Operating a small business from home has its fair share of benefits and challenges. On one end, owners won’t have to worry about rent, while conversely, opening away from city centers distances them from much-needed foot traffic.
Wicked Coffee is redefining what it means to operate a small business from home. And they’re not just preparing bottles inside their kitchen and sending them out; instead, they’ve transformed their garage into a fully-functioning cafe, turning a once-barkada hangout into a bona fide neighborhood spot.
The origins of Wicked Coffee can be traced back to the hobby explosion of the pandemic. Whether it be the birth of new plantitos and plantitas or your friend who suddenly became an artistic savant, the excess of time allowed most to find or rediscover a hobby. For the Wicked Coffee owners, it was a desire to make their own cup.
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According to co-owner Allyssa Jeane Valdez, at the time, she, together with her partner AJ, began looking into coffee making as an innocent hobby. As newly minted connoisseurs, the pair wanted to expand their palate and explore how different cafes and shops made their coffee. But, unfortunately, there weren’t many around.
“We wanted to try different coffee shops around the area, but there weren’t any at the time. So we thought that maybe we could do something for the community. After all, we also liked having our friends over, and we enjoyed making our own coffee.”
And so, from a literal garage with a parked Pajero, they slowly added tables and chairs to accommodate their friends, before finally converting the small space into a fully-fledged neighborhood cafe—air conditioning, machines, ceramics, and more.
“We get a lot of regulars who just hang out here. The vibe of this place is like that house of your childhood friend that you used to go to all the time. So people come here and feel free to just hang out and have coffee,” adds Valdez. But outside regular operations, they also hold events such as book club readings, workshops, and cupping sessions—the latter, a manifestation of their goal to share their knowledge about coffee with their guests.
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“AJ really is the one doing all of the research,” says Valdez. “Siya ’yung pinaka nerd about coffee. Our roaster also taught us about the different coffee beans, including the process of harvesting, sourcing, and how these affect the farmers. That sent us down the rabbit hole.”
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“We try our best to source beans from different countries so that we can share them with the community.” And from blends originating from Costa Rica and Indonesia to beans taken from Ethiopia and Colombia, Wicked Coffee regularly sources from different countries and, in turn, teaches their guests about the nuances of coffee making, and how these otherwise-overlooked details can affect their regular order.
Wicked Coffee is located at 69A Bignay, Project 2, Quezon City. For more information, you can follow them on Facebook and on Instagram.
