Hotbox Roasters
Hotbox Roasters is rad!! I especially love how they emphasize the rad in ColoRADo on their website. They are a local coffee roaster based out of Longmont, CO. This creative & different spin on coffee was founded in 2015 by the owner of Oskar Blues Brewery, Dale Katechis. Who doesn't love beer AND coffee?! I'm more of a wine girl myself but I definitely wouldn't turn down a Barrel Aged Death by Coconut. And I would never turn down Hotbox Roasters coffee!!!
The first time I tried Hotbox was at Organic Sandwich shop which has super fresh & delicious ingredients. I had the cold brew and it is NEXT LEVEL! You seriously have to try it. I learned a lot more about it when me and my boyfriend and our good friends Josh & Trysh went on a tour of their roastery!
We had such a fun time touring the roastery & brewery! Probably because we had the dopest hosts - Mike Murfitt & Noe Lopez. These guys have a passion for coffee & have created a really amazing brand! They promoted Hotbox cold brew living out of their van and traveling from San Diego --> Seattle. Their coffee is being sold in a ton of places & they have a big social media following. So they are doing it right!!
They source beans from many different regions which is great for variety!! They are packaged in infinitely recyclable aluminum cans. It's an awesome tie into their beer connection & is environmentally responsible. "Not only do cans fit right into our active lifestyle thanks to how durable and portable they are but we have found they also protect our coffee products better than bottles or bags." Love this.
This roaster is the "Ferrari of coffee roasters." And no I did not come up with that myself. LOL. Credit to Mike & Noe. We were fascinated by this huge contraption & the coffee making process!! We did a cupping & tasting of a Costa Rican coffee bean. If you are unfamiliar with the cupping process, to put it simply - grind the beans + add water at 195-205 F + let it sit + remove the crust + use a spoon to slurp it. And the slurping step is kind of hilarious. We had a good time attempting to do it right. And the Costa Rican coffee was tasty!
They were kind and sent us home with some Costa Rican coffee beans which I have been making in my french press & LOVINGGG. Mike's fave coffee beans are the Kenyan & Costa Rican. Noe loves them all but can absolutely say his least favorite is decaf. Hahaha. Agreed. I think we all collectivelly can say the cold brew is freakin phenomenal. So much so, my friend Trysh would love to get a keg of it & have cold brew on tap at home. I fully support this!! Hotbox's nitro cold brew has a super high caffeine content! The coffee beans are roasted + steeped in cold rocky mountain water + pumped with nitrogen.
After our coffee tour we toured the brewery. Shoutout to Oskar Blues for sending clean drinking water to places in need! This makes my heart happy!!!
We also indulged in some doughnuts! I mean seriously, who says no to a doughnut???
Another awesome thing about Hotbox Roasters is they have a coffee shop location in RiNo called Hotbox CBD. COFFEE + BEER + DOUGHNUTS. Genius much!??! (3490 Larimer St)
I love all of the color! Especially the orange & blue chairs... It is a vibrant coffee shop with a ton of seating and a cute outdoor patio. It's a great spot to catch up with friends over a beer or get some work done while being distracted by your pretty doughnut. Lol. I tried the earl grey + lavender and it was sooo gooood.
Coffee porter!! How good does that sound???
I'm so impressed with this company & brand!! Thank you Mike & Noe for having us at the roastery!
Check out their website at www.hotboxroasters.com & look out for their coffee beans + cold brew in stores!!
Xx, Han