There's something more than caffeine and beans being brewed in this coffee.
"We started with intention of being a specialty coffee roaster, and we are, but shortly thereafter we introduced something special to our line of coffees," says Andrew Aamot, co-founder of Sträva Craft Coffee in Denver .
The not-so-secret ingredient is cannabidiol, or CBD, as it is more commonly known.
"Many people get jittery when they drink coffee and CBD helps balance that out," Aamot says.
At Sträva, 95 percent of their product line is now CBD-infused.
CBD is a component of hemp, part of the same family of plants as marijuana. Ingesting CBD won't get you high, and those who use it swear by its medicinal properties as it generally has very little, or no, THC — the psychoactive component of pot.
"Small amounts and medium amounts of CBD help the body to stay calm, not get jittery, stay focused and productive, and start to help with the aches and pains that some of us do feel," Aamot says.
And yes, Aamot admits there's a slight aftertaste, but customers don't seem to mind. This year they've upgraded to a coffee roaster five times bigger because people are buying more than ever.
"Is this a fad? Is this a flash in the pan? But it's really just the beginning because CBD can fit into so many angles in so many industries," says Bethany Gomez, a market analyst with Brightfield Group , a company that tracks CBD sales.
CBD has already been used in everything from oils to beauty products to beer, and even pet treats, Gomez says. But there's going to be even more CBD products on the market thanks to the passage of the 2018 Farm Bill, which legalized hemp on a federal level.
"We have not seen the tip of the iceberg," Gomez says. "I mean, up until 2018 it was only being sold through like these small little smoke shops and specialty groceries and tiny little vitamin shops."
CBD was a $620 million industry in 2018. But now that large corporations can get in on CBD, the industry could be worth $22 billion by 2022.
"Right now people think of it as a miracle cure-all that will fix everything," she says. "I've seen things like 'I have 99 problems and CBD cured about 86 of them.' That may not be quite true but there's enough of a push and enough anecdotal evidence that it works for a lot of people for a lot of things."
Aamot agrees with her assessment.
"There's a national and international conversation happening about CBD," the coffee shop co-founder says.
It looks like CBD may be brewing up a craze that just might be here to stay.
