Blending the worlds of adrenaline and aroma, Attack Coffee bears the indelible marks of its founders, ‘Double’ and ‘Zero.’ While their true identities remain shielded behind their call signs, their passion for crafting excellent coffee is on full display.
This dynamic duo, both active military fighter pilots, have been best friends since college. Their lives have intersected at every point: best man in each other’s wedding, joined the same fighter squadron, fly for the same commercial airline, live in the same neighborhood. Like best friends often do, they have been scheming ‘great ideas’ for decades.
Zero explains that their a-ha moment came in the Afghanistan desert, waiting out a Covid quarantine period before gaining access to the air force base. “We were in a warehouse with cots and 180 other people. It was HOT during the day, so we turned nocturnal. We would get up at midnight and Double would make awesome coffee. People started to notice. It is amazing how the human body adapts, and how stressful situations can make you really look forward to the small things. Everyone looked forward to Double’s coffee. It was then that we realized we could be on to something great.”
Double had been roasting his own coffee for years as an alternative to base coffee, using small batches of beans and an air popcorn popper.
Appealing to their entrepreneurial spirits, they began to explore coffee crafting in earnest. They found a local distributor, Anthem Coffee, who has been instrumental in their success. Both Zero and Double commend the entire coffee industry for being generous with time and advice to novice roasters.
“Most of our roasts are single origin, so from one country or one farm. We generally produce medium roasts, though we do have some dark roast blends that we just launched,” says Double. Their goal is to have coffee beans delivered to customers within two weeks of roasting.
From straight black to cream and sugar, Zero and Double are the anti-snob coffee guys. “You can put whatever you want in your coffee to make it taste great. It’s that simple,” says Zero. In fact, Double drinks his coffee with two ice cubes.
The fundamental message behind Attack Coffee is personal empowerment. Both men are grateful for their time in the service and hope the motto ‘Attack Your Day’ is a rally cry for people to seize all of life’s activities with the same fervor that propels them.
“We want everyone to attack their day with our coffee; attack your passions; do what makes you happy. Our number one goal is to give people delicious coffee so they can get out there and do what they need to do,” says Zero. “I am a mega believer in the pursuit of happiness in my life, for my family. We stress you need to do what makes you happy.”
As their time in the military winds down, Zero and Double intend to use Attack Coffee as a vehicle to continue their service. “I have some pretty crazy ideas for what I would like to see us do with Attack Coffee,” Double says. High on their list is figuring out a way to incorporate their unique skill set and Attack Coffee with disaster relief programs. According to Double, “We would really like to go help people, so the details are percolating in the back of our brains.”
Zero agrees, “I don’t think we will ever stop wanting to serve....”
Without missing a beat, Double adds, “great coffee.”
For more information on their coffee, subscription plan or to place an order, check out their website at Attackcoffee.com.