12/18/24 - Denim Coffee Dives into Web3 with Artist Collab Series

In the summer of 2023, Denim Coffee co-owner Tony Diehl found himself deep in the web3 discords with his favorite artist MUMBOT who had just announced a “Ghost Coffee” podcast. He noticed one thing was missing in the announcement, coffee. This sparked the idea and conversation around what it would look like to give an artist a full front, back and bottom blank coffee bag as a canvas to create their vision of what a personalized artist coffee product would look like. An idea that resonated with MUMBOT who set off designing art for the bag, while Tony sorted out a bag solution.

“I had been a fan and collector of MUMBOT’s work for a few years and hung out in her discord celebrating her work and contributing to the positive, supportive community she has built.” said Tony.  “I felt a collaboration with one of my favorite artists and someone who champions the Web3 space and fellow artists was a great opportunity to dip my toes into coffee and art as a collaborative effort and see what happens.”

So what is Web3? Web3 is a new version of the internet that uses blockchain technology to make the web more decentralized and secure. It's designed to give users more control over their data and online interactions. Many artists use this blockchain technology to verify ownership of their artwork often purchased and traded by collectors on 3rd party platforms such as Opensea.io. 

With bag company selected and design/name GHOST ROAST finalized in late November 2023, the pair set an early December launch date. In brainstorming around how to make this drop special and unique, 2 fun twists were added. MUMBOT drove to Denim Coffee’s Harrisburg cafe, an 8 hour round trip, to sign and number all 200 12oz bags.

Additionally, Tony incorporated a Golden Ticket aspect, hiding 20 literal physical Golden Tickets randomly throughout the 200 bags. Anyone receiving a Golden Ticket in their order would be entitled to a limited 1 of 20 MUMBOT “Stellar Sips” NFT. This proved to be a fun way to tie in web3 and create excitement for collectors with a bit of delight and surprise upon finding a Golden Ticket in their order.

The drop sold out in 2 weeks generating great buzz around the Web3 space and bags were shipped all over the US from New York City to Los Angeles California and everywhere in between. In addition, several artists took notice of the unique full bag art concept and began reaching out to Tony for their own drops. An additional 6 drops with carefully selected artists (Jimena Buena Vida - Time Magazine’s web3 Artist of the Year, The Feeshes interactive web3/NFT project, Brian Morris, Dalek, Popil, Pop Wonder and an open edition “Aughostus Roast” by MUMBOT) were lined up and drops mapped out through April 2024.

 

This Spring roll out culminated in Denim Coffee’s participation at HUGFEST, an all-day event at the Canvas 3.0 Gallery located in New York City's iconic Oculus at the World Trade Center. The event was put on by HUG, an inclusive social marketplace for next-generation creators to earn an income from their craft in innovative ways and organization founded by Randi Zuckerburg and Debbie Soon and a team of passionate web3 enthusiasts and supporters.

“HUGFEST was a great opportunity to see artists interacting in person with the Artist Collab bags and feedback was overwhelmingly positive and supportive.” said Tony. “To meet and see the excitement from artists you admire and have collected interacting with the bags in person was a truly rewarding experience.”

Channeling this feedback and enthusiasm, Tony lined up 8 additional artists - Nate Bear aka BearBrains, Sara “Sparky” Baumann, NeonGlitch86, Ishita Banerjee / SoulCurryArt, Brian Romero, Sean Keeton, Gabe Weis, MUMBOT and Amber Vittoria - for drops spread out monthly for the remainder of 2024. Each drop features the Golden Ticket NFT and several other surprises mixed into the drops to keep things fun and engaging.

“It has been an absolute joy to see collectors and artists sharing photos on social media of their art bags which have become a part of their morning coffee routine in their homes.” said Tony. “That’s the thing about art, it can take the ordinary, the seemingly mundane and elevate it to a moment of beauty in every day, just like a great cup of coffee.”

"Working with Tony felt like a natural evolution, as I’ve come to know him over the years not only as a collector of my art but as an active, incredibly supportive, and valued member of the community. Enhancing how fans experience my art has always been a priority for me, and finding new ways to make those connections even more meaningful is something I care about deeply. As a fan of coffee and café culture—and as both an artist and a collector—I’ve long dreamed of creating something that merges coffee and art in a unique way. Collaborating with Denim Coffee was the perfect opportunity to bring this vision to life.” said MUMBOT.

