Nine Volt Coffee Brings New Cold Brew Option to Denver

Cold brew from new Denver company Nine Volt Coffee is coming to a restaurant near you in early June, just in time for warm weather and cold brew season.

Hugh and Keith Enockson, the father and son team behind Nine Volt, are passionate about coffee. Originally, the duo had hoped to sell a coffee and whiskey drink they developed, but when they found out they couldn't legally sell caffeine and alcohol — an upper with a downer — they hit upon the idea of bottling and selling cold brew.

Avid coffee drinkers, the Enocksons naturally gravitated toward cold brew because they felt it was a little healthier than other coffee options—less acidic and easier to digest. Unable to find a local cold brew they really loved in Denver, the Enocksons created their own recipe. "A lot of other cold brews, you have to tone them down with milk or add sugar to cut back the bitterness," explained Keith Enockson. The makers of Nine Volt set out to find a dark roast blend that was still low in acidity and smooth in flavor.

The Enocksons began developing the Nine Volt cold brew recipe last July. After almost a year of perfecting their recipe, and a few months of pre-sales to local businesses and individuals, Nine Volt is ready to start filing orders. "We spent a lot of time in our research and development phase to come up with a product that was free of boiling, free of sugars, free of preservatives. Just 100-percent coffee and flavor," said Enockson. "We're darker, stronger, and more smooth."

Nine Volt sources beans from a local company that does a custom small batch roast (the all dark roast blend is one the Enocksons came up with). The beans that make up the four-bean blend are brought in green, mixed, and then roasted together. "We want to keep things as local as possible," said Enockson. "We want to create some jobs in the community as well as be able to provide for ourselves." Someday Enockson hopes they have a storefront with a facility in the back to do their own roasting.

Nine Volt Coffee will begin delivering its cold brew to Denver Metro restaurants next month. Lime, Lime XS, Wasabi Sushi, Grappa Italian Bistro and all three Sunrise Sunset breakfast locations have already signed up to sell Nine Volt. The Enocksons have been getting great feedback on cold brew samples, and hope to expand to several more restaurants across Denver this summer. The company is also exploring the possibility of breaking into retail markets.

Currently Nine Volt is being produced in small batches in Denver Metro area commissary kitchens. The Enocksons hope Nine Volt Coffee can move to a more permanent local bottling and production facility soon.

"Things are moving very quickly," Enockson adds. They're headed in the right direction, and we're excited to see where this year takes us" 

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