Our Story
Third Wave Water started in a lab in Ohio and ended up on Shark Tank®.
Here's how it happened.
Two coffee guys. One lab. A formula that changed everything.
Taylor
Taylor Minor owned Telemetry Coffee Roasters and spent years perfecting water chemistry in his on-site lab. He rebuilt vintage roasters, designed custom espresso machines, and obsessed over every variable in the cup — until he finally cracked the water formula.
Charles
Charles Nick worked at NASA, Boeing, and The Spaceship Company before founding The Wright Cup, a coffee subscription service. When Charles shared his subscription water problem with Taylor, Taylor shared his journey creating a water solution for his cafe; this led the discovery of Third Wave Water finally helping coffee drinkers around the world fix their water issue.
Follow the history of Third Wave Water
July 23, 2016
An Idea Is Born
Two coffee shop owners, Taylor and Charles, were having lunch at Thai 9 when Charles mentioned wishing he could replicate Taylor's perfected water blend for his own customers. Taylor joked he could "dehydrate" the water — then realized he actually could. That conversation changed everything.
September 24, 2016
Third Wave Water Is Founded
With Taylor's lab and Charles's entrepreneurial background, the two made it official. Third Wave Water was founded in Cedarville, Ohio with a simple mission: give every home brewer access to the same water quality used by the world's best coffee shops.
October 26, 2016
Product Launch
Taylor and Charles showed off their new product for the first time at The Barista Guild of America's Bloom event in Chicago. The specialty coffee world got its first taste — and the reaction was immediate.
November 8, 2016
First Online Order
The store went live and the first order came in. A small moment that meant everything.
December 14, 2016
Recognized Nationally
Just three months after founding, thousands of voters across dozens of countries named Third Wave Water a Sprudgie New Product Award Finalist — one of the very best in specialty coffee.
January 08, 2017
Shots Fired (Both Ways)
Blaze published "Hipsters Manage to Ruin Coffee" with Third Wave Water at the center. For the record: Taylor drives a minivan and Charles owns a Camry. The next day, Sprudge fired back with a piece the specialty coffee community loved. Don't skip the last paragraph.
January 12, 2017
Kickstarter Breaks Records
They launched on Kickstarter with a goal of $10,000. In less than 36 hours, they had raised $15,000. The coffee community spoke loud and clear — this was something people had been waiting for.
January 21, 2017
Flashy Badges
Third Wave Water takes the win in the Knoxville, Tennesee Coffee Champs Event. More importantly, the flashy badges were used to garner the attention of the local masses!
March 12, 2017
On National TV
Third Wave Water aired on NewsWatch on AMC, bringing the story of better water to a national audience for the first time. From a lab in Ohio to living rooms across America.
April - July, 2017
Winning Across the World
First place in Poland and Romania. First and second place in the U.S. Brewers Cup. Fourth place in the World Brewers Cup with Romanian winner Gabriel Carol. Third Wave Water was now competing — and winning — on the global stage.
October 8, 2017
Shark Tank®
Taylor and Charles walked into the Tank and brewed two cups of coffee — one with tap water, one with Third Wave Water. Five Sharks tasted. Five Sharks agreed. It was the kind of product that speaks for itself.
2019
Tethys Launches
Third Wave Water introduced Tethys, a commercial-grade water mineralization system designed for coffee shops. Plug it in, and every cup is brewed to SCA-certified water standards — automatically.
2025
Growing the Family
Third Wave Water acquires Perfect Coffee Water, bringing another award-winning mineral profile into the fold. The mission stays the same: better water, better coffee, for everyone.
"We started this because we were tired of watching great coffee go to waste over bad water. Eight years later, that's still the only reason we do this."
— Taylor Minor & Charles Nick, Co-founders
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