The serendipity Gods have been looking kindly at me these past few months.
The origins of this post began in May with the closing of Papa Cristo’s, a legendary Los Angeles Greek restaurant that Cousin Rob maintained served better food than he experienced when he visited Greece (I’ve never been). I’d make the 20 minute or so trek to Papa Cristo’s every two weeks to stock up on its imported yogurt because it’s a staple of the Mediterranean diet, which supposedly increases one’s longevity. The yogurt was thick and creamy, and mixed with some granola and fruit, made a great alternative to ice cream.
When Papa Cristo’s closed, the best yogurt alternative I could find was Siggi’s from Iceland, normally readily available at my local Whole Foods and other upscale supermarkets. When Whole Foods was recently hacked, supplies of Siggi’s were disrupted, so I opted for Icelandic Provisions yogurt, which I liked even more. In fact, I prefer Icelandic Provisions’ yogurt to what Papa Cristo’s imported, making it the first yogurt product worthy of the coveted Starkman Approved seal of approval.
On a recent Saturday morning I passed a Whole Foods in Santa Monica, which is brighter and better run than the one in my West Los Angeles neighborhood. There was an available metered spot across the street, so I parked and paid for 15 minutes, thinking I’d run in and pick up some yogurt and other items.
As I hurried back to the dairy case, I passed an elderly man sampling some canned coffee drinks, and overheard him say, “This is what Patrick Mahomes drinks.” As a longtime admirer of Mahomes’ Gridiron prowess, I stopped in my tracks to listen in on the guy’s pitch.
For those who don’t follow professional American football, Mahomes is widely regarded as the NFL’s most electrifying quarterback, known for making legendary plays with his rocket arm and uncanny vision. He’s already led the Kansas City Chiefs to multiple Super Bowl wins, garnering most valuable player (MVP) honors along the way, and he’s only 29-years-old. Mahomes makes his clutch plays look effortless, and if I were a cucumber distributor, I’d name my product after him (Get it? Cool as a cucumber).
The elderly demonstrator explained that Mahomes is an avid coffee drinker and that he was actively involved in perfecting the formulation of the product he was demonstrating, called Throne SPORT COFFEE. He said the beans were the same used to make green tea and wouldn’t leave a person jittery. I avoid drinks with sugar, but one of the cans the demonstrator sampled had only one gram, so I tried it.
And I’ve been hooked ever since.
Decades-Long Morning Ritual
Drinking coffee has been part of my morning ritual since college, when I sampled my first cup of Joe at a place then called Country Style Doughnuts near my Toronto childhood home. My tastes grew more refined over the years, but I’ve always preferred freshly brewed, piping hot coffee — the kind Starbucks once served before it switched to Keurig-style single-cup machines, presumably to boost profits.
The best coffee I ever had, by far, came from a small Boston-area outfit called The Coffee Connection, which Starbucks acquired in 1994 along with the rights to Frappuccino — the cool, sweet coffee drink pioneered by founder George Howell.
My preference for piping hot liquids may be genetic. As I’ve previously noted, one of my most indelible memories of my grandfather is him bellowing to a caregiver in his Yiddish-accented English, “I vant you to bring me hot tea and I vant you to make it snappy.” My father also insisted soup be served “piping hot.” I’ll take a lesser-quality coffee scalding hot over a premium roast that can be gulped without sipping.
I never imagined starting my day with chilled coffee, even on the hottest summer day.
Mahomes’ chilled coffee concoction, hit the spot. It tasted like a mochaccino — espresso, milk, and chocolate — only lighter and less sweet. Even a small taste gave me a caffeine jolt, but in a strangely soothing way. The demonstrator had $1 off coupons, and I sheepishly asked for four. From that day forward, Mahomes’ coffee has been my first drink every morning.
Old habits die hard, though. I still brew hot coffee on my Breville Precision Brewer Thermal, which enjoys a Starkman Approved seal despite the company’s lousy customer service and manual. It’s one of the few home machines that can brew coffee at the recommended 200 degrees. Costly, yes, but a worthwhile pandemic investment when Peet’s was off-limits. Admittedly, after a can of Throne SPORT COFFEE, my nervous system can’t handle much more caffeine.
Amazing Workouts
Where I’ve noticed the biggest change since drinking Mahomes’ coffee is at the gym. Suddenly I’ve got the energy of my twenties. I’m pumping iron with weights I never thought I’d touch again. Best of all, I no longer get the emotional crashes that followed Celsius energy drinks, which I used to down before workouts.
Celsius loads 200 mg of caffeine compared to Throne’s 150, and it throws in artificial sweeteners like sucralose — which studies show can spike blood sugar and reduce insulin sensitivity. As someone who is borderline diabetic, maybe that explains the blues I’d feel hours after a “great” workout.
Throne offers a black coffee with just a gram of cane sugar (skip the higher-sugar ones). It also touts B vitamins, electrolytes, and amino acids. Whether the doses are meaningful is another matter. Beverage makers love sprinkling in “functional” ingredients, but they rarely disclose whether the amounts do anything.
Poppi soda, which Pepsi acquired in May for nearly $2 billion, just settled a $9 million lawsuit over its “gut healthy” promotional claim, despite no credible science to back it up. The accompanying video features two physicians who say Pepsi’s new prebiotic soda is likely a marketing gimmick for the same reason.
At least Throne SPORT COFFEE bears the NSF Certified for Sport seal. That means its contents have been independently verified to match the label, are free of contaminants, and don’t include banned substances.”
Another SPORT COFFEE Legend
SPORT COFFEE was the brainchild of Michael Fedele, an accomplished beverage executive and entrepreneur who began his career at Coca-Cola, managing brands like Powerade and Vitamin Water before joining BodyArmor as an early executive—where he helped scale the sports drink brand from roughly $1 million in revenue to more than $1 billion by 2021, when Coke acquired it for $5.6 billion.
Basketball legend Kobe Bryant, who invested $6 million in BodyArmor, walked away with about $400 million on the sale.
Building on that success, Fedele founded Throne SPORT COFFEE in 2024, carving out a new niche in the ready-to-drink coffee market. Mahomes is the company’s lead investor, though Fedele still holds the bigger stake.
Mahomes is “very, very much involved in what we’re doing here,” Fedele told ESPN. “I can confidently say that he’s engaged on a weekly basis specific to updates I provide.”
Given that Coke and Pepsi are behemoths, it’s telling that real innovation in the beverage industry is being driven by entrepreneurs. Poppi soda, for instance, was founded by Allison and Stephen Ellsworth and first developed in their Dallas kitchen. Perhaps instead of spending billions on stock buybacks, Coke and Pepsi could create real shareholder value by hiring more talented research and development scientists.
Fedele looks like he has another huge winner on his hands. It’s only a matter of time before Throne gets scooped up by a major player, with Fedele and Mahomes deservedly pocketing a fortune. Frankly, Starbucks should acquire SPORT COFFEE now and ink a promotional deal with Mahomes — it would give people a compelling reason to visit their stores again.
Then again, unlike Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol, no one has ever paid me $96 million for four months of work to run a company 1,000 miles from its headquarters — so what do I know.
As long as we’re on the subject of standout beverages, here’s a shout out to Cove soda, a Canadian company founded in 2016 by brothers John and Ryan MacLellan. The company bills itself as the first-ever zero-sugar functional soda, made with a billion probiotics and “real” organic ingredients.
I can’t validate the health claims, but I can vouch for the taste — it’s far and away the best soda I’ve ever had. Thanks to SPORT COFFEE and Cove, I just might need a bigger refrigerator.