“The response from everyone who has supported this collaboration has been incredible—it’s all about feeling the joy of their experience reflected back. One thing that excites me most is how the art elevates the coffee, and in turn, the high quality coffee enhances the overall sensory experience. Plus, add-ons like the chance to win golden tickets we include as a fun surprise—offering a token of the digital artwork (NFT)—tie everything together beautifully. The enthusiasm from other incredible artists eager to join this series is a testament to how something truly special can bring people together. It’s a perfect reflection of the vibrant community we’ve built, much of it through our journey in Web3, where relationships and creativity continue to thrive."

This November the project came full circle with MUMBOT's first full color drop, COZY MOMENTS featuring several characters from her beloved MUMBOT WORLD. 

The Artist Collab Series will continue on into the new year with an additional 10 artists.

“The beauty of the program is that we can keep their custom bags on our shelves and roast/ship orders every Tuesday as their bags are purchased.” said Tony. “Each new drop exposes the project to a new audience base, many of which will grab a bag or 2 of the other available art’s coffees and further spread awareness for great art and great coffee.”

To view available Artist Collab Series coffees visit www.denimcoffeecompany.com/ArtistCollabSeries and for updates on future drops connect at www.x.com/DenimCoffee and www.instagram.com/DenimCoffee.

11/14/24 - Denim Coffee Opens 6th Cafe in Lancaster, PA

On November 14, Denim Coffee cut the ribbon and officially opened their 6th cafe in downtown Lancaster. Owners Matt and Tony had their eye on the Lancaster market for many years only last year finding the perfect location (221 W King St) to carve out a corner in the city for what Denim Coffee has to offer.

"Thanks to everyone who serves coffee in Lancaster - we are thrilled to enter a community of like-minded folks who hold third space in high regard." said Matt, Owner/Founder Denim Coffee.  "Personally, we have enjoyed being able to visit so many coffee shops and are grateful for your passion and hospitality.  With over 2,000 sub-species of coffee and all the regions, processing methods, roast curves and brewing techniques, we'll never be able to experience all of it, but we're bringing some of our favorites to the party.  Our goal is to get more people excited about specialty coffee and bring them to the party."

Denim Coffee's specialty coffee shop in downtown Lancaster, PA features a full espresso & specialty coffee menu, breakfast sandwiches, smoothies, baked goods, UnDone Kombucha and more. All coffee drinks feature Denim Coffee's beans, roasted fresh weekly. 12oz. bags of fresh roasted single origin and espresso coffees available for purchase for home brewing.

8/21/24 - Denim Coffee Cafe Coming to Market Square in Downtown Harrisburg

Denim Coffee today announced that they have signed a lease with Harristown Enterprises Inc. to open a new 2,500 s.f. shop at 17 S. 2nd Street on the first floor of the Menaker Apartment complex. This new store is planned for opening by the end of 2024 and construction on the project is expected to begin next month. Denim has multiple coffee shops in the region including Chambersburg, Carlisle, Mechanicsburg, Dickinson College, Harrisburg (4th and Walnut Streets) and soon to open space in Lancaster as well.

Bradley Jones, President and CEO of Harristown, expressed excitement for the project. “This is going to be a tremendous location for Denim on Market Square in downtown Harrisburg with access to a growing residential population and customers from the downtown hotels, Harrisburg University of Science and Technology and the growing UPMC Harrisburg campus. We are particularly excited for our apartment tenants to have onsite access to this fantastic new coffee shop.” The Menaker was a historic preservation office-to- apartment conversion that was completed in 2022. It offers 28 unique and stylish apartments including both one and two bedroom units and many have stunning views of Market Square.

Matt Ramsay is excited about the potential for people to gather in what will be their largest café to date. “While our first Harrisburg location is fantastic, we have limited window bar seating and we see a need in Harrisburg for meeting space. We’re thrilled to be working with Harristown to bring our second Harrisburg café to Menaker featuring our standard espresso menu along with breakfast sandwiches and plenty of seating for guests and meetings. If you like coffee and meeting space, you’re going to love this shop!”

About Denim Coffee

Denim Coffee is a Specialty Coffee Roaster with cafes in Central PA. With a goal of 10 shops in 10 years, Denim is working hard to deliver on their promise to “make better coffee” and grow their business to a level of direct relationships with coffee farmers to help alleviate some of the injustices in the coffee supply chain network. With every shop, every wholesale partner, every cup of coffee sold, Denim Coffee is one step closer to this goal. 

