Aug 03, 2015 8 Questions with: Kirk Saylin
We’ve been working with Kirk Saylin to launch his cold brew coffee called Nice Cube. He is a Long Beach local who shoots photos, brews coffee, and also a family man. If you visited the Pow! Wow! Long Beach pop-up shop last month, he had a coffee stand where he was giving away free samples to whoever walked in and needed an extra boost. His cold brew is different from your average coffee and he will explain why in this 8 Question interview.
What is Nice Cube Coffee?
Nice Cube Coffee is a new brand of cold brew coffee specifically created to make your hot or cold served coffee an artisanal experience. Our coffee is sold as a concentrate so that our customers can have it as strong or as diluted as they like it. Super strong coffee can come from the same container as a mellower cup. Nice Cube Coffee is full flavored without ever being burnt or bitter. Because of its less acidic and smooth profile, many people who normally add sweetener and dairy to their coffee tend to drink Nice Cube without adding either. Nice Cube is all about the marriage between quality and convenience. Imagine pouring 1/3 cup of Nice Cube coffee concentrate in your cup and filling the rest with hot water in the morning – that’s it. You don’t need a coffee maker, a grinder, or a special pour over device; you just need your cup and motivation to drink really good coffee.
How did you get involved with Cold Brew Coffee?
After my Father-in-law passed away from Parkinson’s disease, we stayed with my Mother-in-Law for a while to help with the transition. I discovered that she had quite an addiction to a major brand frozen blended coffee drink. She had at least one every day. I decided to make a home made blended mocha as a special treat that was hopefully better tasting and healthier. My Mother-in-law hates the taste of traditional coffee, which is why she loves the corn syrup infused chocolate bomb she buys every day. In trying to find a healthier way to create this, I found cold brew coffee. Because of the lower acid and less bitter flavor of cold brew, I was able to make a drink that was sweet without as much sweetener. That began my obsession with cold brew coffee. Soon, I started buying green coffee beans and roasting them myself and tweaking the process further. Eventually I discovered our proprietary brewing process and flavor profile that is now Nice Cube Coffee. Thanks Mom!
What does a typical day look like for you?
I don’t think I have any typical days. There are days when I am up to my elbows in government code to figure out what is needed for a commercial kitchen, some days that I am cupping coffees from all around the world with folks in the coffee industries that nerds like myself read about in coffee articles. I drink and evaluate my coffee every day; I also often roast and test new coffees. There is also email and phone calls, strategy meetings, and design discussions. Starting a brand enables one to wear many, many hats. I’m both the CEO and the janitor, and just about everything in between. Whatever needs to be done that day? I am also a commercial and advertising photographer, and along with my wife, I homeschool two very talented young musicians, so I wear those hats too.
Where do you find inspiration?
I find inspiration in automotive design, electric car engineering, good food, and art, but most of all I find inspiration in the people around me. If I can create something that will make someone pause and enjoy that single moment, I take that as a huge compliment. As a society we are so over-scheduled and moving so quickly all the time, if we have one moment to stop and savor life, even just for a minute amount of time, it becomes precious. I love that moment when I can see someone find the special care that I put into my coffee and enjoy it. I put a lot of time and effort into the process of making Nice Cube Coffee, and to see someone notice the difference and enjoy that is kind of a special gift.
Do you have any other hobbies?
Ever since I was a kid I have loved to bake and make candy. I make caramel, biscotti, crusty bread, and coconut banana cream pie when I get the chance. I also have been playing with a cold brew coffee based hard candy that has gone over well with friends and family.
What are you reading or listening to at the moment?
I have one kid who is a classical violinist and another who is a jazz percussionist. So I go from Vivaldi to Herbie Hancock. After I photographed and shot a music video for Philip Sayce, an amazing blues and rock guitar player, his music became a go to for me, as well as the intricately subtle and intellectual jazz composer, Jerry Kalaf, with his new album Welcome to Earth.
As a kid, what did you want to be when you grow up?
I wanted to be a veterinarian because I loved animals so much. Then one day I took my dog into the vet with my mom and watched in horror as he did what I considered to be terrible things to the dog’s rear end. I decided that day to be a pilot.
If you could give some advise to your teenage self, what would it be?
Run, Luke! Run! Seriously, if I could give advice to myself as a teenager, it would be this. Act, think, and behave in a way that seems right and correct to who you are and who you want to be. Don’t try to fit into anyone else’s box. Life is an intricate puzzle whose pieces can be surprising and wonderful, and fit together in beautiful ways where you least expect them to. Allow yourself to be open to it.
Nice Cube Instagram
Profile photo by: Cooper Saylin