On Cloud Nine in Scottsdale
Inside the Precision-Built, Product-First World of Kloud 9 Kava
Tristan Biddle, Founder of Kloud 9 Kava
From bootstrapping to more locations and a loyal following.
Walking into Kloud 9 Kava, for us at TKT, feels a bit like stepping into the lab of a very chill mad scientist, one with DIY swagger in his blood and extract ratios on his brain. Tristan Biddle, the owner and operator, has bootstrapped this South Scottsdale gem with one unwavering principle: high-quality product is gospel.
The vibe? Minimalist. No neon jungle, no surfboards on the wall, no plastic pineapples in sight. Just a sleek lounge, with a nice big bar and plenty of common seating that sparks good conversation and new friendships; a place designed to help your nervous system find its zen. And once you take that first swig of kava or tea, you get it: this place is all about what’s in the cup.
“We’ve got a scaled-down atmosphere, because all my energy goes into the teas and kava quality,” Tristan says.
And it shows. Tristan isn’t just a bar owner. He’s a self-taught beverage architect who spent nearly a decade refining his own natural concoctions and mixers before ever opening his doors. The results are unapologetically high-end. He makes his own coconut cream from scratch using real-pressed coconut, blended from multiple brands, stabilized for perfect texture. He uses real pineapple juice, never from concentrate. His kratom is American Kratom Association (AKA) certified, rigorously tested for purity and consistency. And his kava? Smooth, balanced, and strong enough to earn comparisons to the OG bars of Florida.
“I’ve been to dozens of kava bars,” he says. “This one does that right. That one does this wrong. I wanted to take everything I liked, and fix what didn’t work.”
That meant starting from scratch, alone. No partners, no silent investors, and zero bank support. After being denied funding by over a dozen lenders (kava’s “gray area” status didn’t help), Tristan poured his life savings into the buildout and ran the place solo for months: brewing, bartending, cleaning, answering customer questions, managing the business end, and refining the construction on his own during closed hours.
“I had offers to climb higher at my last job. Promotions, bonuses, even a company car,” he says. “But I promised myself I’d do this.”
Kloud 9 has come a long way from those early days. Its location is humble, a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it spot in a Scottsdale strip mall; but that’s part of the charm. It’s not a tourist trap. It’s a locals’ lounge, where regulars know they’re getting a dialed-in product every time, and where first-timers walk in curious and leave educated.
“With kava and kratom, education is everything,” Tristan says. “People want to know what it is, how it works, where it’s from. They deserve real answers. And we don’t cut corners. We strive to offer the best possible version of the drink every time.”
At Kloud 9, a lot has changed since those early days of bootstrapping. Tristan now has actual employees, kavatenders with their own loyal following of regulars. There are many board games and electronic table games to help folks have a good time, and a row of luxury couch seating along the main wall that cuddles your outsides as well as that shell of kava cuddles your insides.
Pretty soon, there will be more Kloud 9’s popping up in the Valley, and fans couldn’t be more excited. His nitro-infused tea, made with natural mango puree, is legendary, and folks will drive across town just for that. The mad scientist keeps inventing and improving, and that’s nothing but great news for kava aficionados who want to visit a premium Arizona bar whose product and processes they can fully trust.
