Today we’d like to introduce you to Daniel Arteaga.
Hi Daniel, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I started at Starbucks in 2017 as a Shift Supervisor, closing 5 days a week 4pm – 12:30am. I was pursuing a Masters in Business Management through Starbucks’ college program and I eventually made the decision to pursue a role in the world of what I learned people call “specialty coffee”. Verve Coffee on 3rd Street took me on as a barista in November 2018 and the rest is history. Those months were formative for me, introducing me to the sights, sounds, and smells of what high-level coffee is about.
In October 2019 I was fortunate enough to help open the very first Mad Lab coffee bar in DTLA. This was a roaster I had tasted on espresso and drip at Coffee Hall in the Arts District. Helping start something fresh in DTLA before COVID hit was a special time, and transitioning through it all was a whole other challenge we all had to learn to navigate.
Since then, I have been blessed with opportunities to plan and develop coffee bars in San Diego, San Bernardino, Allentown (Pennsylvania), and right here in Los Angeles.
I have been requested to do private home trainings for both everyday people and celebrities.
I finally took the leap and got my dream coffee machines earlier this year and started popping up for coffee service out of the hatchback of my Toyota BZ4X. After a few months, I transitioned to the community of Highland Park and that’s when we had to get serious. The coffee bar grew into a table setup on the sidewalk with tents and branding and we have been working on our systems and focusing on staying consistent ever since.
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?
The struggles have evolved and every day is about problem solving. As a pop up you never know how much to prep or what to expect. Refining our process of set up and breakdown has been crucial for us to reduce our own workload. Dialing in espresso in the various changes in humidity and temperature can be tough.
It’s also all of the small stuff you don’t think of at first like sourcing ingredients at the right price and the highest quality, which specific cups feel right and what your recipes are based on those cups, all of those small details.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Caffeineicide is about a new approach to coffee and drinks. We use single origin coffee from our partners at Unity Coffee Roasters based here in LA. The way we dial our shots is unique (stop by to nerd out), we use equipment from our partners at Weber Workshops which helps us get the highest level of espresso we can. We use single origin matcha and chai that are both stone ground from our partners at Offshore Tea.
I make our Vanilla and Mocha sauces using real toasted vanilla beans, Valhrona cocoa, natural demerara sugar, focusing on using the best ingredients I can find. Our intention is to celebrate the ingredients being used in a balanced way. We will never use artificial bottled syrups or artificial flavors.
We use Elmhurst Barista Oat Milk which is free of seed oils and gums. For dairy milk we use Clover Sonoma Pasture Raised Organic, both milks pair with our espresso, matcha, and chai in such a beautiful way.
On top of all the finer details, we focus on having true and real conversations with the community and staying true and consistent to our approach of making drinks.
What were you like growing up?
I played sports year round in Chicago through 8th grade. Lots of video games – N64 to Xbox 360 era. Highschool and beyond has been a general interest of punk & metal music, skateboarding, and art in general. I think, like most I’m sure, have went through phases trying to find themselves.
Pricing:
- Espresso $4
- Espresso + Water $5
- Espresso, Matcha, or Chai + Milk $7
- Vanilla (Espresso, Matcha, or Chai) $8
- Mocha (Espresso) $8
Contact Info:
- Website: https://caffeineicide.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/caffeineicide/
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/caffeineicide-los-angeles?uid=pxdlfsOO9ysIc-1BWXLlzg&utm_campaign=www_business_share_popup&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_source=(direct)
Image Credits
Andrew Harless
Isaac Ceja
Joe L
