Nickel City Gritty: Bean Bastard Coffee
Okay, I’ll admit, I don’t drink coffee.
Weird thing is, I LOVE the smell of coffee, and coffee ice cream is one of my favorites, so even though I don’t drink it, I have a strong appreciation for it.
I’m sure a lot of cities around the country are like this, but Buffalo particularly loves its small business coffee shops and roasters. On days that I’m working from home, you’ll usually find me on my computer at my favorite local cafes sipping on a chai and doing a little bit of people watching in the process.
One of our small-batch coffee roasters is Nicholas Mirusso who started Bean Bastard Coffee. I was first intrigued by the name (so cheeky, right?) and the badass logo. I noticed Bean Bastard around town at local markets and events, and he recently launched this incredible trailer that he has deemed the Bean Machine, which seems like it will be perfect to survive a zombie apocalypse (you’ll read about that later on in the interview)
I sat down with Nick last week in his new roasting location on Chandler Street, and this had to be one of the most honest and raw interviews that I’ve had in a while. I feel honored that Nick shared his story with me about his past, where he is currently, and where he hopes to be in the future.
Please give his playlist a listen while you read his interview!
This is Nickel City Gritty, and this is Nicholas Mirusso of Bean Bastard Coffee.
Tell me how Bean Bastard got its start.
It was sort of, kind of, a mistake. *laughs* I don’t want to say that it was unintentional, but I had no idea that I would be interested in making my own coffee until I went to a Third Wave cafe. I can’t remember which one it was, but I was like, “This is WAY better than Tim Hortons or Starbucks.” I started buying whole beans from cafes rather than the store. Fast forward to year one or two of my recovery, I wanted to see if I could do it myself. It turns out that you can if you do the right Google searches, and you can pretty much find everything you’re looking for. I was trying to figure out where I could get green coffee from, because no stores sell it. You’d have to get it from an actual coffee roaster. I went to Cornerstone and they got me started on roasting my own coffee, so they hold a very special place in my heart. They truly helped me out when they didn’t have to, so it just goes to show you that if you have a passion for something, it’s great to help other people achieve the same goal.
The very first batch that I did was in a stainless steel pan on my stovetop, and I had no idea what I was doing. I just left them there and I didn’t know you had to keep them in motion. They totally burned, the smoke alarm went off, my wife walked around like, “What the hell are you doing in here?” So needless to say the first batch was a disaster, and I thought it was going to taste great because it was brown *laughs* Not the case at all! There’s a particular way in which the beans have to be roasted to a particular temperature and they have to go through a phase of first and second crack depending on what profile you are looking for, but it also depends on what bean it is.
You know, I played music since age fourteen, the band I was in was able to tour nationally, and that whole creative nature was something that was missing in my life. When I met my wife in 2008, we dated for eight months, found out we were pregnant, and I was playing music and I was a kid, twenty three at the time, so I had to basically grow up overnight. I had to get a real job to be able to support my future family, and it felt like all of the wind was taken out of my sails. It should have been a great thing for me to be so excited, but I was just so attached to the certain lifestyle that I was used to, so I panicked and I was also having issues with alcohol. That was my number one go-to stress reliever. I could have done the responsible thing, but I panicked and my drinking escalated. So I battled alcoholism for the next two years and went into rehab after a family intervention, because I came home smelling of alcohol all the time. Deep down I knew that I had to change, but I guess I just needed that supportive kick in the ass. I went to rehab for a month and a half, came out, and thought that everything was going to be all sunshine and rainbows, but I was just dry. I didn’t drink, but I held it against other people. I just replaced drinking with playing video games and isolating myself. I was just bitter. I relapsed, and on June 4, 2013 I decided to get my shit in gear because Vicki new that something was wrong. Pretending to be sober is like living two lifestyles, and it was really exhausting. I decided then to take recovery seriously. I didn’t have to rely on anyone else. It wasn’t easy, but being able to be accountable rather than just complain and lean on unhealthy ways of coping didn’t exist. Vicki and I got an apartment in Williamsville, and that’s when I took up coffee roasting. I brought it to our new house in Cheektowaga and I was sticking to it. I feel the same creativity from roasting as I did from music. You get to see the fruits of your labor and eventually doing markets became less about coffee and more about community and connecting with other artisans. It’s more about connection than everything, and that’s what recovery is about for me.
How would you describe your personal style?
Jeans and a tee shirt. I just don’t have the time…and I don’t have the money…unless you really know where you’re going, I mean you could go to some thrift places and get some stuff for next to nothing. Even then I don’t have the time to do that, so I’ll just get some tee shirts online, or if I’m at Walmart I’ll just get a four pack of black and grey shirts. Actually, my jacket was an accidental gift from over the holidays. My brother-in-law works with the Violent Gents guys, and he got this jacket for my father-in-law, but it was way too small, and I’ve been wanting to get some gear from these guys, so it worked out! It’s really whatever is comfortable. Some days I’ll work in the camper with sweatpants *laughs*
Name five things that you can’t live without.
