Iced, Hot or Mushroom-Infused, Smart Drip Wants Coffee Your Way

Earlier this month, I saw firsthand how far iced coffee enthusiasts will go for their fix. The last time was when a friend sold iced coffee from her apartment during 100-plus-degree weather. Neighbors and customers in cars rang the doorbell every 10 minutes, seemingly driven entirely by word of mouth.

Smart Drip Coffee gave me the same vibe at its Aug. 3 hard opening. Located on N. Gaffey Street, a block north of Target, the shop is bare-bones: snacks to the left, large jugs of coffee to the right, and the menu and cash register front and center.

I ordered the Arthur Douglas, a tall espresso over ice topped with velvety cold foam, honey, and a dusting of cocoa. Next thing I know, one person after another kept walking in. Initially asking for a cup of hot coffee until they saw my satisfied face sipping on my Arthur Douglas on ice, happy as can be. It was so good, I actually started boasting about how good my coffee-flavored iced drink was in the nearly 90-degree heat. 

For founder Rashawn Vaughn, coffee isn’t simply a beverage. It’s a ritual — one he doesn’t expect customers to abandon just because he’s offering something different.

“If you’re a drip kind of guy, you can use our coffee and drip it,” he said. “If you’re an espresso kind of guy, we can meet you there. You like French press? We got that too.”

That philosophy is at the heart of Smart Drip Coffee, which combines traditional, micro-roasted coffee with mushroom-infused blends while preserving the familiar taste and rituals of coffee drinking.

Vaughn’s path into the coffee business began with entrepreneurship. After studying people who successfully sold products online, he began exploring what he could sell himself. Coffee and chocolate stood out because they were products he genuinely enjoyed.

The idea took shape after he discovered mushroom coffee. He liked the concept but rejected many of the products he tried because, as a longtime coffee drinker, he didn’t want to replace his daily ritual with something that didn’t taste like coffee.

That led him to a neighbor who sold ginseng coffee. The neighbor introduced him to its manufacturer, who eventually became Vaughn’s mentor and taught him about mushrooms and their use in coffee.

Smart Drip starts with actual coffee rather than powdered coffee products. Its traditional coffee is micro-roasted in small batches in Pomona, and some blends are infused with mushroom extracts and ginseng.

The mushroom coffee contains reishi, also known as Ganoderma, along with ginseng. Vaughn is careful to distinguish the product from medicine, emphasizing that Smart Drip Coffee does not prescribe or claim to treat medical conditions.

The goal is to offer coffee drinkers an enhanced version of something they already enjoy.

“We’re real coffee first,” he said.

That distinction also informs the company’s approach to flavor. Rather than masking the coffee with strong mushroom flavors, Smart Drip’s mushroom-infused blends are designed to taste like coffee.

The menu includes familiar coffeehouse staples such as lattes, cappuccinos, mochas and Americanos, along with signature drinks.

The Smart Affogato is a variation on the Italian dessert traditionally made by pouring espresso over vanilla gelato. Smart Drip’s version combines dark chocolate, two scoops of gelato, espresso, caramel and coconut.

The Arthur Douglas is a triple-shot espresso sweetened with honey and topped with cold foam and cocoa dust.

The mushroom mocha latte offers another distinctive option, combining chaga, lion’s mane, cordyceps and reishi with monk fruit and coconut creamer. The plant-based ingredients provide lighter sweetness without overpowering the coffee.

Smart Drip also offers French and Italian roast profiles and individual pour-over sachets for people who want freshly brewed coffee without conventional brewing equipment.

The sachets reflect another part of the company’s philosophy: Coffee should fit into people’s lives rather than require them to change their routines.

That extends to cold coffee. Vaughn sees iced coffee as an important part of the menu, particularly during warmer months, and plans to develop additional cold offerings.

Smart Drip also offers noncoffee beverages and other items intended to make the space accessible to people who aren’t coffee drinkers.

The business initially is operating through a pop-up model, with plans for a more permanent location. A larger space could create opportunities for private dinners, community gatherings and potentially poetry and music performances.

For Vaughn, those possibilities connect the coffee business to a larger goal. Coffee is a product people already incorporate into their daily lives, while a physical space can become a place where people, businesses and creative communities intersect.

“I am a connector of dots,” he said.

At its core, Smart Drip Coffee isn’t asking people to abandon the coffee they know. It’s asking them to keep the ritual — and change what’s in the cup.