Coffee At Its Word
Words by Sheila Chau
Photos by Max Perez, Ryan Chipman, Phil Woodall - The Library Of, and Jonathan Powell - The Library Of
Nonfiction Coffee is a company that strives to put intentionality and transparency into the coffee industry—or as they say on their website, "Coffee at its word."
“Traceability and intentionality put a name and a face to the people and community. Our desire is that this would counter the hustle and bustle of someone’s day and cause a thoughtful and intentional moment when they’re enjoying their coffee,” says Jeff Daniels, Director of Sales. Starting with their name, Nonfiction Coffee shows that they are a company you can trust.
“Great coffee can’t exist without the incredible, unseen labor of coffee farmers all around the world. There’s just so many people,” Daniels says. The message of Nonfiction Coffee is storytelling—other coffee companies may tell consumers the origin country of the coffee, but Nonfiction Coffee goes above and beyond.
They recently introduced Origin Stories cans. In these cans, they spotlight the coffee grower’s name on the front, and the name of the coffee grower is bigger than their own. As you interact with the can, you'll learn the name of the farmer and farm that grew the coffee, the country it's from, and even the region/sub-region of the country—but the journey does not stop there. There is a farmer-
specific URL on the can that shares even more information about each coffee producer. This is unique in the industry—other coffee companies are not even half as transparent. Just like everything else that you put into your body, it's important to know where your coffee is coming from.
Intentionality doesn’t stop at origins for Nonfiction Coffee. They’ve added another level through their partnership with Blue Spring Living Water, a local Alabama water source. Origin Stories Coffee is made with Blue Spring Living Water. The Specialty Coffee Association recommends brewing coffee with a water that has a 
pH level somewhere in the range of 7-7.5. Blue Spring Living Water has a pH of 7.1, which is perfect for the brewing process—and it makes the Nonfiction Coffee all the more delicious.
Nonfiction Coffee rejects the basic message that coffee is simply fuel for the day. “Coffee is so much more than a beverage. It’s people. It’s lives. It’s communities. It’s cultures,” says Daniels.
Productivity culture makes coffee seem like a routine beverage that's used to help someone get through their day, but with how much it's a part of everyone’s lives, it should be treated with more thoughtfulness. That's what Nonfiction Coffee understands.
By putting more thought into the coffee industry, Nonfiction Coffee hopes to change the association coffee has with caffeine and to shine a light on the hard work put into the drink. “Coffee can be approached with the same of refinement wine is,” said Daniels. Nonfiction Coffee is making monumental steps in adding more deliberateness in making and drinking coffee.