Sitting in a Cupertino farmer’s market in San Jose, California, a husband and wife team are running a booth serving up specialty coffee beverages. While pop-up coffee carts in farmer’s markets aren’t exactly new, the folks at Moonwake Coffee Roasters have put a new spin on what’s possible from a mobile coffee business, and their origins are surprising, to say the least.
In 2020, amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, Ming and Mabel of Moonwake embarked on a roasting journey driven by their deep love for coffee and a heartfelt intention to bring a glimmer of happiness to those amidst uncertain times. What initially began as a mere hobby has now evolved into an unwavering quest to explore the boundless wonders of coffee. By December of 2022, Ming and Mabel had decided that it was time to build a mobile coffee setup in order to get their coffees into the hands of their cherished community, and they did just that. Their inaugural pop-up event took place at a rock climbing gym in San Jose, and it saw a tremendous turnout. Around this time, they were also able to scale up their roasting production by partnering with a co-operative roasting facility called CoRo in Berkeley. By June, Ming would receive his Q-Grader certification (think wine sommelier for the coffee world) and Moonwake would start serving coffee at the Cupertino Farmer’s Market as a pour-over only stand, but things would quickly grow from there.
By the time Moonwake made it’s second appearance at the Cupertino Farmer’s Market, they brought a La Marzocco GS3 MP so that espresso-based drinks could be put on the menu. At this time, everything was being run on generators due to the lack of electrical outlets in the area (parking lots aren’t really known for an abundance of spots to draw power from), but Ming and Mabel would soon transition to battery power in order to be more environmentally-friendly and it would also allow them to operate their booth closer to the middle of the market, where the action really is. However, this did present Moonwake with a bit of a predicament as the GS3 is a only a single-group machine. Luckily, coffee educator and content creator, Brian Quan, allowed Ming and Mabel to borrow his Sanremo You espresso machine to keep up with demand. Things were churning right along for the folks at Moonwake.
In the second half of 2023, Ming and Mabel began to bring in more coffee offerings, cultivating relationships all over the world. They were really pushing the boundaries of what was possible in a mobile coffee environment by serving experimental coffees that had undergone unique processing methods. Moonwake also settled on their very own packaging design, giving them a greater sense of professionalism in the world of specialty coffee. As 2023 came to a close, Moonwake remained a consistent presence at the Cupertino Farmer’s Market while closing their first ever wholesale deal with a local tech company’s coffee bar. Ming was also invited to help judge to second round of the 2023 Good Food Award for coffee roasting.
December of 2023 marked one year for Moonwake Coffee Roasters, and they saw a tremendous amount of growth in the roasting side of their business. Starting the year roasting only 2 kilograms of coffee and ending it by regularly roasting 35 kilograms. However, Ming and Mabel were nowhere near finished looking for new ways to improve and streamline their business. In late January of 2024, Moonwake, Brian Quan, and Voltage began a partnership to provide a rotation of demo equipment, starting with the 2 Group Sanremo Cafe Racer espresso machine for review and testing to better keep up with their demand for espresso-based drinks. This opportunity was spurred by Moonwake's largest investment to date, which came in the form of the Tesla Cyber Truck. With the ability to provide up to 11.5 kilowatts of electricity and integrated 120 and 240 volt bed and cabin outlets, Moonwake would no longer have to worry about how to power their equipment. The Cyber Truck also has a 2,500 pound payload and is capable of towing up to 11,000 pounds, making transportation of Moonwake’s entire coffee business one less thing to worry about.
Cybertruck being used as a coffee shop
— Tesla Owners Silicon Valley (@teslaownersSV) February 5, 2024
pic.twitter.com/7XUkcY4s5v
We’re very much looking forward to seeing how Moonwake continues to grow in 2024, and we’re incredibly honored to partner with them. In the coming year, we will be working to provide Ming and Mabel with different commercial espresso machines and other equipment to test in their booth. They are consistently posting their progress on social media platforms such as Instagram, so give them a follow at @moonwakecoffeeroasters. Brian Quan will also be posting content on his YouTube channel, showcasing Ming and Mabel's progress. You can also visit Moonwake's website to learn more about their business and even grab a bag of their expertly-roasted coffee. Lastly, if you’re ever in the Cupertino area, go pay them a visit! We know they would love to see you.
Moonwake Coffee Roasters Website: https://www.moonwakecoffeeroasters.com
Moonwake Coffee Roasters Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/moonwakecoffeeroasters
Brian Quan YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@BrianQuan
Brian Quan Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brian.quan_