Connor Roelke, founder and owner of Nobl Coffee. Photo by Scott Murphy.
First it was the coffee pot, then the Keurig machine, and now coffee aficionados may turn to the keg. Nobl Coffee in Newmarket is part of a cold brew coffee trend, which steeps coffee grinds for more than a day in cold water until it pours thick and creamy like a stout beer. The claim is that is produces a richer taste that is less bitter.
Sales of cold brew coffee in the United States grew 115 percent between 2014 and 2015, according to Mintel, a market research firm. Despite that growth, cold brew coffee, which can be served cold or hot, is a small part of the coffee-to-go market with an estimated 0.4 percent of sales in 2015.
Connor Roelke, founder and owner of Nobl Coffee, launched his business in July 2015 right after graduating from the University of NH in Durham. He found quick success. Roelke now partners with 20 businesses in Concord, Manchester and the Seacoast, and he plans to expand to Boston. He first introduced his idea to start a cold brew business at UNH’s Holloway Innovation-to-Market Competition in 2015. He placed third and received $2,500. Nobl Coffee was also one of four finalists (and the only non-tech company finalist) in the Manchester Young Professionals Network’s 2016 NH StartUp Challenge.
Along with being Nobl’s sole employee, Roelke is the sole financier. He launched the company with $8,000 to purchase all necessary equipment. To date, he has invested about $30,000, with a small amount of that raised from friends and family. He’s also begun seeking outside investment. “Nobl is a very capital intensive, bootstrap business, and I’ve definitely developed a deeper appreciation of what a dollar costs” says Roelke. “It was tight at the beginning, but I’ve always been good at making a lot from nothing.”
So what makes Nobl Coffee different in a highly competitive marketplace? Nobl uses certified organically grown beans roasted by Flight Coffee Co. in Dover. Roelke says most mass-produced coffee is burnt to hide mistakes and simplify manufacturing. The added effort of careful, specialty roasting allows nuanced flavors to surface from the beans, such as hints of chocolate, fruit and nuts.
Nobl’s brewing process uses water filtered using reverse osmosis, where a thin semi-permeable membrane allows water to pass through, but not the impurities or contaminants. The water and coffee grounds are then brewed in a large stainless steel refrigerated container for upwards of 26 hours. Roelke then purges all oxygen in the vessel using nitrogen, which acts as both a preservative and flavor enhancer.
After the brewing process, Roelke delivers his coffee in kegs to coffee shops around the state, where he also installs taps for them. Roelke retails his kegs at $80 to $105 apiece, with businesses charging customers roughly $3.50 to $4 a cup. Each keg can hold 53 12-ounce servings.
Part of Roelke’s pitch is the convenience of Nobl’s pre-brewed tap system. Since the coffee is always ready-to-serve, businesses use less time and resources than brewing on-site. Roelke says that The Stone Church in Newmarket now offers Nobl as their sole coffee option since adding it to their draught list.
Also among his customers are Apotheca Flower & Tea Shoppe in Goffstown, Freedom Cafe in Durham, Flight Coffee Co., Laney and Lu Cafe in Exeter, Live Juice in Concord, The Juicery@Pease Tradeport, and The Soupery in Portsmouth.
Nobl’s coffee is primarily used by customers to make iced coffee, but some also use it for hot coffee as well. Nobl’s partnership with Live Juice surfaced from the café’s desire to limit waste. Since they only sell a few hot cups daily, their staff used to make several pots daily, throwing out what wasn't used. Roelke worked with a thermal engineer to create a hot tap for his keg at Live Juice that preserves coffee for the handful of orders they receive.
In April, the business generated $9,000 in revenue and Roelke projected that would jump to about $15,000 in May, with deliveries averaging 20 kegs a week, which is also on the rise. “Other than beer, there’s only one other beverage you want at every time of the day,” Roelke jokes about the built-in customer base of coffee enthusiasts.
Business is growing enough that he plans to add at least two employees. Roelke is remodeling to add a tasting room and launched an events division of his business with a wedding in April. “Nobl would be profitable even if it stopped growing, and I’m not planning on that,” says Roelke. “The idea of continued growth has been with me during everything I’ve done.”
For more information, visit noblcoffee.com.
Current Issue - May 2024