Our Story
The Spark
In 2016, our founder, Samuel Stein, had fallen in love with espresso while in Italy and returned home with a new passion for coffee—this time, without the heat. He quickly discovered the art of making cold brew, only to find the process was a messy, 24-hour affair. And to make matters worse, his roommate often finished the last cup before the next batch was even ready.
Determined to have fresh cold brew on demand, Sam, a mechanical engineer, set out to solve the problem. He invented a technology that would make the brewing process faster, cleaner, and consistently delicious. The result was a revolutionary machine that brews 2 gallons of cold coffee in just 30 minutes. Sam filed a patent in 2017. After numerous prototypes, Sam was ready to bring his invention to the world and knew he needed a team.
The Dream Team
Sam met his co-founders, Bruce Boville and Monika Rao, during their MBA at the University of Texas at Austin's McCombs School of Business.
Bruce Boville met Sam on day one of their MBA. He was immediately captivated by Sam's "mad scientist energy" and the fact that his coffee was simply the best he had ever tasted. Bruce, who has a PhD and ran operations for a seed-stage biomanufacturing startup, was continually finding new ways to use the machine as a business case study. In January 2025, he joined Cold Cycle Coffee and began using his background in operations and business development to tackle sales and fundraising.
Monika Rao, saw the potential of Cold Cycle from her very first taste. Back when the project was called Brrrista, she chugged a sample of Sam’s concentrate in class and was up all night, but it was the moment she knew the coffee was something different. With a background in paid media and e-commerce, and experience in the food and beverage space from her time at DoorDash and OpenTable, Monika saw the immense market opportunity. She joined the team to lead the rebrand to Cold Cycle Coffee, build its brand identity, and develop its go-to-market strategy, leveraging her expertise to tell its unique story.