SAN ANGELO, Texas — Ever want to mix up your typical coffee order? Instead of a classic cup of joe, why not try a Banana Cream Cold Brew Latte?
One San Angelo food truck offers a wide variety of options for its customers ranging from cold brews to hot lattes and even americanos.
"We started out of just regular coffee carts with a little pop-up tent and different food vendor events, little markets and stuff," The Valley Coffee Co. owner Vincent De La Cruz said. "And then eventually we saved up enough to buy the trailer and we've been operating out of the trailer since then."
De La Cruz started selling coffee to the San Angelo community back in 2020 with his wife and sister-in-law.
For them, the idea came about from casual conversations.
"It was kind of something that just, I guess we just got together with our friends, we always like having coffee nights, what we call them, get together at a friend's house and just have coffee and talk and just create an environment that's relaxing," De La Cruz said. "And we wanted to bring that to the public so that's where we're like, ah, we should start a coffee truck."
At first, it was difficult for the business to find its customer base and preferences.
After awhile, they discovered a unique niche of specialty cold brews, with menu items like the S'mores Cold Brew Latte, Peppermint white chocolate and the Almond Joy Cold Brew Latte to name a few.
The group often spends time together thinking up new menu items and De La Cruz is the one who turns the vision into reality.
"We don't use any flavor additives like simple syrups that people use with different flavors. Each of our coffees is brewed with different flavors so that's where the flavors come from," he said.
Their recipes are relatively simple: coffee, homemade syrup with organic cane sugar, milk and ice.
However, the taste is something different than what might be served at a typical café.
Looking ahead, De La Cruz said his wife hopes to expand the business even further with a brick and mortar location.
"Her ultimate dream is just to have a café, just a regular old coffee shop but for right now we're just kind of riding out the food truck life right now and see what it goes to," he said.
Most often, they can be found from 7:30-11 a.m. Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays at 502 N. Van Buren St.
The owners are following their dreams one cup of caffeine at a time.