About Harristown
Since 1974, Harristown has been at the heart of downtown Harrisburg’s transformation, creating a vibrant community through its focus on urban real estate development. With a commitment to community development, Harristown has been involved with redevelopment projects worth over $500 million, contributing to the city’s economic and cultural renaissance. Harristown and its affiliates have contributed over $230 million in real estate taxes since its inception and currently own and/or manage more than two million square feet of property in downtown Harrisburg. This year Harristown is celebrating its 50th anniversary.6/4/24 - Denim Coffee Partners with Humankind for Flash Chilled Coffee Distribution

 

 

Central Pennsylvania based Specialty Coffee Roaster Denim Coffee teams up with mission based Mid-Atlantic distribution partner Humankind for distribution of its Flash Chilled Coffee product. The partnership allows for distribution of kegs across Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, Washington DC, New Jersey, Delaware, and New York. In addition to Humankind’s robust clientele, any cafe, restaurant, hotel, food truck or office can order Flash Chilled Coffee in kegs delivered to their door by Humankind weekly.


“We are incredibly honored to align with a company that puts people first and cares about quality.” said Matt Ramsay, Owner Denim Coffee. “We have been a Humankind client for many years and are thrilled to offer our unique cold coffee to the Humankind network and beyond.”

“We love the team, the passion, and the coffee from Denim Coffee. We’re thankful for the opportunity to be the first to offer this new and innovative Flash Chilled Coffee product to shops across the region.” - Ethan Frey, President Humankind.

What is Flash Chilled Coffee?
The process starts with Denim’s specialty coffee, brewed hot and rapidly chilled within 30 seconds to fridge temps. They purge with nitrogen to remove oxygen, keg and send it to Humankind to deliver to their shops and wholesale partners to serve fresh from the tap in regular or NITRO versions. The result is a truly superior cold coffee beverage. Denim Coffee invites you to experience cold coffee at its finest.

Anyone interested in learning more about Flash Chilled Coffee can visit www.denimcoffeecompany.com/FlashChilledCoffee or contact Denim Coffee Director of Partnerships Kyle Matthews, kyle@denimcoffeecompany.com 717-461-2414.


About Humankind
Humankind exists to end the world's water crisis.

Every bottle of Humankind water, tea, and lemonade provides at least 50 gallons of clean water to someone in need. To date, Humankind has provided over 300,000 people everyday access to clean water. Their specialty coffee and retail partners are a HUGE part of making that happen.

In 2018, they realized that coffeeshops and other places where specialty coffee is served were their best customers. The problem was, there wasn't a distributor in our area who specialized in serving these customers and also sold bottled beverages. So they started their own. Customers embraced this expansion, and www.HumankindOrders.com was born. They specialize in delivering directly to coffee shops and other specialty stores in the Mid-Atlantic. More than 600 coffee shops now trust Humankind to deliver what they need, when they need it.

Learn more at https://humankindwater.com.

About Denim Coffee
Denim Coffee is a Specialty Coffee Roaster with cafes in Chambersburg, Carlisle, Dickinson College, Mechanicsburg, Harrisburg and a new shop opening Summer 2024 in Lancaster, PA. With a goal of 10 shops in 10 years, Denim is working hard to deliver on their promise to “make better coffee” and grow their business to a level of direct relationships with coffee farmers to help alleviate some of the injustices in the coffee supply chain network. With every shop, every wholesale partner, every flash chilled coffee sold, Denim Coffee is one step closer to this goal. Everything we do comes down to this: Make Better Coffee.

 


1/11/24 - Denim Coffee Taps Caffeinated Connector Kyle Matthews to Lead Wholesale Drive

Denim Coffee is proud to announce the appointment of Kyle Matthews as Director of Partnerships, a new position with a focus on relationship development for wholesale coffee supply in the greater coffee and business communities.  

“I’m excited to work with the team at Denim that has built a solid foundation to handle the expansion planned for the next 3-5 years and beyond." said Kyle. "I love meeting others and helping them move forward in a meaningful way. Partnering with Denim Coffee, for me, is all about relationships first.”

Kyle’s focus will be developing new wholesale partnerships ranging from efficient brewing options for offices looking to advance beyond the Keurig, to start-up entrepreneurs looking to launch a new coffee business and established cafes and restaurants looking to provide a superior coffee option for their clientele. 

In addition to the coffee sales for traditional hot brewing venues, Kyle will be advancing Denim’s new Flash Chilled Coffee wholesale program. This unique offering allows anyone with an audience (office, church, cafe, restaurant) to level up their cold coffee game with a superior, on-tap cold coffee option dispensed from kegerators and supplied in kegs from Denim Coffee headquarters. 

“With Flash Chilled coffee, cafes no longer need to rely on staff to execute the traditional cold brew which is often muted and stales quickly resulting in waste when unused product is dumped after a few days.” said Kyle. “Our Flash Chilled coffee is brewed hot and chilled within 30 seconds to fridge temps, then kegged and purged with nitrogen to preserve freshness and vibrancy for months.” 

