Liftoff with Jeanniey Walden
Lindsey Medwin of Java Factory on Flavor 52 and a Guinness World Records Coffee Attempt
Who’s on this episode
Hosted by Jeanniey Walden, founder and host of Liftoff with Jeanniey Walden.
What you’ll learn
- Why Java Factory is chasing a Guinness World Records title for coffee flavors.
- How the Flavor 52 campaign works: one new flavor every Monday for a year.
- What the first flavor is, and how new flavors get developed and taste-tested.
- What’s actually in the cup, from sweeteners to caffeine.
- Where to buy the coffees, and the three flavors to start with.
Episode highlights
- 00:32Meet Lindsey from Java Factory, and a world-record tease
- 00:46The record: most coffee flavors launched in a year
- 01:07One brand-new flavor every week for 52 weeks
- 01:12Beyond light, medium, and dark: Java Factory’s wild flavors
- 01:41First up: Sundae Pancakes, then a new flavor weekly
- 02:28Where the ideas come from and who taste-tests them
- 02:59Tasting Sundae Pancakes: “breakfast in a cup”
- 03:06What’s inside: no sweeteners, K-cup, caffeine
- 03:25Week two, and where to buy
- 04:01Java Factory’s rebrand two years ago
- 04:18Three flavors for a coffee newcomer
- 04:52When do you drink it? Choose your adventure
Episode summary
Jeanniey catches up with Lindsey Medwin, an account manager at Java Factory, for a coffee conversation with a twist: the brand is working with Guinness World Records to certify a title for the most unique coffee flavors launched by a coffee company in a single year. The mechanism is the Flavor 52 campaign, one brand-new flavor dropping every Monday for 52 consecutive weeks. Java Factory already has a reputation for shaking up the coffee aisle with flavors like blueberry shortcake, happy birthday, and bananas and cream, and Flavor 52 pushes that fifty-two steps further. The opening flavor is Sundae Pancakes, a pancake-batter-and-maple coffee that Lindsey describes as breakfast in a cup, with a new flavor following every week and brand partnerships planned along the way.
Lindsey walks through how the flavors come to life. The team is hands-on with the whole process, especially the tasting, with an in-house quality-control team doing all of the research and development at Java Factory’s New Jersey location. They strategize ideas, work with a flavor house to bring in samples, and taste-test constantly to see how far they can push what works with coffee. On the practical questions, she is clear: there are no added sweeteners, just coffee and flavoring, in a standard K-cup delivering roughly 80 to 100 milligrams of caffeine. The launch lives at javafactory.com and walmart.com, with wider retail expected to take a little longer, and the company’s current look comes from a rebrand of its packaging and approach about two years ago.
For anyone new to coffee, Lindsey offers a starting lineup: the internal fan favorite blueberry shortcake, which tastes like dessert; s’mores and a maple-cinnamon French toast for something a little more classic; and, for the adventurous, peanut butter and jelly or bananas and cream. Her advice on when to drink it is refreshingly simple, choose your own adventure, morning indulgence or a cup right before bed, and Jeanniey happily volunteers to run around the house all night to prove the point.
Key takeaways
- 00:46 Java Factory is working with Guinness World Records to certify a title for the most unique coffee flavors launched by a brand in a single year.
- 01:07 The Flavor 52 campaign drops one brand-new flavor every Monday for 52 consecutive weeks.
- 01:41 The first flavor is Sundae Pancakes, a pancake-batter-and-maple coffee, with a new one following every week.
- 02:28 All research and development happens in house at Java Factory’s New Jersey location, with a quality-control team constantly taste-testing.
- 03:06 The coffees have no added sweeteners, just coffee and flavoring, in a standard K-cup with about 80 to 100 milligrams of caffeine.
- 03:47 The launch lives at javafactory.com and walmart.com, with retail placement expected to follow later.
- 04:01 Java Factory rebranded its packaging and approach about two years ago.
- 04:18 For newcomers, the picks are blueberry shortcake (the internal fan favorite), s’mores, and French toast, with wilder options like PB&J and bananas and cream.
Questions people ask
Who is Lindsey Medwin?
Lindsey Medwin is an account manager at Java Factory, the New Jersey coffee company behind the Flavor 52 campaign.
What is Java Factory’s Flavor 52?
Flavor 52 is a campaign to launch a brand-new coffee flavor every Monday for 52 consecutive weeks, in pursuit of a Guinness World Records title for the most unique coffee flavors launched by a brand in a single year.
What is the first Flavor 52 coffee?
The first flavor is Sundae Pancakes, a pancake-batter-and-maple flavored coffee, with a new flavor following every week after that.
Where can I buy Java Factory coffee?
Lindsey Medwin says the launch lives at javafactory.com and walmart.com, with wider retail placement expected to follow later.
Do Java Factory coffees have sweeteners or a lot of caffeine?