Ummm, okay. Ghostbusters, Back to the Future. Coffee is obvious. My kids and my wife. I guess that can be put together…family. Oh man, she’ll be bummed. “Ghostbusters was first?” *laughs* It would probably be either ice cream or cake because my wife bakes, and she doesn’t eat anything that she bakes. She makes all of it for me, so definitely cake. And let’s see…sunlight. Vitamin D is huge. I guess I’ll loop sunsets into that, too. You know, I talk about in recovery meetings that it’s easy to just take all of that stuff for granted when you’re in the depths of your addiction. Like, I don’t give a shit about sunsets. But when you’re clear and not saturated with all the poison, you get to see something so beautiful like a sunset.
What is the first thing you bought with your own money?
I want to say a pack of Big League Chew! That was like the coolest thing around when I was five, and I must have gotten an allowance or whatever, but it had to have been something candy related.
What are some small things that make your day better?
My kids, when they just come up to hug me for no reason, or just seeing them so happy. In my life, I’m often triggered to feel negative. It all stems from some sort of trauma. So just seeing my kids so happy, it’s just a constant reminder of how lucky I am.
What is your spirit animal?
I never really thought about it like that. You know, someone asked me a while ago what my favorite animal was and I said a barn owl. They’re just fascinating and they are survivors and they have this cool mask. Their faces are badass looking. I’d go with a barn owl.
What is on your playlist?
I like this Sweedish band called Meshuggah, they are just math metal gods, and they are my Metallica. It will go from them to Tycho to Sigur Ros. I like downtempo and atmospheric stuff, and then I’ll go to Jimmy Eat World and Weezer, and then classical like Mozart. I listen to mostly heavy stuff, but when it gets too much I’ll throw in a coffee shop playlist or LoFi whatever. There are a lot of great local bands, too. It’s nice to go see a jam band every now and then.
What would you tell your teenage self if you could go back in time?
Oh boy. You know that Donald Trump guy? *laughs* Yeahhh. But really, I would say it’s gonna get better, you know?
I feel like every kid needs to know that.
Yeah, it’s gonna get better.
If you had a warning label attached to you, what would it say?
Warning: busy. Or “Be right back”
What are some of your favorite bars or restaurants in Buffalo?
I don’t really go to bars anymore. We tried to go to Misuta Chows, my buddy Jay Wood works there. So that kind of a place to go to is too intense for me. I don’t mind going to Lucky Day or any kind of low key restaurant where there’s a bar. You’re not gonna find me on Chippewa or the Pink. Those are my old stomping grounds. But it’s weird, some places I’ll be fine. It’s really paying attention to where I’m being called to. I felt bad, because we were out with some friends and my wife was there and I had to go, I couldn’t be in there. But Tipico is probably one of my favorite cafes…I don’t really have that much time go to places. Gabriels Gate was one of my favorite places to go for wings. I guess I’ll give a shoutout to the local cafes- Remedy House, Public, the Intersection, gotta give a shoutout to Mike over at Daily Planet, oh and Rest In Peace to Lone Star.
How would you survive a zombie apocalypse?
The bus from Dawn of the Dead, where you just outfit it with chainsaws and stuff…
That could be your little trailer!
Yeah, the Bean Machine! How do you repel zombies? I mean, you shoot them in the head, right? I guess if I outfitted Bean Machine with sharp things, machetes, spikes on the outside, that would be fine because we’d have coffee and cider and snacks. We’d be good for a little while. It’s got AC and we could probably put solar panels on it for power!
What random award or recognition do you feel like you deserve?
Talks the least but says the most.
If you could make one rule that everyone had to follow, what would it be?
Oh my gosh…don’t be a dick. I mean, I think it’s pretty standard. And pay it forward. There are some cool recovery sayings…you gotta let go to hang on. That’s one of my favorites.
The last question that I always ask everyone is what do you want to be when you grow up?
What’s the standard answer, like an astronaut or president? Randomly I just felt this urge to help people. Going back to the whole pay it forward thing, if you increase your capacity for empathy. I think that’s what’s so powerful about in my last job being a recovery coach, I feel where people are and what can I do to help them? I want to help them get out of this rut. But I guess I just want to feel content. If anything, whatever the answer is, I wouldn’t want it to sound arrogant. Basically on the level of Socrates, I know nothing. I want to be someone who is able to make in impact but not be full of himself. Know what I mean? Like with this whole coffee thing, I don’t advertise as having the best coffee in Buffalo because it’s not true. I think my product is good but I don’t want to tear anybody down. I want to play nice in the sandbox. So, what do what I want to be when I grow up? I want to be the kid who plays nice in the sandbox.
I think everyone should strive for that!
I’m a big kid at heart. Everyone should be. Don’t lose that, and don’t lose your connection to your younger self.