The smell. The color. The richness. The smoothness. These are the many reasons people love coffee. Yet, one San Pedro couple has taken brewing one of America’s favorite beverages in a new direction.
SmartDrip Coffee is a new and popular coffee company taking over shelves and online stores with coffee made from reishi mushrooms and contains ginseng as well.
Created by married couple Rashawn and Haipha Vaughn, the coffee was concocted after Haipha was inspired by the entrepreneurial spirit of another husband-and-wife team.
“So, I’m by trade, I’m an actor. I’ve been in the guild and times were slow. I had to figure out, what to sell online,” explained Rashawn.
“So, I ran into a husband-and-wife team. The wife made $15,000 a year. The husband made $250,000,” he recalled.
Seeing how the husband’s unique coffee company generated wealth motivated Rashawn to create his own coffee brand. In turn, it inspired him to find the ingredients to start SmartDrip.
Rashawn’s diagnosis of ADHD also assisted in his creation of his unique brand of coffee.
“I know that some mushrooms are being used to help with [ADHD],” he explained. “Mushrooms do wonders to the nerves. So many benefits, especially to the nervous system, because it caps it up.”
Rashawn’s also noted how the benefits of the reishi mushroom can not only assist with afflictions such as ADHD but also many other issues that tend to affect the Black community.
“Our people suffer from Alzheimer’s, dementia, diabetes, gut health problems, brain problems,” he said. “I went with reishi because it has its own unique properties such as calm and focus. I kept the ginseng because I still need that energy,” he said.
Haipha shared some of their most popular flavors and roasts.
“We have our pourover drip that you add to make your own flavors. It’s black but it’s artisan. It’s for the coffee connoisseur,” she said. “I like my Italian roast, [and] our current French roast is Kenyan and Hawaiian and has reishi, ginseng, Kenyan and Hawaiian arabica,” she said.
SmartDrip is currently available in stores and online from various popular retailers. “We are on smartdripcoffee.com, Amazon.com, and walmart.com,” he said.
Offering a special reduction for Sentinel readers, Rashawn advised visiting his website at smartdripcoffee.com and writing LAS 20 at checkout to receive a 20% discount. In addition, customers can purchase directly from the couple at various farmers markets.
“We’re at the South Bay Pavilion Farmers Market on Thursdays in Carson and at the Redondo Beach Farmers Market on Thursdays,” Rashawn said.
The Vaughns not only created SmartDrip Coffee to help the masses be healthier, but also to leave a legacy for their young son as well.
“I’m just a creator and I want to hand something down to my little guy,” he said and added that he also wants to leave behind a good name.
“I feel good about having something that makes people feel better and, that’s my thing. I want to leave a carbon footprint and say, ‘Hey, good job, son. He did something. I like that guy.’”
