In the summer of 2016, with no intentions of launching a coffee business, Matt Bishop started a free coffee service in the Boise foothills with a pack mule named Richard.
At a Glance:
- Iron Mule began as a free cold brew coffee service in the Boise foothills
- Founded by former Marine and Naval Academy graduate Matt Bishop
- Company distributes coffee across 12 states and 300+ grocery locations
- Business remains rooted in community, trails, and outdoor culture
A Wyoming native, graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and captain in the Marines and Army during separate stints in the military, Bishop fell in love with the beauty of Idaho after moving here with his family. An avid outdoor enthusiast, he served cold brew coffee on the trails 18 different times and without expecting it, quickly gained recognition.
Later that summer, Whole Foods approached Bishop with the prospect of creating a cold brew coffee for distribution in some of their stores. He jumped at that chance and became a cold brew coffee producer and bottler: Café Mulé was born.
Around the same time, Colin Seely founded his specialty coffee roasting business, Ironside Roasting Co. in Boise. Eventually, he and Bishop met and started providing services to each other’s businesses. Ironside provided the roasted coffee needed for Café Mulé’s cold brew coffee, and Café Mulé provided production and bottling services for Ironside’s branded cold brew coffee. After eight months of collaboration, the duo merged their companies in 2018 and founded a new entity called Iron Mule, Inc…