This LGBTQ-owned coffee brand is bringing the “buzz” to Pride Month.
The Fire Island Pines-based business BEACHBREAK coffee is selling a special, limited-edition PR!DE ROAST online from now until the fall.
The new product celebrates the vibrancy of the queer community, with a portion of the June proceeds benefiting three non-profit organizations: the Hetrick-Martin Institute, the Fire Island Artist Residency and BOFFO.
“We’ve created a roast that is as fabulous as the LGBTQ+ community on Fire Island that inspired the creation of our company, BEACHBREAK Coffee,” said Randy Lauwasser, one of the co-founders and a long-time Fire Island Pines resident. “Pride Month is the perfect time to release our Pride Roast — every year in June, our community comes together to celebrate the qualities that make us unique, and we want to reflect that with this special roast.”
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Lauwasser and his husband, co-founder Jim Skicki, launched BEACHBREAK a year ago after being laid off from their New York City jobs due to the pandemic.
The couple moved out of the city and escaped to the Fire Island Pines — and “didn’t want to go back to corporate” careers.
Once Lauwasser and Skicki decided the coffee business was the way to go, they began their tasting journey.
During peak pandemic times, the couple watched a lot of Netflix and became fans of the show, “Chef’s Table,” Lauwasser said.
The partners traveled to Savannah, Georgia, and ate at a notable Southern restaurant called The Grey, which was featured on the show.
After dinner, Lauwasser said they ended the night with a cup of coffee.
“We had tasted coffee for months, and this was the best coffee we’ve had,” Lauwasser said. “We ended finding out who the roaster was, so our roaster is actually down in Savannah, Georgia, and we got it through Netflix.”
BEACHBREAK coffee provides fresh small-batch roasted specialty coffees themed around Fire Island’s beach communities.
The company’s line of single-sourced and blended roasts from Ethiopia, Guatemala, Columbia and Brazil are sustainably grown, ethically sourced and of the highest quality, the BEACHBREAK owners said.
“Fire Island lacks good coffee options,” said Skicki. “We changed that by creating a product you can enjoy during your time on the beach, and then bring back home.”
The Pride Roast is a medium roast blend sourced from Guatemala and Ethiopia.
Using a combination of beans from the company’s Pines Roast and Fire Island Roast, the coffee gives off a naturally sweet taste with hints of bright floral, fresh cherry notes and chocolate flavors, Lauwasser said.
“We created the roast not to make a political statement, but it was more to encourage the LGBTQ+ community to be who they are, be happy with who they are and be prideful,” he added.
Those interested in purchasing Pride Roast, or any of BEACHBREAK Coffee’s other six
blends can visit www.beachbreakcoffee.com.
Delivery is free to Fire Island Pines and Cherry Grove residents.
Top: BEACHBREAK’s Pride Roast. All photos courtesy of Michael Reh Photography.
