Fire Department Coffee: Using infused beans and cold brew coffee to give back to North America’s bravest
Cold Coffee Success Stories is a series that focuses on pioneering companies in the cold coffee space and their unique journeys. Today, we feature Fire Department Coffee, a veteran-owned, firefighter-run roastery dedicated to supporting its own through specialty coffee.
Sure, it’s a cliché, but when you think of firefighters and police officers, you think of endless cups of coffee. Staying alert for long hours simply means remaining caffeinated, and for some public servants, it can become an integral part of the lifestyle. Such was the case for Luke Schneider, founder and CEO of Fire Dept. Coffee, who became coffee-obsessed during his time putting out fires.
After forming a romantic connection with a barista who would later become his wife, he went all-in on coffee. The addictive elixir took over his life after he left the fire department, later becoming a new business venture. It only made sense to honour his friends in the service by naming his new roastery Fire Department. Thus, a new chapter of his life began.
Fire Department Coffee was founded in 2016 alongside firefighter/paramedic Jason Patton, who serves as Vice President and is still a full-time firefighter. As a veteran-owned business certified by NaVOBA (National Veteran-Owned Business Association) and NVBDC (National Veteran Business Development Council), Fire Dept. Coffee channels its profits into the Fire Department Coffee Charitable Foundation.
The foundation supports sick and/or injured firefighters, and each bag of coffee sold contributes to the cause. Fire Department Coffee’s ethos and brand identity focus on producing exceptional coffee and giving back to the community.
We spoke to Luke to hear more about his journey and the Fire Department story.
Fire Department Coffee’s early days and the origins of giving back
“I told my wife I wanted to start Fire Department Coffee and tap into the community I already had around me; firefighters drink a lot of coffee,” Luke tells us.
“I started off supplying multiple fire departments with coffee and combined the love of coffee with the mission to give back; that’s how we started.”
Early on, the Fire Department experimented with many different ideas, from cold brew production to infused coffee. While they briefly entered the RTD space, they found that it wasn’t quite their calling and reverted to roasting as a primary focus.
“The reason we decided to move away from canned cold brew is that the beverage category is a different channel for distribution; it’s very competitive and very expensive. We ultimately decided it was going to stretch us too thin, whereas the opportunity we had with our bagged coffee was growing rapidly.”
Luke hasn’t ruled out a return to the RTD market, but he and the team are currently focused on roasted coffee. For now, the Fire Department encourages its customers to use its beans to brew cold brew at home.
The spirit of Fire Department Coffee
What sets Fire Department Coffee apart is its focus on punchy, spirit-infused coffee beans – it offers a range of bourbon, whiskey, tequila, and rum-flavoured beans. It took Luke and his team many attempts to nail their current recipe, and Luke is keeping it close to his chest.
“We infuse our beans before roasting so the alcohol roasts out, and the beans are non-alcoholic,” Luke says.
Before settling on their current proprietary recipe, Luke told us they experimented with whisky barrel-conditioning, where beans are soaked in wooden casks. The results were inconsistent and sometimes unpalatable.
“We found lots of inconsistencies with it, and oftentimes, the beans taste funky or ashy with charred notes. We wanted to create a consistent product with a clean taste of the spirit but without any of the harsh ashy notes from the barrels,” Luke adds.
Next steps for Fire Department, and cold brew experimentation
Cold brew has historically been made with traditionally roasted beans, and any added flavourings – if any – are typically added after brewing. What makes Fire Department Coffee so exciting for cold brew applications is that its spirit-infused beans can punch up the flavours from the get-go, creating new possibilities with cold-steeped drink recipes.
For those seeking a caffeine-free option, Fire Department Coffee’s decaf is an excellent choice for cold brew applications and an emerging segment of the specialty scene.
“It definitely seems to be a growing part of the market,” Luke says. “Our decaf coffee does work well in cold brew.”
Luke advises other roasters and home brewers who are keen on cold brew to ” just do it.”
“Experiment and find out what works and what doesn’t. Enjoy the process, learn, read articles, watch videos, and don’t be afraid to try new things.”
Going forward, Luke and his team plan to expand on their development of spirit-infused coffee beans, adding depth and breadth to their impressive lineup. He also wants to keep giving back to the community that was so important in the Fire Department’s origin story.
“For 2025, we want to focus on creating high-quality coffee and giving back to support the community of firefighters.”
At Cold Brew Pak, we offer a range of specialty coffee-grade cold brew packaging, including bag-in-box, cold brew pouches, and custom aluminium cans. To source your own packaging solution, visit our website or get in touch with us directly. Subscribe to our newsletter to stay up-to-date on the latest developments at Cold Brew Pak.
Fire Department Coffee
