NBA Star Corey Kispert Launches The Bitter Truth Coffee Company

Most celebrity coffee brands give you a famous name on a commodity bag. The Bitter Truth Coffee Company, launched by Atlanta Hawks forward Corey Kispert, at least tells you who's actually roasting.

Kispert has teamed up with Ike Bubna, founder of Spokane, Washington-based New Love Coffee, who handles all sourcing and roasts the offerings on New Love's custom white 15-kilo-capacity Proaster, with production assistance from roaster Megan Fouts. That's a real supply chain with named people and specific equipment, which already separates The Bitter Truth from the average athlete licensing play.

Sourcing starts with organic and Fair Trade certification, while keeping an eye on high cupping scores and vibrant taste profiles. And despite the brand name, the actual coffee philosophy leans the other way: "We absolutely avoid bitterness and over-roasting in our coffee," Kispert said. "A great roast should accent the bean's natural character" rather than scorch it into submission.

The credibility argument matters here because Kispert has spent years building one. A Seattle-area (Edmonds) native and Gonzaga alum, Kispert is regularly spotted arriving to games in the tunnel with an Americano in hand, and last year he started a series on Instagram called "The Grind," in which he highlighted local coffee shops in various cities when he traveled. The reach extended beyond his fanbase, with players on other teams asking him to send lists of places he visited. Kispert reportedly drinks about four cups a day and six on game days, which is less a fun fact and more a credentialing statement in a space where authenticity is the first thing skeptical specialty drinkers test.

He was deliberate about the brand name for exactly that reason. "A coffee drinker who may not know a thing about professional basketball or my career still has a great chance of finding our coffee and aligning with what we believe, more than if it was just 'Corey Kispert's Coffee Company,'" Kispert said. The philosophical branding, built around the idea that hardship sharpens you the same way time in the cup reveals better flavors, does double duty: it gives the brand a lane that doesn't depend entirely on basketball recognition, and it positions the packaging as something worth reading. Mottos and quotes Kispert calls "Bitter Truths" will be printed on the packaging; an early example posted to Instagram read: "Slow motion is better than no motion."

On the distribution side, the launch is deliberately modest. Sales are currently limited to online a la carte and subscriptions, and Kispert said he wants the company to grow on coffee quality and brand connection, not just his name recognition. Wholesale inquiries are now being accepted, and long-term plans include grocery placement and potentially a Bitter Truth cafe if momentum supports it. "Our hope is to take baby steps in expansion as they make sense for the company," Kispert said.

The real test for any athlete-founded specialty brand isn't the launch week; it's the reorder rate six months later when the novelty fades. With Bubna handling sourcing and roasting on identifiable equipment, and Kispert having logged enough hours in third-wave shops to know what a good cup actually tastes like, The Bitter Truth at least shows up to that test with something in the cup worth judging.