Co-founders Jason Holman and Nick Bianco came together in May of 2020, to bring a new kind of coffee experience into the world. Like so many other companies, they’re interested in putting forth a great product — single-origin, ethically-sourced, locally-roasted coffee. But, they also realized that making and drinking coffee could also lend itself to creating a personal experience beyond the actual drink. One that turned an everyday routine into an intentional ritual. Let’s hear the story directly from one of the co-founders, Nick Bianco (seated on the left).

Co-founders Jason Holman and Nick Bianco came together in May of 2020 to bring a new kind of coffee experience into the world.
Like so many other companies, they’re interested in putting forth a great product — single-origin, ethically-sourced, locally-roasted coffee. But, they also realized that making and drinking coffee could also lend itself to creating a personal experience beyond the actual drink. One that turned an everyday routine into an intentional ritual. Let’s hear the story directly from one of the co-founders, Nick Bianco (seated on the left).

Q: What does your personal journey with coffee look like? When did you start drinking coffee? Did you have someone that initially introduced you? Do you have a progression story (e.g., Folger's to Starbucks to Intelligensia to ... Spiritus)?

A: Jason and I (Nick Bianco) ran in the same circles of recovery folks, as we both had a past history with drugs and alcohol, and now both surround ourselves with other guys who’ve needed help stopping and couldn’t do it on their own.

The idea to go into business together happened out on my deck while drinking coffee and always bringing up the idea of someday wanting to have a cafe or coffee shop. I think I just brought it up until Jason finally caught the same bug.

I have been in healthcare/IT sales for 12 years now. I grew up vowing that I would never be in sales, but then ended up loving it and doing well at it once I realized sales can be a service. I also worked as a photographer — I think there’s some commonality in photography that can be applied to coffee. My favorites are the similarities of ISO, shutter speed, and aperture in photography being so much like airflow, heat energy, and temperature/time in coffee roasting. I was more on the technical side of my photography art, and I feel it makes me a really good fit for the technicality of a coffee roaster.

Q: Did you know anything about roasting when you started? If not, what was your process for learning?

A: It started with learning about better ways to brew a great cup of coffee. From there, it grew to roasting coffee. I bought a small, used Fresh Roast popcorn popper-style roaster, and started roasting small 120 gram batches in my kitchen.

I always stop in at the local coffee shop in town when I travel for work. I’ve loved meeting with roasters and cafe owners to talk to them about what they do. I falsely got the idea that there’s a large margin of error, and that it shouldn’t be too difficult to be a roaster. After upgrading to a commercial coffee roaster and going through my first full bag (132 pounds) of coffee, I realized there is a ton of nuance to getting the flavor profiles I’m looking for — my YouTube education was good, but a lot more was learned with trial and error.

Q: Your focus on letting coffee be part of a journey of mindfulness/spirituality is very cool. What led you to that concept?

A: During 2020, and the shelter-in-place, my Covid hobby was mindfulness. I finally had enough time available to seriously attempt a meditation practice; it made that uncertain time much easier. Learning how thoughts and feelings arise in consciousness along with breath, sounds, and sensations in our body, I thought about my coffee brewing and tasting with Jason, and looking for all of those flavors like blueberry, chocolate, and some coffees claim Jolly Ranchers and PBJ! To me, it tasted, well, like a cup of coffee.

Combining coffee and mindfulness makes you look a little deeper into what you’re tasting. They bring you into the moment to watch for those tasting notes to arrive in consciousness just like the other senses we move awareness to in meditation. That, combined with the fact we all need a little more quiet time, became a concept and idea that started to grow.

Q: When did you decide you would donate profits to organizations dedicated to mental health/addiction recovery?

A: The idea of donation turned our expensive coffee hobby into an idea for a business. I don’t think we would have the passion to go this far only thinking about it from a traditional business sense. There had to be more, and as we decided on the details of how we wanted to operate, we realized how good it could be, and what we might be able to give back.

Proper sourcing can give back to the farmer’s families and communities; helping the non-profits we care most about (mental health and addiction recovery) because of our personal histories; and bringing a brand message of spirituality (whatever that looks like to you), mindfulness, and meditation to help remind us to pause and take a breath in our stressful lives.

Q: What are some of your coffee rituals?