There are no added sweeteners, just coffee and flavoring. Each is a standard K-cup with about 80 to 100 milligrams of caffeine.
What flavors does Java Factory make?
Beyond light, medium, and dark roasts, Java Factory makes flavors like blueberry shortcake, s’mores, French toast, peanut butter and jelly, bananas and cream, and happy birthday, with 52 new ones rolling out weekly.
Where is Java Factory based?
Java Factory is based in South Plainfield, New Jersey, where it does its research, development, and taste-testing in house.
Full transcript
Jeanniey Walden: And we’re back, and you are not going to believe what we’re talking about right now. It’s coffee, but not just any coffee. I’m here with Lindsey from Java Factory, and we’re going to break the Guinness Book of World Records. I’m going to let her tell you this news. Lindsey, thank you so much for being here.
Lindsey Medwin: Thank you for having us. We are so excited to be aligning with the Guinness Book of World Records to achieve an award for the most flavors put out by a coffee company in one year.
Jeanniey Walden: That is so incredible. Can we stop and talk about that for a minute? To get in the Guinness Book of World Records, how many coffee flavors do you need to put out over fifty-two weeks?
Lindsey Medwin: We are putting out one flavor every week for fifty-two weeks.
Jeanniey Walden: So there’s light roast, medium roast, dark roast.
Lindsey Medwin: We are taking it well beyond that. Java Factory is already known for shaking up the coffee aisle. We do things like blueberry shortcake, happy birthday flavored coffee, and bananas and cream. But we’re taking it a lot of steps forward, 52 steps forward. Starting Monday, we’re launching one flavor every week for 52 weeks straight.
Jeanniey Walden: I see all these coffee flavors here. I thought it was just packaging, but you’ve got coconut, you’ve got Da Bomb, this is insane. But someone was telling me these aren’t the flavors, you’re launching even new flavors on top of these.
Lindsey Medwin: Absolutely. We’re already in the flavor game, with so many exciting options in the Java Factory wheelhouse, but there is so much more to come. We’re launching with our Sundae Pancakes flavor, which is pancake batter and maple flavored coffee, and every week from there you’ll experience a new flavor. We’re partnering up with a lot of awesome companies throughout this process, and we’re so excited to show everybody what’s coming.
Jeanniey Walden: Tell me a little about where this idea came from, and who is the taste tester of these flavors?
Lindsey Medwin: The team is super hands-on with the whole process, especially the tasting. We have an in-house quality-control team and do all of our research and development at our location in New Jersey. We strategize ideas, work with our flavor house to bring in samples, and do constant taste testing to improve flavors and see how far we can push the needle on what works with coffee.
Jeanniey Walden: Have you tried the Sundae Pancakes?
Lindsey Medwin: Yes, it’s awesome. It’s like breakfast in a cup.
Jeanniey Walden: Does it have sugar, lots of caffeine? What am I drinking when I’m drinking this?
Lindsey Medwin: We have no sweeteners in our coffee. It’s just coffee and flavoring, and it’s a standard K-cup, so you’re getting about eighty to a hundred milligrams of caffeine per piece.
Jeanniey Walden: Now I’m looking at this one. Is this the next one? Candied pecan, pancake and maple syrup. Where can I find these?
Lindsey Medwin: That’s our week-two flavor. You can find these flavors and all the launch information at javafactory.com.
Jeanniey Walden: Can I buy these at a store, or do I order them online?
Lindsey Medwin: This activation will be available on javafactory.com and walmart.com. It’s going to take a bit to get into retail, so follow us online for everything.
Jeanniey Walden: I love it. How long has Java Factory been in business?
Lindsey Medwin: Java Factory has been a company for several years now. It took a big rebrand in packaging and approach about two years ago, and we’re so excited for how it’s been received and what’s to come.
Jeanniey Walden: If I’m new to coffee, maybe I only drink tea or water, but I want to try coffee, what are the top three flavors of Java Factory I want to taste?
Lindsey Medwin: The fan favorite internally is blueberry shortcake. It’s so fun, it tastes like dessert. If you want to go a little more classic, we’ve got s’mores, and we have French toast, which is like a maple cinnamon. And then you can get really wild with it, peanut butter and jelly coffee, or bananas and cream. So choose your adventure.
Jeanniey Walden: When do people drink it, in the morning, instead of lunch?
Lindsey Medwin: It’s so fun to enjoy your morning cup of coffee and indulge as if it’s a dessert. Choose your adventure. If you’d like a coffee right before bed, go for it.
Jeanniey Walden: If you want to watch me run around the house at night, I’m going to drink coffee right before bed. Lindsey, thank you so much for speaking with us. This is so cool, and I cannot wait to taste all 52 flavors and see you in the Guinness Book. Everybody, stay tuned. We’ll be back with more great guests.
Lindsey Medwin: Thank you so much.
This conversation was recorded for Liftoff with Jeanniey Walden and lightly edited for readability.
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