The Story Behind Chris' Coffee

While working four jobs, an entrepreneurial Chris Nachtrieb was approached with his first opportunity to get into the coffee business. Quickly Chris became his partner after a handshake agreement and a handwritten contract with a pal of theirs as a witness. In a 1975 El Camino Super Sport Chris took to the streets going door-to-door searching for his first customers, some of which are still retained today after decades. With the back-office help of his new girlfriend, Pattie and his father, they began repairing Bunn coffee machines and selling coffee from his business partner. The first Chris' Coffee hit local restaurants in 1975. After one year, Nachtrieb made Chris' Coffee his primary source of income.

By 1978 the handshake agreement had lapsed, and Nachtrieb turned to grow his own coffee service, on his terms. With the help of three Colonie Police officers' off-duty time, Nachtrieb was able to expand not only his customer base but his family, with Christian Jr's birth four years after marrying Pattie. Simultaneously conceived was the first private label coffee, Chris' 100% Colombian, produced by dear friends Steve Dunefsky and Bob Richter then of Empire Coffee Company. By 1988 Pattie and Chris Nachtrieb had been married for nearly a decade with two children, Christian and Mackenzie, and ten employees. When operating out of three different warehouse spaces was becoming a logistical nightmare, Nachtrieb turned to his local connections within the community to expand. After the approval of a loan and funds acquired after his parents passing, the Nachtrieb's began looking for a permanent home for their growing business. Moving in only one day the Nachtrieb's and their extended family, their employees, relocated to 10 Corporate Circle also in Albany, New York.

After two years operating out of 10 Corporate Circle, their third child Taylor arrived. With help from their growing family both professionally and personally, Chris' Coffee started to gain national recognition after their first website, built by their 15-year-old son Christian in 1999. With national attention and the connection of the internet to the world of Chris' Coffee, Nachtrieb discovers a whole new market in home espresso machines. A broker from a new company to the United States in 2002 approached Chris Nachtrieb and Chris' Coffee to carry the latest in-home espresso machines. The broker came with the availability of thirty espresso machines, and Nachtrieb went all-in and purchased all thirty. By 2004, Nachtrieb took his expertise and flew to Italy to take his feedback direct to the owners and manufacturers of the same espresso machine companies he had been dealing with for years. In the advent of this trip to Italy in one-months' time the first co-designed machine, the La Spaziale Vivaldi landed in the United States with great fanfare.

While the internet business was starting to increase as more Americans became connected to the internet in the early 2000's Nachtrieb, never one to stop innovating purchased the first 30 Kilo coffee roasters which is still in use to the day. The 30 Kilo Joper was a daunting undertaking but with help from one of the best Q graders, his "roasting rabbi" Mané Alves, develop the first proprietary Chris' Coffee blends together. By 2013 the custom roasting operation reached fever pitch with three roasters with the capacity to produce 900 pounds per hour.At present, the Chris' Coffee family is nearly 40 employees strong with the Nachtrieb daughters joining the family business in the early 2000's. With the family's vision, Chris' Coffee is the leading importer of Italian-made home espresso machines with an e-commerce business known worldwide. Our recent move to a 64,000 square foot facility in Latham, NY and acquisition of an additional 120 kilo roaster allows us a roasting capacity of 2,300 pounds per hour. Locally, Chris' Coffee still offers what Nachtriebs did from the comfort of their 1975 El Camino Super Sport: Expertise in coffee from bean-to-brew.

Meet Our Team

Family-Owned & Operated Since 1975
Chris Nachtrieb
President & Founder
Pattie Nachtrieb
President & Co-Founder
MacKenzie Halse
Director of Sales
Taylor Nachtrieb
Accounting Manager