A: When I can, I love enjoying a coffee ritual. When I am home on a weekend, I love a pour-over coffee. The grinding, weighing, slow pour, the bloom, all of it is a very present-moment practice. I set aside the radio and playlists — I love to listen to a record. As a photographer, I love how shooting film slows you down, and makes you more conscious of how you’re using that limited shot. It is in the same spirit that I love to slow down with a pour-over coffee.

Q: Currently, what is your favorite Spiritus coffee?

A: I am still a big fan of all of them. I do a lot of market research, and still buy as much other coffee as I do our own. Of all the coffees that we’ve roasted, I really love the Colombian/Ethiopian blend we are selling as our Spiritus House Blend. It is a super drinkable coffee, has both the chocolate and roasted nuts notes of the Colombian, and as the coffee cools and changes, the blueberry and juiciness of the Ethiopian.

Q: Do you have a favorite method of brewing?

A: Espresso is my go-to, and I am a big fan of the Chemex.

Q: If there was one thing you want people to take away from this interview, what would it be?

A: Though it has been commodified, the original use of coffee was to help Sufi monks stay up later into the night to reach divine consciousness; it was an aid to transcend the material world. Think about how coffee brewed in your favorite method and enjoyed from your favorite cup, can add to your life as more than a pick-me-up. Hopefully, that Spirit of Coffee will be there for you, too.

Co-founders of Spiritus Coffee Jason Holman and Nick Bianco came together in May of 2020, to bring a new kind of coffee experience into the world. Like so many other companies, they’re interested in putting forth a great product — single-origin, ethically-sourced, locally-roasted coffee. But, they also realized that making and drinking coffee could also lend itself to creating a personal experience beyond the actual drink. One that turned an everyday routine into an intentional ritual. Let’s hear the story directly from one of the co-founders, Jason Holman (seated on the right).

Q: What does your personal journey with coffee look like? When did you start drinking coffee? Did you have someone that initially introduced you? Do you have a progression story (e.g., Folger’s to Starbucks to Intelligensia to … Spiritus Coffee)?

A: I started drinking coffee in 7th grade, I think. We’d hang out in a local restaurant and smoke cigarettes and drink coffee before school. Some of the teachers did the same thing – that café was like a safety zone — they never got us in trouble for it. It all started to change for me the more attention I paid to brewing methods. I learned that brewing has a huge impact on taste. I had a cup of a freshly-roasted Intelligentsia Ethiopian coffee brewed in a V60 that blew my mind. It was like wine; I never knew coffee could taste that way. I’ve been a coffee flavor chaser ever since.

Q: How did you meet and decide to start a business together?

A: Nick and I met in recovery circles years ago. He’s been sober about 15 years, and I met him about 8 or 9 years ago. We became friends right away, and we were both very committed to recovery and to helping others. He was a guy who was excited about life, and was always willing to take the time to help someone who was struggling. Spirituality and helping others is what recovery is all about, and Nick and I spent hours and hours hanging out, drinking coffee, talking about meditation, spirituality, and the guys that we were trying to help.

I’ve always worked in sales; a couple of cigar companies, then another coffee company, and now a rice producer located in Southern Illinois. The idea for Spiritus Coffee Company started on Nick’s back porch probably a year and half ago. Every time we got together, eventually the conversation would turn to starting a coffee company. It’s always been a dream. We were never able to shake it; it’s like the idea had a life of its own and things just started happening. We try to plan, but the whole endeavor really has had a natural, go with the flow feel to it.

Q: Did you know anything about roasting when you started? If not, what was your process for learning?

A: I didn’t. Nick had just purchased a small Fresh Roast machine and loved it. I ordered a small, hand-held, and roasted some on the stove. I’ve always been pretty obsessed with the coffee brewing process, and trying to dial in the perfect cup, while Nick got heavy into the roasting process and trying to dial in the perfect roast. We make a good team.

Q: Your focus on letting coffee be part of a journey of mindfulness/spirituality is very cool. What led you to that concept?

A: Well, I think a big part of it came from the influence of recovery principles that we both employ. We’ve both been practicing meditation for a while now, and before coffee, it’s what talked about much of the time. As we got further obsessed with coffee, we began incorporating it into our meditative practice. When we began discovering the world of taste, it developed even more, and we found we could be really present while brewing and having a cup. Brewing coffee and really tasting the nuance and subtle notes in it demand attention; it pulls you into the present and what you’re doing right here, right now. Like a lot of this, it just seemed to happen organically.

