Nate Wood, Jack of all Trades

Nate in the container flow.

Nate Wood is somewhat of a legend around Cirque Coffee (As was another Nate Wood who once worked with us, iykyk). Working in different departments and locations, our paths have never quite intersected, but I was well prepared for it by the overall buzz among team members about his enthusiasm. I was told lots of endearing anecdotes, with a loud chorus of "Nate is so multi-talented; he has a new hobby or skill every week!" being the consensus. Even co-owner Garrett O'Dell prepped me by informing me that "Nate is a total vibe king", which is some pretty high praise. I caught him in the roastery chatting with Daniel Van Duyne.

Nate has been with us at our Utica container location for about a year. It all started when he drove up to the window as a customer and was greeted by none other than Cirque's first Nate Wood (a la the spiderman pointing meme). As it turns out, this was Nate Wood (1)'s last week with us at Cirque, so Nate Wood (2) was privy to an opening for a barista.

Now, Nate may have come from a Starbucks-only small town, but he is no stranger to craft beverages. Remember those hobbies the team was so impressed with? I see why. Nate has been brewing kombucha in his own home with a full setup in his kitchen for about three years. He even has a mechanism for canning it all from home. Talk about being impressed! I was appreciative of Nate's curiosity and determination to accomplish what he sets out to do, and to keep creating.

And if you're thinking that he went from brewing kombucha to brewing coffee starting at Cirque, you'd be incorrect. Nate has been roasting his own coffee beans from home for almost two years. That is an incredibly precise hobby with a steep learning curve, and Nate is leveling it.

So, with an informed interest in coffee, Nate came to Cirque. Recently, he competed on behalf of Cirque in a local latte art throwdown, placing third. He has been in the roastery with Elise Anderson a bit here and there, but his interest was really piqued with the relaunch of our limited edition monthly coffees. When some extra hands were needed in the project, Nate jumped in to brainstorm. At first, he was helping to source some of the coffees. Then, reminiscing on the limited edition days of old, he got the idea to play with some older art styles once adopted by Cirque. Yes, another of Nate's many talents is design - and he got to work on just that.

He just hit the ground running, churning out stunning pieces and ideas (though we can't tell you just what yet ... subscribe to our newsletter to be the first to see it). When I asked his reasons for doing all this he told me that at only age 20, he wants to do it "for the experience. I want to work on this and create a portfolio to build my own career". Admirable. The way I see it, he can have just about any career he works hard at, and he seems to have that skill down.

Needless to say, Nate is not only an incredible asset to our team, but a creative individual and a motivator who inspires the rest of us. It would be an honor to be on bar with him. You can find Nate slingin' spro at Utica, roasting behind the cafe window, and brainstorming ideas with our team at the cafe bar. We can't wait to show you what he's working on!