Meet Kat Taylor | Coffee Lover and HOT COFFEE Brand Co-Founder

We had the good fortune of connecting with Kat Taylor and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kat, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?

I have always had an entrepreneurial spirit and was born in a family of entrepreneurs and creatives. I also lead a business association as its first women President and CEO where I supported hundreds of business large and small. I totally admire people for taking risk and betting on themselves. As a business owner you have to do the work and if you do there are great rewards, but in the beginning there are no days off.

There is also a liberation that comes from being an entrepreneur. The liberation comes in the form of options. I believe in life the more options you create for yourself the better you can be positioned to be flexible, take time off, invest in high risk high reward opportunities, provide for your family, travel or do just about whatever makes you truly happy. Entrepreneurship is not all blissful, it’s hard work and it’s hard work everyday, so you have to decide what do you want from it. For me I enjoy creating and growing a business. I enjoy waking up and being motivated by the coffee orders placed on our website the night before. I am always in a race with myself to see how I can be better the next day, the next sale, the next sales pitch or just making the next business connection.

Of course, I want to grow my business and eventually create a scalable business with longevity that is supporting and supported by the community. That was the real process behind starting HOT COFFEE. I reside in Grove Park, a beautiful community on the upper westside of Atlanta that went a little unloved for quite some time. It’s a beloved community but the invest was not there. Thanks to Former Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms and current Mayor Andre Dickens along with the Grove Park Foundation and all the residents that love Grove Park; this community is beginning to thrive again. However, during the Covid 19 Pandemic we were all stuck in our homes and I could not get a decent cup of coffee in my own neighborhood.

My business partner and I have tried coffee all over the world and we wanted to bring coffee from across the globe to our neighborhood. We want Atlanta to have a special coffee that is Atlanta centric and special to our city.

What should our readers know about your business?

During the pandemic when we couldn’t travel, my business partner and I would talk about places we’ve traveled. During our discussions we discovered a common travel theme. We always drank coffee no matter where in the world we were. We tried coffee everywhere we’ve traveled across the globe, like Cuba, Israel, Mexico, China, the Caribbean, Central and South America and of course Africa. We searched online and in stores but could not quite find what we were looking for. While I was working from home I enjoyed coffee even more, but we couldn’t get a cup of coffee in our community of Grove Park. Grove Park is home to the largest park in the city of Atlanta and is currently being revitalized like many communities across the country.

So in order to get the quality we wanted, and offer the quality we believed our neighbors deserved we founded our own coffee company. Something Atlanta could call it’s own. We wanted Atlanta to have something special, an Atlanta centric coffee brand. A brand reflective of our many great neighborhood communities. Neighborhoods I’d consider flavorful, quality, hyper local, creative, fresh and of course diverse.

Our coffee is roasted in small batches to maximize our flavor profiles and freshness. We offer four types of roast making our coffee simple yet gourmet. Our beans come from select growing regions of the world including Ethiopia where coffee originated from and Costa Rica and South America. Reminiscent of our travels.

The Georgia Department of Economic Development was a helpful resource. They put us in touch with an International Trade Consultant from the International Trade Center at the Small Business Development Center from the University of Georgia. Of course starting a business isn’t easy, there are barriers for small businesses that are Women, Black and Native American owned. Funding is critical for start-ups and scaling

What’s in store for the future? A full circle moment. Owning our own coffee shop in Grove Park. Our coffee is Atlanta and having a coffee shop solidifies Atlanta as our home. Our short term goals are developing strategic partnerships with some local brands, luxury brands and finalizing distribution agreements.

Like most businesses we are planning for the future in an up or down economy. In the beginning of our business we decided to accept cryptocurrency. Crypto is an active currency in other parts of the world being used in exchange for goods and services daily and for general needs. Cryptocurrency is not just another assets class and we want our customers to access our coffee in multiple ways.

One thing about our coffee we want people to know is, if you want the extra caffeine to start your day definitely prepare our HOT COFFEE Light Roast, but if you want the least amount of caffeine to end your day absolutely have our HOT COFFEE Dark Roast. Our Dark Roast is delicious as an iced latte. I love our Light Roast, our Medium Roast is a great seller and a customer favorite is our Dark Roast. It’s such a great after dinner coffee. Really all of our coffees are good at any time of the day and if you prefer Decaf we offer that too.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?

How fun I love itineraries! I am also a homebody so a week long visitor might just exhaust me. Let’s say my besties are in town for the weekend. I’ll pick them up from Hartsfield Jackson International Airport, drive past Mayor Andre Dickens picture and tell them I know the Mayor and he’s awesome. It’s Thursday so nothing too fancy, but its Atlanta so we are picking up pizza at Slim and Husky’s, and I will make them get the cinnamon rolls. Not to worry because we will walk Friday morning at Westside Park, we will start at the Bankhead Marta Station and walk to the park from there. After our walk I will make them some HOT COFFEE Dark Roast Iced Lattes right from my kitchen. We will get ready and head to the Shops of Buckhead for a day of actual shopping and window shopping. We will head over to Phipps Plaza and then the Gathering Spot for lunch and connections. We will have a light lunch there, stop by the Russell Innovation Center for Entrepreneurs, just to see the incubation of black owned businesses, and then head home. A long nap is definitely in order, as we will head to the Consulate for 8:00pm dinner reservations that night . We will enjoy the amazing food there and then go grab late night drinks at Rock Steady.

Saturday is another full day as we are walking the Atlanta Beltline at Ponce City Market. After our walk we will grab lunch at Ponce City Market and of course stop by the Village Retail the second most visited destination in Atlanta. There my friends can purchase their own bags or single serve pods of HOT COFFEE. We will also indulge in other black created products sold in The Village Retail. We will get home and get dressed for a late afternoon at the Center for Civil and Human Rights. I’ve taken them to the King Center as we always have to incorporate culture and history in our travels. After the museum it’s nap time. I have to recharge and mental health is tied to rest. Saturday evening we might play it by ear as there are plenty of beautiful rooftops in the city. The Interlock is great but the options are endless in Atlanta.

Sunday we will do church at Impact in East Point and then head over to Toast on Lennox for 12:00pm reservations. The weekend will be packed so I would definitely schedule some much needed sisterly time to chat and really catch up after Sunday brunch. Sunday we will pick food or cook and spend our final evening planning our next girlfriend meet up. Of course we will end the evening with some spiked HOT COFFEE.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I believe in helping people because I believe a lot people helped and supported me. So of course my parents and my siblings. My mom and dad were a great team and I learned so much from an early age watching them work together and witnesses how important both their roles were in starting and growing a business. My father passed away young and my mother continued the business providing direction to my youngest brother who then took over the family business at 14 and then assumed all responsibilities around 18. My brother is amazing and has a beautiful and natural business ability that allowed him to guide our family through tough business times. He will forever be my third most admired business person behind my Mom and Dad. He and my dad are the ultimate business risk takers, and I have learned a lot. I admire all of my sisters and brothers for their work ethic, empathy, leadership skills and commitment to family legacy.

I am a former banker and I learned a lot over the 15 years I spent in that industry working with other bankers and businesses. Never underestimate a good training program.

Website: www.lovehotcoffee.com

Instagram: lovehotcoffee

Linkedin: Kat Taylor

Twitter: lovehotcoffee

Image Credits
Photos property of HOT COFFEE