As coffee’s third-wave continues a tidal sweep across the nation, numerous micro-roasters have sprouted in its wake, including an off-shoot: supplement-infused coffee.
A new roaster, Peak State Coffee, joins the ranks of Boulder’s Front Range brew scene with its mushroom-infused roastery, on the front range of coffee trends.
The company joins traditional local roasters in a vibrant local coffee roasting scene, which includes Boulder’s Silver Canyon Coffee, Boxcar Coffee Roasters, Dragonfly Coffee Roasters, Conscious Coffees and Ned’s Salto Coffee Works.
Located at 4745 Walnut Street, with its roasting operation just outside of Boulder’s Gunbarrel neighborhood, founder Danny Walsh runs Peak State Coffee, launched this January, which infuses coffee beans with extracts of U.S.-grown, full-spectrum functional mushrooms (full-spectrum means the extract includes both the fruiting body and the mycelium; these mushrooms, to be clear, are non-psychoactive).
Peak Start joins a growing trend among coffee roasters of infusing coffee with other supplements such as Ayurvedic Ashwagandha powder, used to relieve stress and improve concentration, butter (hello Bulletproof), collagen peptides, and even CBD. Some companies even sell dehydrated coffee powder with adaptogenic mushrooms at local supermarkets.
Shroom-infused coffee beans provide a less jittery buzz in its coffee than traditionally roasted beans and lends an herby, earthy flavor to the java brew.
Launching just before Covid required Peak State Coffee to pivot rapidly from a cold-brew retail product to e-commerce. Danny quickly realized “any buyers in stores were trying frantically to keep soup and frozen pizza on the shelves, not concerned with a new product.”
Peak State ships to all US states and Canada, and selling through local CSAs such as Browns’ Farm Niwot as well as pop-ups some local farmers markets including the Golden Farmers Market and Lucky’s Market, Peak State just sold over 1,000 bags of coffee!
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Natural fusion
Danny began dreaming of combining the health benefits of mushrooms with coffee in 2018 when he first encountered into them in the woods while working on a trail crews building the Appalachian Trail in northern New Hampshire.
Through creating an outdoor-inspired brand in Peak State, Danny hopes to use the business as a platform for sustainability and environmental conservation, spreading beyond just helping people get their caffeine fix.
Peak State launched a Kickstarter in April hoping to get its product out to people at home and raised just under $12,000 in about 30 days that will go toward the product, packaging and shipping.
Peak State Coffee sources its mushrooms from a few places outside of Colorado, including one just outside of Lake Tahoe, but has plans to partner Hazel Dell in Fort Collins.
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