Morning Radio Host Gets His Kick From King David Roastery

It's not easy being the morning radio guy.

For George Russell, it means waking up before the sun and consuming the day's news in time for his mad dash to the WSMN studio on Main Street, where he is maestro of the  6 to 9 a.m. drive-time show.

You're talking two cups of coffee, easy, just to lift the fog.

All that's become so much easier for Russell, now that he's got his own custom brand of hand-roasted coffee – Fog Lifter – created for him by Sam Brest, founder of King David Coffee Roasters.

"It's fantastic. People are gonna love it," Russell said.

From conception to coffee pot, it took just three weeks to get Russell's custom roast bagged and ready for sale. No order is too small, says Brest, and every request is negotiable.

Russell says his initial order of 15 bags is just the beginning -- he's hoping to get his brew on the menu of a particular downtown eatery, and projects that it will become the official morning coffee of Nashua's coolest people.

And that would suit Brest just fine – he would like to expand his successful mainly mail order business to include more local retailers and restaurants.

"I have 150 accounts in 20 states, a lot of wholesale and web sales, some walk-in sales. But i need to grow the business," Best said. "I would like to be in gourmet or specialty shops. Whole Foods would be great."

Brest got into the coffee roasting business while looking for a way out of the sandwich shop business.

"I wanted an exit plan. I was running Spinelli's sub shop -- it was a miserable business. The customers are great, but the rest of it -- awful," Brest said.

He happened upon a cafe in Maine and encountered his first coffee roasting machine, and was instantly intrigued. After learning some basics, he went to roaster school in Idaho, and in 2003, launched his own coffee roasting business from a small second-floor space in an old mill building at 48 Bridge Street.

His bragging rights extend beyond his cool digs to his hot roasts – many of them are big sellers, and his Cohas Coffee specialty blends continue to perform well, sold in gift baskets, single serving and "pillow packs."

But his coffee is also sold from many tourist spots around the country, including Sturbridge Village and right here, at Clark's Trading Post. WineNot on Main Street has a roast that they sell, and Brest appreciate's the local love.

He'd just appreciate a little more of it from some other local businesses.

"I think it would be a great selling point - roasted right here in Nashua by a Nashua native. It doesn't get more local than that, and my prices are better than most," Brest says.

He sells a full pound of hand-roasted coffee for $9.99 wholesale, compared to $12 to $15 per 12 ounce bag sold by other leading companies, that roast by the batch.

Brest takes great pride in the craft of coffee roasting.

"Our Cohas Coffee was sold by Hannaford, and we did 5,500 bags in 10 days, with a few helpers and my own equipment - it's a lot of work, but I can do it," he says.

He's done private label micro-batches for host of clients – businesses looking to "brand" their company with a custom roast, investment bankers, Real Estate Agents, even families who want to distribute gift bags for Christmas, featuring their family portrait on the label.

"My original idea was to do a kosher Jewish coffee that I could sell in areas where there is a big Jewish population. I took King David Coffee to the Kosherfest at the Javitz Center in New Jersey. Seemed people didn't care. That was my big marketing idea, and I was back to square one. Then, I got this label printer," Brest said, pointing toward a printer with 100 labels spilling out of the paper tray.

"It allowed customization and so I was able to roast for other companies that didn't roast their own beans," like Wachusett Coffee, Java Giant – and Cohas.

Brest explained that he was doing all the work roasting and bagging and labeling the Cohas Coffee, and eventually, when they wanted out of the coffee business, Brest happily took it over, and continues to sell it.

Walk-ins are welcome, just head into the warehouse and take the elevator to the second floor, and follow the signs. He takes cash, check or credit card. Customers can order online at kingdavidcoffee.com, whole bean or any grind. For more information, contact Brest at am Brest, 603-577-8899.
or email at: kingdavidcoffee@mac.com.