I switched to drinking decaffeinated coffee a long time ago. Unfortunately, most coffee outlets around the world use Decaf, which is prepared by using Ethyl acetate (found in ripening fruit and alcohol) or Methylene chloride solvents, which, when applied directly or indirectly to green coffee beans to dissolve the naturally occurring caffeine. Being a coffee connoisseur, I couldn’t drink a Decaf cappuccino unless it was done the Swiss Water Process style.
When I first moved to Denmark back in 1999, my favorite place for coffee and a bite to eat was McSweeney’s on Strickland St. McSweeney’s was a top-notch little jewel in Denmark, and to my delight, they were brewing their coffee the way I liked it. Patrick, the owner, was a hardworking, reliable Irish man with a thick accent, always available for a quick chat about this or that. He was fanatic about the coffee industry, and he spent hours and days digging into the subject. I liked the guy and how he runs his business; he is Tight, smart, and tasty with great knowledgeable staff.
One day in the spring of 2005, Patrick, his family, and his partner decided to move to Albany. He sold his business, and for the last 15 years, no one has managed to replace him. McSweeney’s changed at least five hands since 2005, and today it functioned as a Gelateria, which is still closed due to COVID-19.
We almost forgot about Patrick when we heard the rumor that he opened an eatery/coffee shop on Peels Place right across from the new Centrelink and Medicare building. It was in instant success. It was packed whenever we went there, and you always meet people from Denmark. Been and done it myself ( i had three coffee shops in NYC), I admired his dedication and commitment to the craft of hospitality. He had a strong desire to excel, grow, and develop better and cleaver. He also had an insatiable urge for a change.
Few years down the road on a sunny spring day, we were quite disappointed to find out that a new owner was running the place, and sadly this new guy drove the business to the ground within a short time.
This time Patrick was daring, clearly seeing a hole in the market to be filled. He rented an old building on Sanford Road across from the Post Office, and he opened his first version of Naked Beans. In this small warehouse, coffee beans were daily roasted and packed to be trucked around the city, state, and interstate to customers on the east coast. Distributors, café owners, and businesses like Aiyana Retreat along ordinary households had become accustomed to consuming his roasted fresh coffee.
From a small coffee-roasting café, the Naked Bean has grown to an online retailer and wholesaler that moved thousands of kilograms of roasted products across the country each month.
Patrick did so well with both a physical store and online sales that he bought a property on Middleton Road, where he expanded his Naked Bean operation.
We, at Aiyana Retreat, Hve been buying Naked Bean’s organic Nicaragua coffee for the last 14 years. Our customers are happily using it. Win win!