Q: When did you decide you would donate profits to organizations dedicated to mental health/addiction recovery?

A: That was something we both desired to do from the start. We wanted our company to have a positive local impact. We really hope that we’re able to help some people. We’ve both certainly struggled ourselves and received a lot of help; we just want to try to give back what was given us.

Q: What are some of your coffee rituals?

A: I’m a pre-dawn and late night guy. I love my time in the morning before the sun comes up when the world (and my house) is quiet. First thing in the morning, I open the container I store my beans in. I use a manual grinder, and can really smell the fragrance of the coffee. I measure, heat water, set up my V60, and carefully brew my first cup. I bring it into my office, and sip in a chair in the peace and quiet, noticing the aroma and flavors. Midway through the cup, I usually read for a short time and then meditate. When I leave my office afterwards, I’m awake, connected and fresh … at least for 20 minutes until my three-year-old wakes up.

Q: Currently, what is your favorite Spiritus coffee?

A: Definitely our Indonesian Sulawesi — which will be available as a very limited-time offering soon!

Q: Do you have a favorite method of brewing?

A: Definitely V60.

Q: If there was one thing you want people to take away from this interview, what would it be?

A: We can get so consumed with “doing” and can completely disregard “being.” When we take the time to disconnect with the chaos, and connect with something greater, it changes us. Over time, it can change us on a very deep level … we can bring that change into everything we do, and every interaction we have. It can literally transform the world we live in. Coffee can be magical, it can be a sacrament and a ritual; it can wake us up on a whole different level. The ancient Sufi monks knew it a long, long time ago. There really is a Spirit of Coffee that’s worth tapping into.

Hello, and welcome to Spiritus Coffee! We are excited to reveal our first set of single-origin, locally roasted coffee beans. What makes Spiritus Coffee different from some of the other coffees you’ve tried? Grab a cup and let’s get into it.

We believe coffee is much more than just a beverage or an aid to further alertness and productivity. We know that it can foster connections between people and join us together in the moment.

The Purpose of Spiritus Coffee

At Spiritus Coffee Company, our purpose is to transform your daily coffee from routine to Ritual. Every bean infused with spirit; every sip set with intention; every moment a moment to savor. From seed to cup, every detail matters. That’s why we made thoughtful choices to obtain single-origin and ethically coffee sourced from farmers in finest growing regions of the world. We create small batch specialty coffee blends that are hand roasted locally in Lombard, IL. And 20% of all profits support organizations dedicated to addiction and mental health. When given time, attention, and community, a cup of coffee can deepen our connection to the present moment and our connection to each other. So however you choose to brew and whatever be on your mind, we hope you can slow down, breathe deeply, and sip in the moment completely.

Roast

Spiritus Coffee is committed to finding the highest quality coffee, and work with farmers and coffee farming communities whose ethics value quality over quantity. We work to source unique and rare speciality micro-lots that will be especially appreciated by those with a well-developed palate. We roast our coffee locally, and we manually roast each batch with intention and consciousness, bringing our best to your preferred brewing method and favorite mug.

Ritual

So often, we brew and consume coffee in a rush — a quick fix before running out to start our day. Grabbing a cup in a drive-through, sipping as we drive to work or school. Using it as a caffeine delivery device — a means to an end.

What if … brewing and enjoying a cup of coffee was a leisurely affair? Many recent studies have shown that practicing mindfulness/meditation improves mental health and general attitude. We think that the world of coffee and the world of mindfulness can easily be combined to create a moment of quiet reflection while enjoying a great cup of coffee.

Rally

We have personal experience with the idea that we all succeed when we help one another. “A rising tide lifts all boats,” as it were. To that end, we will be donating 20% of our profits to organizations whose missions are to help and guide people with addiction and/or mental illness. We hope to support organizations who are directly working with those in need, and help everyone to see the benefits of a good quiet time and a great cup of coffee. Our first partners will be the 516 Light Foundation and NAMI DuPage.

We can’t wait for you to buy and enjoy some high-quality coffee, while staying in the present moment and supporting some great organizations doing excellent work. Welcome to Spiritus Coffee Company!