So whether you need hot coffee, cold coffee, single brewer for a small office, elevated coffee offering for you established cafe/restaurant or want to open your own cafe, Denim Coffee is here for you and Kyle would love to connect. 

Anyone interested in learning more and beginning a discussion around better coffee may email Kyle at Kyle@DenimCoffeeCompany.com. To learn more about wholesale opportunities with Denim Coffee, please review our wholesale partnership program overview page, click here.

About Kyle

Kyle Matthews is an entrepreneur, having started his own business at the age of 15 to pay for college, graduating from Shippensburg University in 2008. Over the years, he held successful sales and leadership roles over a variety of industries in both B2B and B2C companies.  

All of his experience leads to a people-first approach that transcends industry silo’s and drives progress across teams of all sizes. He brings a unique networking ability that builds community wherever he goes. Kyle made the intentional move back to Pennsylvania in 2023 from a decade of adventure in Colorado with his wife, son, and daughter to be close to family, with both sets of grandparents living nearby.

Ultimately, Kyle’s purpose is to help others live out a better story, both personally and professionally.  

Connect with Kyle on LinkedIn, click here. 


1/4/24 - Pennsylvania specialty coffee roaster Denim Coffee levels up on their mission to make better coffee with new headquarters, IMF roaster, Flash Chilled product line, and revamped wholesale partnership program.


With an eye on continued growth and expansion through retail and wholesale opportunities, Denim Coffee has been diligently putting the pieces together to expand production capabilities and provide room for future growth in all directions.

With five existing retail coffee shops (Chambersburg, Carlisle, Dickinson College, Mechanicsburg, Harrisburg), two additional shops (Lancaster Spring '24 and another location yet to be announced) opening in 2024 and a growing list of wholesale partners, owners Matt Ramsay, Kristin Ramsay and Tony Diehl purchased their new 30,000 square foot headquarters in Chambersburg Pennsylvania. Formerly an ice factory and fallout shelter, the building now includes a state-of-the-art tasting/training room, roasting and production space, flash chilled coffee production operations, and commercial kitchen for their bakery.

The additional space has already born fruit for Denim Coffee, allowing for a dedicated room for Flash Chilled Coffee keg production and storage.

"I first tasted flash chilled coffee at Coffee Fest Boston and was blown away by how superior it was to any cold brew coffee option that I have tried." said Matt. "I knew instantly that flash chilled was the path forward for better cold coffee."

Matt set out on an 18-month journey to crack the code for flash chilling coffee at scale. Once in their new headquarters, a room was dedicated and equipment was installed to brew hot coffee and chill it to 40° in under 30 seconds. Once chilled the coffee is kegged and purged with nitrogen to preserve its vibrancy and freshness for months. Denim Coffee currently offers their flash chilled coffee on draft and nitro at their coffee shops as well as supplying kegs and kegerators to wholesale partners. Plans are in place to develop a canning line to unlock additional opportunities for this new flash chilled line of coffee.

The final piece of the puzzle was a new IMF Roaster and silos installed in the fall of 2023. This new roaster not only significantly increases production, it provides efficiencies and controls to dial in roasts like never before.

"Moving to IMF roasting from a traditional gas burner roaster is like changing from a 90s stick shift Geo Metro to a sports car. If I want to change the temp to 800 degrees in the roaster, I have it at the touch of a button and the temp is spot on," said Matt. "We now have a much wider range of possibilities for dialing in our roasts while maintaining accuracy."

Denim Coffee has plans in place to open 2 additional central Pennsylvania shops in 2024 while evaluating additional opportunities in retail, wholesale, e-commerce, and grocery coffee sales.

"I started this journey 12 years ago with my wife Kristin, to see the company grow to more than 60 employees, multiple retail locations and many vibrant successful wholesale partners has been a dream come true." said Matt. "We are absolutely thrilled for what the future holds and excited to work with anyone who wants to make better coffee."

In addition to the new infrastructure, Denim Coffee has also leveled up their wholesale partnership program by adding Kyle Matthews to the roster as Director of Partnerships.

Anyone interested in exploring wholesale opportunities with Denim Coffee may reach out to Kyle, kyle@denimcoffeecompany.com.

"Our goal has always been to open 10 retail coffee shops that we own and operate as well as expand our wholesale partnerships." said Matt. "With the added space and new IMF roaster, we are confident in our ability to pursue those goals and beyond."

Connect at www.Facebook.com/DenimCoffee & www.Instagram.com/DenimCoffeeCompany 

Watch our new promo video.

"This is Denim Coffee"