How Suyog Mody & Anu Menon Built Driftaway Coffee, One Cup at a Time

There’s something magical about a great cup of coffee — the way it can carry you across continents with a single sip, or ground you in a quiet moment at home. For Suyog Mody and Anu Menon, co-founders of Brooklyn-based Driftaway Coffee, that magic became the spark for a new kind of coffee company.

What started with an espresso machine gift and a curiosity about roast dates has grown into a mission-driven business that connects coffee drinkers to producers, prioritizes equity at origin, and makes the world of specialty coffee approachable to anyone. Through tastings, workshops, and intentional sourcing, Driftaway has built a reputation for both transparency and warmth — values that shine through in everything they do.

We sat down with Suyog and Anu to talk about the spark behind Driftaway, their commitment to women-owned and minority producers, and what guests can expect from their immersive tastings with Leisurely.

What was the spark that led you to start Driftaway Coffee, and how has your vision evolved over the years?

Driftaway Coffee began as a very personal journey. After years in corporate jobs, we found ourselves asking if this was truly the work we wanted to do for a lifetime. Around the same time, a gift of an espresso machine drew us deeper into coffee — from learning about roast dates to discovering the stories of producers. When we moved to Brooklyn, we realized how hard it was to find freshly roasted coffee that was consistent and transparent. We tried subscriptions, but nothing quite fit. That’s when we decided to create our own — and in 2014, Driftaway was born as a way to make fresh, story-driven coffee accessible to anyone.

Over the years, that spark has grown into a broader vision: connecting coffee drinkers with producers, building sustainable long-term relationships, and expanding how people experience coffee through tastings, wholesale, and in-person experiences.

CHow do the tasting and pour-over classes complement each other? If someone attends both, what new perspective do they gain?

The two classes complement each other by focusing on different but connected parts of the coffee journey.

The coffee & chocolate tasting is all about developing your palate. You learn how to taste thoughtfully, notice flavor notes, and draw connections between two complex, origin-driven products. It’s a foundation for anyone who wants to get better at picking up nuances in coffee—or simply enjoy both coffee and chocolate on a deeper level.

The pour-over brewing class shifts the focus from tasting to making. Brewing coffee can feel intimidating because so many variables affect the final cup—grind size, temperature, timing, recipe adjustments for different beans. This class demystifies those variables, giving people the confidence to brew coffee at home and the tools to experiment with new coffees.

When someone attends both, they get a full-circle perspective: tasting sharpens their awareness of flavors, and brewing gives them the practical skills to bring those flavors out at home. Together, the two experiences connect appreciation with execution—you don’t just understand what you like in a cup, you also know how to recreate it.

What’s a story from building Driftaway—whether a sourcing trip, a collaboration, or a proud milestone—that you love sharing with guests?

One of my favorite stories is how we came up with the name Driftaway. Surprisingly, it was one of the hardest parts of starting the company. We knew the name had to carry weight—it needed to be meaningful not just to us, but to anyone interacting with the brand. It had to be easy to say with pride, stand the test of time, and, of course, the website domain had to be available.

We brainstormed endlessly, filling a whiteboard with over 150 ideas. Some names leaned heavily on coffee references, others tried to be more abstract, but nothing captured both the feeling we wanted to evoke and the story we wanted to tell. At the same time, we had just begun working on our packaging design—labels inspired by vintage baggage tags, a nod to the long journey coffee takes from origin to cup. We wanted a name that tied into that sense of travel and discovery, but also felt connected to the daily ritual of coffee.

Late that night, after hours of going in circles, inspiration struck: “Driftaway.” It felt like the perfect fit—hinting at the global voyage of coffee as well as the quiet moment of drifting away with your first cup in the morning. The domain was available, and from that moment, Driftaway Coffee was born.

Quickfire: your comfort brew at home, one dessert you’d pair with coffee forever, and a lesser-known coffee or cacao region you’re excited about right now.

Comfort brew at home: Always a pour-over. It changes daily—sometimes we’re dialing in one of our newest roasts, other times it’s something gifted to us by a fellow roaster or producer.

Dessert pairing forever: Dark chocolate, 70% cacao or higher. Nothing matches coffee’s depth quite like it.

Lesser-known region we’re excited about: India. It’s the seventh largest producer of coffee in the world, but historically it’s been known for robusta, most of which is exported to Italy as a base for espresso. What’s exciting now is the shift: with local consumer demand rising, producers are moving toward more arabica cultivation. Add to that the challenge of a 100% tax on green imports, and you’ve got a country where innovation in processing and farming is being driven internally.

One of our favorite and most famous coffees from India is SCOBY from Ratnagiri Estate. It’s a brilliant example of how processing can transform and elevate a coffee into something entirely new—complex, layered, and unlike anything else. It really showcases the potential of Indian coffee in a global specialty context.

For Suyog and Anu, coffee isn’t just about what’s in the cup — it’s about the people, stories, and values behind every bean. Driftaway Coffee has become a bridge between producers and drinkers, creating an experience that’s as thoughtful as it is delicious.

Through their upcoming Coffee & Chocolate Tasting and Pour-Over Brewing Workshop with Leisurely, they’re inviting New Yorkers to not only taste coffee in new ways, but to understand and recreate it at home. It’s education, exploration, and joy — all wrapped into one.

If you’ve ever wanted to see your morning cup differently, there’s no better place to start than with Driftaway.