Today we’d like to introduce you to Nolan Hall.
Nolan, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I’ve always had an intense passion and love for coffee, and during my third year at Georgia Tech, I started roasting my own coffee on the stove in a cast iron pan. After realizing how inconsistent the stove would make my coffee, I started to formulate designs for my own coffee roaster.
As fate would have it, I received some grant money from Georgia Tech (around the same time) to build an invention, so I decided parlay that money into the customizable coffee roaster I had designed. I started sourcing coffee from around the world, roasting it on my machine, and selling it to friends and family. When I got close to graduating, I had an opportunity to turn my hobby into a business, so I put together a team and started TopTime Coffee from a cart at Georgia Tech.
Fast forward to the present in which I’m co-owner of Docent Coffee, which is a brand/company that myself and my partner (an artist of over twenty years) created to bring specialty coffee and local art to more people and places. Not only can people come into our roastery to see where their coffee is made, but they can also drink it there too as our production facility doubles as our cafe!
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Starting a company at 21 years old is a bit challenging – sometimes people don’t take you seriously, and often times they think they know more than you since you’re so young. Other times people just don’t believe in your idea.
Luckily, the coffee industry, by and large, is a very hospitable and welcoming community, so I’ve made a lot of friends and colleagues along the way to getting to the point I’m at now. Navigating through some of the more complex business processes used to be a little tricky for me since I have limited business experience, but that’s where my partnership really comes into play. As someone who has owned their own businesses for over 15 years, my partner’s experience, knowledge, and creative perspective allow me to focus on what’s most important to me: the coffee.
Docent Coffee – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Docent is, at its core, a small batch craft coffee roaster that believes in more approachability and accessibility to both specialty coffee and art. We feel that you can roast and serve seriously amazing specialty coffee without taking yourself, and the entire endeavor, too seriously. So as our name implies, Docent is here to hopefully guide folks to something new, exciting, and unique in coffee, as well as art. We are deeply passionate about both.
So we just try to be ourselves. This simply involves roasting the best coffee we can, forging personal relationships with coffee farmers from around the world, sourcing the best teas available, seeking out/promoting great local art, and doing our part to support the communities we feel passionate about.
My role/specialty in the company is being its roastmaster, quality control expert, main roaster, researcher, green bean procurer, and essentially overseer of all things coffee related.
I’m most proud of the coffee we produce (of course), but also the efforts we make toward bringing more people to specialty coffee that otherwise would have never been interested or been given an opportunity to really experience it. I think our inclusive perspective and approach to coffee, really sets us apart from a lot of third-wave shops and producers who often seem to tend towards adopting a way of doing business and relating to the public that is quite the contrary.
Also, we are the only shop in Atlanta (to my knowledge) that offers a monthly and yearly coffee membership that allows for unlimited free drinks.
Pricing:
- Docent 12oz whole bean coffee bags (12 different coffees) – $14-17
- Docent Patron Card (monthly/yearly membership for unlimited free drinks) – $50/$550
Contact Info:
- Address: Docent Coffee
381 Edgewood Ave SE
Atlanta, GA 30312 - Website: www.docentcoffee.com
- Phone: 404.254.3267
- Email: info@docentcoffee.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/docentcoffee
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/docentcoffee
- Twitter: www.twitter.com/docentcoffee
Image Credit:
Docent Coffee
Getting in touch: VoyageATL is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
