LAS VEGAS (KTNV) – Many of us start the day right away. Coffee gets many of us going in the morning, even if we all drink it a little differently.
NITROGEN INFUSED
But have you ever tried your cup of joe with turmeric … or maybe some ginger? 13 Action News host Todd Quinones takes you behind the scenes at a Nevada-built company that brews organic nitrogen-enriched coffee.
Surrounded by freshly roasted coffee creates a fantastic, intense aroma.
“That’s a wonderful smell,” says Todd. “It is,” says Lucky Jack CEO Ray Cole. “It’s morning,” says Todd. “It’ll wake you up,” says Ray. “It’ll wake you up. It’s all that is good in the morning,” says Todd.
COLD BREW
But at Lucky Jack Coffee, the Java is not served hot.
“Wow, what do we have here?” asks Todd. “This is our training room,” says Ray. “Oh, nice and cool,” says Todd. “Nice and cool. This is a popular spot on the property in the summer,” says Ray.
Ray prefers cold brewed coffee.
“This is our coffee drink with the highest caffeine content. It’s called Triple Jack, ”says Ray. “Oh, that’s the juice,” says Todd. “That’s the juice,” says Ray. “All right. Cheers,” says Todd. “Cheers. Soft, not angry,” says Ray. “Yeah, and coffee first and coffee last,” says Todd.
STARTS WITH FIRE
But like all coffee, it starts with fire.
“So you see the fire right here, you can feel this heat,” says Todd. “You can feel it, yeah. It’s blowing into this turbine engine,” says Ray.
The beans here at the Lucky Jack facility near Lake Mead and Nellis are roasted at 475 degrees.
“I see here we have Honduras, Peru,” says Todd. “And Papa New Guinea,” says Ray. “Papa New Guinea. This is where you get your beans,” says Todd. “Yes, we take them out, we weigh them. That way we know how much we’re roasting, ”says Ray.
DEVELOP TASTE
After roasting, the beans are then set aside to cool and develop flavor.
“The bean cracks when you roast it, so you actually let gases out of the bean,” says Ray.
The beans are then ground before being mixed with water.
“You are going to one of our four brewing tanks here. These are cooled. This is where the cold brew process begins, ”says Ray.
20 HOURS OF BREW
“It’s like the people who put the coffee beans on their coffee pot in the morning,” says Todd. “Yes,” says Ray. “Is that correct?” asks Todd. “Yeah, yeah. It’s a big coffeepot. But since we’re cold brewing, it takes a long time … We need 20 hours,” says Ray.
The Lucky Jack Cold Brew Coffee is finally filled into cans or bottles. They are then sent to branches across the country.
“How many bottles can you process in a day?” asks Todd. “About 40, up to 60,000,” says Ray.
DIFFERENT FLAVORS
The flavors they produce range from classic black and caramel to flavored lattes.
“They have turmeric, ginger, and cinnamon here,” says Ray. “Ingredients you wouldn’t normally consider in cold brew coffee,” says Todd. “Right,” says Ray. “All right. Cheers,” says Todd. “Cheers,” says Ray.
SOLD LOCAL
“Wow. That’s nice, I’ve never tried anything like this,” says Todd. “This is a very unique product, a very unique product,” says Ray.
Lucky Jack Cold Brew Coffee was founded in 2013. Today it is available locally at Smith’s, Target, Whole Foods and Costco.
If you are interested in getting into the coffee business, you’re in luck because Lucky Jack is now hiring.
