GIST: A cold-brewed concentrate for less bitter coffee.
WHO: The Qura siblings: Christina, 27, and Tim, 25, of Warrenton.
STARTED: In June, when Christina, then working in New Mexico as a massage therapist, emailed Tim an article about cold-pressed coffee and asked if he wanted to start a company. Timothy, who just the day before thought about opening a brewery, said, “OK, sure, that sounds awesome.”
The Quras come from a restaurant family: their parents owned Verona, an Italian restaurant in Manassas, and her mom now runs Cheesecake Heaven Drive Through in Warrenton.
INSPIRATION: Christina suffered from what she calls coffee belly—“It makes my stomach burn”—and acid reflux. She looked into drinking alkaline water, which, according to the Mayo Clinic, can neutralize acid in the bloodstream.
DETAILS: The flagship product, a coffee concentrate, uses alkaline water from Fauquier County infused with a medium-dark blend of Mexican and Central American beans roasted in Alexandria. For 24 hours the grounds sit in 37-degree water at a 7.5 pH level. The slow infusion creates a less acidic liquid. Four ounces is the equivalent to a double shot of espresso or a cup-and-a-half of coffee.
NEXT: Creating tea and super fruit juices using alkaline water. / basicbeverages.com —Stefanie Gans
(December 2013)