Cala Coffee Company is a new local coffee cart business that started in Birmingham run by Josh and Melanie Cosio. They launched the business in February. Josh and Melanie are both from California and moved to Alabama 5 years ago, which is how they came up with “Cala” Coffee (California + Alabama). They roast, package, and ship their coffee beans and also serve hot and iced handcrafted coffee drinks from their coffee cart. We did a Q&A with the owners so you (and we!) could find out all about it.
How did Cala Coffee get started?
We ask ourselves the same question (haha)! Cala Coffee started off as us buying a small roaster to roast coffee for ourselves and as gifts for friends + fam. Once people caught wind of this, we started getting orders and we outgrew our first roaster before we even unboxed it! That’s when we knew we had something and we decided to run with it.
We’ve always dreamed of owning a small business, we just didn’t know what it would be until earlier this year. Coffee has always meant a lot to our relationship - first, it fueled our drives to visit each other while we attended different colleges, next it became our favorite way to connect with a new city we visited, and now it is a way for us to chase our dream together.
What was the biggest challenge?
There aren’t enough hours in the day!
We both work full-time jobs (Josh is an event manager with Framework Events, Mel is a physical therapist at Birmingham Physical Therapy) in addition to Cala. Thankfully we are passionate about all of the hats we wear, so we stay motivated (+caffeinated ).
What is your personal favorite coffee blend? What's the most popular blend?
We both have been LOVING beans from Ethiopia. We prefer a light roast with fruity notes, so our favorite offering right now is Just Peachy. Our most popular is Happenstance, which is our medium roast.
What do you wish customers knew about your business or about your coffee?
You can rent our cart (+us)! We love doing private events such as weddings, employee/teacher appreciations, and parties/showers. Pricing is determined on a case by case basis and we work with our customers to curate a menu that’s perfect for their event. Shoot us an email to calacoffeebhm@gmail.com for more info!
Additionally, we can do custom bags for gifts/wedding favors! We can create a label that fits our customer’s vision + package our beans of their choosing in 4, 8 or 12oz bags.
What's your favorite part about running your business?
We love the challenge and working together, especially at events! Josh’s full-time job has him traveling quite a bit throughout the year, so we really enjoy getting to park our cart somewhere for a few hours to connect with each other + our customers!
What’s the mission and heart of your business?
Our mission is to help others feel present, connected + energized!
This comes in several forms, such as enjoying a cup of Cala with loved ones at home, grabbing a handcrafted drink from the cart and shopping at Birdsong Farmers Market, or teaming up with local vendors + organizations we support to broaden their reach.
What does the future look like for Cala coffee? What are you looking forward to?
Only time will tell! Right now we are working on getting our bags + cold brew concentrate into a few local shops. We are looking forward to getting more events on the calendar because we love getting to see people’s first sip!
Do you ship your coffee?
We offer free local delivery and we ship nationwide for a flat-rate of $5!