee rises to the top when I think of the inspiration for Nixie’s Coffee. When I met Ralf on the dance floor in my hometown in Brooklyn, NY, what caught my attention was that we were both in the same industry – family-owned grocery stores! Not to mention, his dance moves were pretty alright too!
We had so much to talk about; we were both raised with Dominican parents and ran businesses with our families. The conversations were endless! And of course, on our dates, we were almost always accompanied by a cup of coffee.
6 magnificent months later, Ralf surprised me with the proposal to spend the rest of our lives together! Shortly after, we had a large beautiful wedding with all of our friends and family. Our love grew so strong as did our entrepreneurial spirit. After a lot of traveling and digging deep into our dreams and life goals, I made what I call “the second proposal” and asked Ralf, “would you be my business partner?”
That proposal stemmed from 3 strong motives:
- The fact that we truly love to spend time together.
- Ralf had so much potential to be a successful entrepreneur, yet I watched him undergo 3 failed partnerships – I knew we could do so well since we had each other!
- We developed a new found love for the amazing coffee (the best we’d ever had). This coffee was developed specifically for the coffee machine business Ralf was running with his partner at the time.
We knew we had a great opportunity at hand and the decision to brand it “Nixie’s” was easy. When running my family business, most customers preferred the way I made coffee at the grocery store, and would say things like “Where’s Nixie? I want Nixie’s coffee.” Now they can have it whenever they want!
A Legacy in the Making
Both Ralf and I come from very hard-working immigrant parents who strived to achieve the American Dream. Early on in our lives, we knew that we wanted to continue that family legacy and make our parents proud.
Coffee? Well, it’s been an integral part of the moments we create together at family gatherings and throughout our daily lives. It’s the one beverage that gets served without the need to ask “Would you like a cup of coffee?” in the Latino-Hispanic communities. (Who wouldn’t want a cup of coffee?!)
Our personal favorite is our Espresso Whole Bean, a four-origin blend strong – bold yet smooth. There is just something about the smell of the beans being ground on a Sunday morning that takes me back to those childhood memories of tasting coffee for the first few times.
I’m so humbled and grateful to be able to share my love of coffee with my life-long partner and for us to be able to share our coffee with our incredible customers. Our journey so far has been amazing, but it’s far from over. We have so much more to do, so much more coffee to grind, and so much more love to spread!