Nerdbot Stays Caffeinated (and Happy) with Waka Coffee

This post was originally posted on NerdBot by Loryn Stone.

Being Editor-in-Chief of Nerdbot isn’t always easy. It’s all about writing and thinking and keeping up with pop culture and nerd…stuff.

Oh hell, I’ll quit my kvetching. Because you know what, no one’s job is ever easy. We all get tired. And sometimes when we’re tired, we feel a little…unmotivated. And that’s the kind of morning I was having today.

I thought long and hard about who in the world out there could help me get through my conundrum. Then, my friend David Kovalevski, owner and founder of Waka Coffee popped into my mind. Who could be more useful to know than the owner of a coffee company? Especially a coffee company that specializes in instant coffee, with a focus on convenience. David branded his brew in perfect little individual packs that you stir into eight or ten ounces of hot water.

How many times have you been in a hotel for a convention and the coffee available is a thousand-year-old pod that you have to stick into some filthy, dinky little machine? Even worse– how many times have you been at said convention and there’s no coffee stand or café anywhere in sight?

Exactly—infinity billion times.

Truth be told, these adorable packets of coffee are small enough to fit into my camera bag when I’m on an assignment or covering a show. And honestly—that is very important to me. But on this particular morning when I had so much work piled up that I couldn’t see straight, I busted out my favorite Nerd Mug and brewed myself a fresh cup of Waka Instant Coffee.

Before I even drank it, I was drawn in by the packaging. It’s absolutely charming. The box is recyclable  cardboard and each little individual packet has a cute and fun phrase on it. It’s like the Taco Bell sauce packets of coffee consumption, only I don’t feel regret in my guts once I’m done with it.

Okay, my coffee is cooled off. Time to sip.

Seriously, it was absolutely delicious.

I tried the coffee two ways—first, I added eight ounces of hot water and drank it black. It’s not my preferred style, but I wanted the drink naked and free when it crested through my lips.

Heh heh heh.

But in all seriousness—even the aroma of Waka Coffee was incredible. It was rich, smoky, earthy, with a touch of an outdoorsy perfume. Dare I say it smelled…handsome? All in all, Waka coffee is a pretty mellow blend. It’s clearly medium roast coffee, my favorite, with a great viscosity and non-bitter or burned flavor. There’s still something in here that makes my mouth know that it’s instant coffee, but we’ve come a long way from my parents’ Folgers, I’ll tell you that much.

Now, adding a touch of cream? That’s when this amazing coffee shot off into the cosmos and totally came to life. Don’t add sugar, just a little cream, and sweet mother of starlight…you have a perfect cup of coffee. Any inklings that Waka is an instant coffee is gone. It tastes absolutely amazing and better than most stuff I’m served in people’s homes or in a basic-bitch restaurant. You see, I take my own coffee set up seriously. I grind, I brew, I use a Chemex drip carafe. I don’t even have a plug and play coffee pot. And Waka stands up next to my Chemex.

And for the record, no, I’m not being paid to say this. I just really love coffee.

Once my experiment was complete and my Waka Wake-up Juice took effect, I called up David and asked him to tell me a little more about his new startup, Waka Coffee:

Hey David! Congratulations on the launch of Waka Coffee! Can you tell me a little more about the product in your own words?

Our main angle is that our product doesn’t require expensive coffee machines, waiting for your coffee to brew, or messy cleanup. It tastes like a great slow drip coffee, because it’s made from the same quality Arabica beans, but with our coffee all you need is water. The main point is the convenience of the product, without sacrificing on quality. We also donate a portion of our sales to support incredible projects that bring clean drinking water to 26 countries around the world!

The product itself is made of 100% Arabica beans, Freeze Dried, and sourced from Colombia. It is Medium Roast, well balanced, smooth bodied with notes of citrus and packaged in 8 eco-friendly packets. In general, all of our packaging is either recycled or recyclable.

What made you decide to have an instant product as opposed to a traditional brew?

Instant coffee is such a great coffee solution for people that love coffee, but don’t want to spend so much time making it. We offer the same beloved coffee taste with less hassle. But as specialty coffee shops gained popularity, traditional instant coffee began to gather dust on grocery store shelves. Now, we are reviving the instant coffee category with our quality instant coffee!

You mentioned hotels and conventions before; think about it, with our product you can make quality coffee literally anywhere in seconds. While camping, on planes, your office, your home, etc. We make it easier for you to love coffee.

What do you want our readers and prospective customers to know about Waka Coffee?

Our mission is to help more people experience coffee in an easier way, wherever they are by making more time for the things you love, and spend less time making coffee. Currently, we sell exclusively on our website, wakacoffee.com. For those who want to follow our social media, we’re also on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.  Lastly, we want to encourage people posting pictures making funny/interesting pictures with the phrases! So, get interactive on our social media!

Loryn Stone is the Editor in Chief of Nerdbot.com and has dedicated her life to the written Word of the Nerd. Her writing has also been published on other pop culture websites such as Cracked, LoadScreen, PopLurker, and Temple of Geek. Her debut young-adult novel "My Starlight" (a contemporary love letter to fandom, friendship, anime, cosplaying, love, and loss) is out now by Affinity Rainbow Publications. When she's not writing, Loryn's other interests include collecting robots (Megazords, specifically), playing bass, and blasting metal.

Try the best instant coffee for traveling here.