Today we’d like to introduce you to Matt Fisher.
Matt, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
About 9 years ago, I was doing non-profit work in Haiti with college-aged kids. While I was there, I noticed natural resources, such as coffee and sugar cane, that weren’t being moved. I began to ask myself why is this not being moved? It could really help their economy. I came back United States and started asking questions… the answer that came to me was, coffee is the answer for sustainable, long-term change in these regions. If I want to be able to buy green coffee, then I need somewhere to sell it, so I opened a coffee shop in Denton, TX called West Oak Coffee Bar. About a year and half after West Oak was opened, we began our Roastery in the basement of West Oak. Then came Kimzey’s Coffee in Argyle, TX, and then the same year we opened Trinity Street in Decatur, TX. Each concept represents their own communities that they are in, based off their personalities, needs, and desires. They all look very different from one another. We then decided to move our roastery/headquarters to Decatur, TX. We felt like that was the place for us to be. Turns out that it truly is. We are now leaning into Voltage which consists of pushing into our coffee. Our goal is to leave this world better than we found it and to do that we provide fuel for people who give a damn. To do our part, we invest in global farming communities, roast coffee, and create meaningful experiences that bring people together. The more coffee we move, the more we are able to impact farmers and their communities. Our goal is to build what we call, Voltage Campus’s around the world where coffee is grown – with the exception of Hawaii, coffee is grown in third-world countries and grown primarily by small producers. We have begun our first project in Uganda. The goal of these campuses is to create a place where farmers can be educate and improve the resources and their farms. It turn creates a place where they can bring their coffee, have it processed, and exported consistently while being paid fair priced. This allows them to bring their coffee to market and be paid fairly…the positive ripple effect of that within their communities’ economy is what we are after – sustainable change.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Oh man. It has definitely not been a smooth road, but what road is smooth when you are striving to build something that lasts? For starters, there was this global pandemic that happened. We had to make hard decisions during that time, but we strived to do our best and we are grateful for our communities during this time that supported us and walked through it with us. Growing a business from a small shop to a global scale comes with its challenges. I am grateful for our team that has helped me walk through these obstacles and challenges.
As you know, we’re big fans of Voltage Coffee. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
You heard my story from beginning to where we are now, and I covered a lot. But one thing I would like to highlight is the following… We specialize in coffee. We pride ourselves in what we call Full Farm Representation. When you dive into coffee research from farm-> cup, you will uncover some scary facts. One of the things I discovered as I traveled and talked with farmers all around the world, is that they have a hard time selling ALL of their coffee. They have this lower-grade coffee that only “mass” producers purchase for pennies on the dollar, then their “specialty” coffee that takes up about 5-10% of their harvest which only coffee aficionados purchase. Then in the middle of that they have the majority of their coffee. Well, what happens, when they only get the specialty coffee buyers, and they can’t move any of the other coffee? They can’t take care of their families that harvest. Our goal is to be able to tell them that we want ALL three levels of coffee the lower grade, the middle and the specialty. It works out because it also represents all of the community. Your traditional coffee lover all the way to the coffee experts. All of that to say, we created 3 Lines of Coffee, Roadrunner Blend, Voltage Line, and West Oak Line. Roadrunner is what I call cowboy coffee – think, like what your grandpa might drink. West Oak line is what the coffee snobs of the world drink – single-origin coffees. Voltage line is everything in between – our steady blends that both the snobs and the traditional drinkers might enjoy.
Can you share something surprising about yourself?
Something we have discovered that really hits home with us is agriculture. That was my goal when I set out on this journey, and it continues to ring true as we continue to network and build relationships. This has led us to partnering with the College of Agriculture at Texas A&M University. It has also led us to beginning to build roots within the Western Industry. These people know what it means to ranch, grow and harvest and they know what it means to build a strong community. They care, and the beautiful thing is they all drink coffee so we have found a lot of synergy with them. My home now being in Decatur, TX has led to me and my family developing a love & passion for FFA, my 15-year-old daughter begun showing pigs, and my 8-year daughter has also developed a love for that world. We, as Voltage, like being a part of this because it educates people on agriculture, and what is mean to care for something and hopefully see the fruits of it. Again, there is a lot of alignment with our goals and their goals, so we have chosen to lean into that and work to build long-lasting relationships there.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://voltagecoffeeproject.com
- Instagram: @voltagecoffeeproject
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/voltagecoffeeproject
