At SCA Expo this year, we used our booth to feature an “NKG Bloom 5-Question Quiz,” to encourage the industry to learn more about NKG Bloom. Everyone who answered correctly was entered in a drawing to win a trip to experience NKG Bloom in Mexico. The lucky winner was Stephanie Wein of Pinup Coffee in Virginia Beach, Va.!
Pinup was founded in 2021, but it was envisioned long before its first batch of coffee was roasted or sold. In the early 2000s, a then-15-year-old Stephanie Wein had her first specialty coffee drink (albeit a sweet, frosty one) and fell in love. Fully developing the Pinup Coffee branding (an elegant and vibrant take on aircraft pinup art), she was determined to found a coffee company.
In the years since Pinup’s launch, Stephanie has stayed faithful to her vision, drawing blend names from WWII aircraft art, in a nod to her six years of service as a Navy helicopter crewman. The bag art also features a design similar to the U.S. Navy aircraft symbol, but with the phrase, “100% Arabica coffee.”
Stephanie also drew influence from her experience working at a craft cider house in the Pacific Northwest, which introduced her to the values of “craft” beverages — sourcing quality ingredients and caring about the community that makes and consumes a product. When she felt ready to start her business, she centered it around these ideas of integrity and community impact.
For years, Pinup Coffee was just Stephanie. She took ownership of all aspects of the business — taking on roasting, green buying, marketing, event planning and even developing wholesale accounts — while still actively serving. Upon reflection, Bryce Wein — Stephanie’s now husband and co-worker, and a fellow former Navy crewman — commented that while it was a challenge for her to start the business while on active duty, it was “probably a better springboard than anything in the beginning, because people saw how hard Steph was working.” Some of Pinup’s earliest accounts were for the officer ward rooms.
Stephanie’s commitment to craftsmanship is evident. During our short conversation, Stephanie dove into roasting details, explaining that she added extra thermocouples to the roaster so she could better manipulate the variables using software her husband custom engineered for the company.
Stephanie and Bryce Wein, co-owners of Pinup Coffee.
Another guiding principle behind the brand is approachability. The couple strives to help consumers brew better coffee at home. To that end, they are very intentional about meeting customers where they are and “helping them to make their best coffee and find what they love.” This happens through conversations at the farmer’s market, their community cuppings and even through adorable refrigerator magnets that guide customers through morning brew ratios.
The core of Pinup’s business is still in-person connection, and Stephanie and Bryce hope to keep it that way — even as they grow rapidly, expanding their business to online sales, wholesale and grocery.
Fostering Relationships
The upcoming NKG Bloom trip will be Stephanie’s first visit to a coffee origin. The journey already has a romantic start, given that Mexico NKG Bloom Zongolica was in Pinup’s first order from InterAmerican Coffee. Stephanie actually kept the bag for its beautiful artwork and now plans to bring it with her to Mexico to be signed.
Andreas Kussmaul, a trader with Exportadora de Café California, in the InterAmerican Coffee booth at SCA Expo 2023. ECC will host Pinup Coffee in Mexico.
When asked about the purchase, Stephanie and Bryce said they were initially drawn to the coffee for its cup profile, but after learning about the producers behind it (20 mostly indigenous Nahuas women in Veracruz who named it “Woman Power Zongolica!”), they were immediately on board. In keeping with their company values, they are always looking to source quality coffee from producers with whom they can develop long-term relationships, investing in communities that support their own.
NKG Bloom provides smallholder farmers with the opportunities and resources they need to run their farms at full potential. The hope is not only for coffee farmers to enter pathways out of poverty but for coffee farming to be a profitable business that farmers want to remain in. Producers who participate in NKG Bloom receive custom service packages that may include long- and short-term financing, high-quality inputs, seedlings, agronomy and business training, information services, access to markets and new coffee technologies. (You can learn more through this quick video.)
InterAmerican is excited to connect Stephanie with the people producing and supporting NKG Bloom coffees and to offer a close-up view of the impact, integrity and collaboration driving this outstanding initiative. •
First three photos courtesy of Pinup Coffee.
