Ah coffee. Yes, it is rather ubiquitous around the world. At our household, this is no different.
However, did you know that Latino populations in the US report daily consumption levels that are often 2-3X higher than other other backgrounds?
As I reflect on my childhood growing up in a fiercely Latino household, I can recall being given tiny amounts of coffee as a young child. These young memories melded into my DNA the importance of family and a daily cup of coffee.
I feel much of that passion and nostalgia 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, 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 alright : )
We had so much to talk about, being raised with Dominican parents and then running a business with family, the conversations were endless that were accompanied by either a cup of coffee or a glass of wine… 6 months later, Ralf surprised me with the proposal to spend the rest of our lives together. We married shortly after, a beautiful large wedding with all our friends and family. Our love grew so strong along with our entrepreneurial spirit that after lots of traveling and digging deep into what we wanted to do, I made what I call “the second proposal” and said “would you be my business partner?”
That proposal stemmed from 3 strong motives:
- The fact that we truly love to spend time together in all kinds of ways and
- Seeing as Ralf had so much potential to be a successful entrepreneur, yet I watched him undergo 3 failed partnerships,
- Most importantly, our newly found love for the amazing coffee, the best we’d ever had, a profile of coffee that was developed specifically for the coffee machine he 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 the 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”…
Both of us came from very hard-working immigrant parents who strived to achieve the American Dream. Early on in our lives, Rafael & I 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.
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 a child.