How to Start a Mobile Coffee Cart — Dad was hair goals. Mom hated it. There’s me on the left— I just made the coffee.

Circa 2000

Mom teaches me how to make coffee for Dad for the first time.

It was instant coffee. I watched as she showed, “Not too much water or else it doesn’t taste good. And make sure that it’s completely dissolved. You want the drinker to be able to enjoy every sip.”

I drew up menus and taped them to the kitchen cupboard. Coffee. Tea. Water. Toast. My dad would be minding his own business watching TV, but I’d make something for him, deliver it to the couch, and then force him pay for it.(I know it doesn’t work that way anymore.) This is where my coffee-delivering journey started.

2010

I'd sit in cafes and dream of owning one.

Cafes were starting to become the gathering place for people. This is when I recognized coffee as a special centerpiece for community and a far more complex beverage than commercials made them out to be.

Catering Local Coffee NJ — The balcony above Cafe Eden on which I used to look out at the busy streets and plan for a future coffee shop.

2013

On a mission trip in Cambodia, I discover Cafe Eden.

This local shop had a commitment to rescuing people in desperate places and bettering the community. I'd spend afternoons there studying its operations, and then in the middle of the night wake up with sudden inspirations of my future cafe. I'd scribble ideas in my notebook in the dark.

I returned to America with vision for business and immediately changed my major to Accounting⁠. They said it’s the "language of business," and I wanted to speak it.

Local Coffee Cart NJ — Union in Dallas, TX. One of the cafes I most looked forward to visiting. It shared my mission to operate as a social enterprise.

2014

19-year old me travels a 1-month journey across different states in America to study coffee shops.

Famous ones and mom-and-pop ones. I'd ask owners & employees to let me interview them. I took notes and voice recordings.

Events Coffee Cart NJ — *Yack Shack* in its former glory. Karl and I still kick it. He continues today as 2nd Rule’s accountant!

2015

My accounting classmate Karl and I pilot a coffee shop on our college campus.

Atop a beautiful hill of Nyack College was this little building full of potential. We did our homework to make it work. When it was finally approved, we renamed it Yack Shack. The house was full with coffee, conversations, games, and laughter.

Local Coffee NJ — A successfully planned volunteer day at Elijah's Promise soup kitchen with the accounting firm.

2018

I’m working full time as an accountant.

Working at one of the world's leading public accounting firms was the perfect school to acquire technical knowledge and develop my analytical skills. I also had opportunities to practice my desire to help the community no matter what career setting I was in.

After a year, I realized that I was using my corporate career for comfort. In reality, there was a part of me that was painfully afraid to take the next step further into the coffee world. So I quit my job at the firm, interviewed at several coffee shops, and finally joined Penstock Coffee Roasters as a barista.

2018-2020

Working at Penstock Coffee Roasters in Highland Park, New Jersey.

Sometimes you just have to take the leap.

For two years, I learned under the mentorship of coffee professionals who are the best in class. They taught coffee with precision from a molecular level and demonstrated how to love people using business as a vessel.

From attending weekly coffee cuppings to learning how to tweak fancy machines to hosting community events, my roles at Penstock kept me on my toes and I loved every minute of it.