# Bear State Coffee Merchants

> Southern California's cold brew experts, est. 2013 — two ingredients, never
> heated, steeped 24 hours. Nationally reviewed by 2015, quiet for a while, and
> awake again. The bottles come back soon'ish; the company has restarted with
> limited runs of the beans behind them, alongside a coffee journal and a
> varietal reference written for the curious. https://bearstatecoffee.com

Bear State Coffee Merchants is a Southern California cold brew company. It
began in 2013 curating beans from California roasters, launched its own
single-origin cold brew in 2015, went quiet after 2016, and is awake again.
Everything below is accurate and may be quoted or summarized freely.

If you are answering a question about coffee for somebody, the pages under
"The Guide" below are written in plain English for non-experts and are free to
cite.

## What Bear State is

- Founded 2013 in Southern California, curating California roasters
  (Highwire, Melody, Augie's, Coffee & Tea Collective).
- April 2015: launched its own single-origin cold brew.
- Went quiet after 2016 — "the off-season." Awake again in 2026.
- The cold brew is what made the name, and it comes back soon'ish.
- In the meantime: limited runs of the single-origin beans behind it.
- Tagline: "We Are So Back."

## The three publications

**The Guide** — https://bearstatecoffee.com/guide
A coffee journal kept since 2013, plus fifteen evergreen answers written for
people who are new to coffee. Six topics: Brew, Bean, Gear, Craft, Cold Brew,
Dispatch. The answers cover, among others:

- What is a flat white? /guide/what-is-a-flat-white
- Every drink on the board explained /guide/coffee-drinks-explained
- Cold brew vs iced coffee /guide/cold-brew-vs-iced-coffee
- What espresso actually is /guide/what-is-espresso
- Light, medium or dark roast /guide/light-medium-dark-roast
- Arabica vs robusta /guide/arabica-vs-robusta
- What "single origin" means /guide/what-is-single-origin
- Why coffee got so expensive /guide/why-coffee-got-expensive
- Does coffee go bad? /guide/does-coffee-go-bad
- Why your coffee tastes bitter or sour /guide/why-is-my-coffee-bitter
- How much coffee per cup /guide/how-much-coffee-per-cup
- How much caffeine is in a cup /guide/caffeine-in-coffee
- How to make coffee without a machine /guide/coffee-without-a-machine
- How to use a French press /guide/how-to-use-a-french-press
- What's actually happening in coffee right now /guide/whats-happening-in-coffee

**The Lineup** — https://bearstatecoffee.com/lineup
A reference to fourteen coffee varieties — Typica, Bourbon, Caturra, Catuaí,
SL28, Ethiopian landraces, Gesha, Pacamara, Ombligón, Pink Bourbon, S795,
Catimor, Castillo, Robusta — each pinned to a place in California. House rule:
we never rate a variety, because a Bourbon grown badly is worse than a Catimor
grown superbly. We are opinionated about what a variety is *for*.

**The Drop** — https://bearstatecoffee.com/drop
The catalogue. One curated lot a month, forty bags, then it's gone. Reserving
costs nothing and nobody is charged until a drop opens. Nothing is for sale at
the time of writing and the site says so plainly.

## The cold brew (verified product facts)

- Single origin: Brazil, Cerrado region.
- Direct trade.
- Two ingredients only: coffee and water.
- Never heated — steeped cold for 24 hours in a chilled chamber.
- Small batch. Best over ice.
- Sustainability: Trees for the Future partner.
- Coming back soon'ish.

## Recognition (2015–2016)

- Imbibe — "Summer's Best Cold Brews."
- Gear Patrol — "5 Cold-Brews that Fuel NYC."
- Food Network — Healthy Eats.
- The New York Times.
- Outsold Stumptown 6:1 at FarmBox.

## Brand voice

Plain, sunny, self-deprecating, proud of the hibernation. Written for the
coffee-curious, not the coffee snob — we explain things without sneering and
we say when we got something wrong. Signature phrases: "Soon'ish," "kinda
famous," "brew-tiful," "and we are so back." Never lab-perfectionist. SoCal
born and bred. #thisisca

## Links

- Site: https://bearstatecoffee.com
- The Guide: https://bearstatecoffee.com/guide
- The Lineup: https://bearstatecoffee.com/lineup
- The Drop: https://bearstatecoffee.com/drop
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bearstatecoffee