Meet….Kitty Beanz Coffee!
Hello! I’m Alicia, the proud owner and operator of Kitty Beanz Coffee (KBC)!
I’ve been traveling around the state of Colorado slinging coffee for a year now and looking forward to many years to come!
Coffee is so competitive it seems. How do you try and stand out amongst other businesses?
It’s really important to think outside the box & to stay true to what you believe in, not just follow the latest trends.
When the idea of Kitty Beanz Coffee started, the first thing I did was make a list of what I felt most coffee shops were missing: sugar transparency, healthier options, environmentally friendly materials, and a true connection within their community.
I had gotten to the point where I wouldn’t order fun-flavored coffees because 90% of the time, they were overly sweet and I’d have to just throw them away. I want to make sure people feel comfortable trying new flavors knowing they can control the sweetness level, so I made a sweetness scale.
With coffee being a daily ritual for most people, I also wanted to provide cleaner ingredients and healthier options. I get organic, sustainably grown beans from Ozo, I make my syrups from scratch with real ingredients (no dyes or artificial flavors), and customers can “boost their zoomies” with protein, Mycolove mushroom tinctures, etc.
As for environmentally friendly choices, that was initially a challenge with being mobile. All the “compostable” cup options were only commercially compostable, which is pretty useless when most people walking away with their drink don’t have access to a commercial compost bin. I was SO excited when I came across the paper “Nothing” brand cups. This was about the time the trend of the cute little bubble cups was going on, though. People love seeing their pretty drinks and posting them to social media. I took the risk, switching to the fully compostable paper cups for both my hot and iced drinks…and people love them! It makes me hopeful that changes that have more positive impacts on our planet will become “trendier” than having a pretty drink in a plastic bucket.
I’m rather new to Colorado and community is super important to me. I knew I wanted to source everything as local as possible, supporting other small local business any opportunity I can, and I wanted to donate a portion of my profits on a regular basis to a local organization. I researched animal shelters and was blown away by Humane Colorado (formerly Dumb Friends League). They brought me out for a tour and walked me through their full process. I donate a majority of my tips to them on a monthly basis now (occasionally I donate a portion to other non-profits too).
What inspired you to start this and go the mobile trailer route?
Well pull up a chair, let me tell you my little story… 😊
The rollercoaster from college to now, while all over the place, has really come together and oddly enough, helped prepare me to be a business owner.
I initially was pursing a degree in nutrition & dietetics (while working as a barista at Starbucks–came full circle!) but I ended up switching to a biology degree when I fell in love with wildlife conservation work. I worked for the Missouri Department of Conservation, which was full of amazing experiences, but ultimately, the physical demand and EXTREMELY low pay made me take a corporate job in the insurance industry. It was nice pay and a fairly easy-going job, but it was definitely not something I wanted to do long term. I wanted to eventually start my own business and be able to feel passionate again about what I was doing.
Fast forward to June 2024, my husband and I met a coffee truck owner at a market and he mentioned he was selling his truck. A mobile coffee business just made sense, it was the sign I needed! I love coffee & recognized unique elements missing in the coffee industry. I also love to travel and meet new people, so going the mobile route was a great way to do that. The idea of being stuck in one location kind of scares me.
Maybe one day I’ll have a brick & mortar location but for now, I’m loving the mobile life!
What’s your favorite item on your menu, and/or your favorite part of the brewing process?
My husband and I both LOVE the Purr-fect vanilla latte. I use an amazing low-lactose, grass-fed whey vanilla protein. It’s super clean with only four ingredients and no sugar substitutes, which is surprisingly very hard to find.
It’s wild how much excess sugar there seems to be in America, but when it comes to protein powders, people are apparently terrified of sugar so they all have weird-tasting sugar substitutes.
This latte packs a whopping 22g of protein (more if you use dairy milk) and it truly tastes delicious.
It’s a great way to hit your protein goals, especially if you tend to not eat anything first thing in the morning with your cup of joe.
What’s something that people don’t always understand about a small business of this nature?
With any small business, a lot of people don’t realize how much work goes into it behind the scenes. If you’re not actively slinging coffee from the trailer, people tend to assume you’re off lounging at the pool. In reality though, I’m ordering inventory, deep cleaning, renewing permits, searching & applying for events, running social media, trying to figure out why the dang grinder isn’t working, etc.
Running a business is def not less work than a standard 9-5 job, but it’s so amazing knowing everything you do is for you, not for some CEO who doesn’t even know you exist.
Is there anything you’re focusing on in the new year? Recipes, business goals, etc?
Now that I have my first year under my belt, I have a ton of goals this year, but here are my main ones. 😊
I’m definitely focused on hitting more events this year. More sales means more donations! This year I was able to donate about $7k to local non-profits, so I’m hoping to double that this year!
I plan to expand my knowledge of different spices & herbs with health benefits and find ways I can incorporate these into unique tasty syrups. I’m also hoping to convert over to solar energy, if possible! Fingers crossed. 😊
Where can we follow you, support you, catch you, etc?
I’m kind of all over, especially once market season fires up, so please give my Instagram or facebook a follow! I post my weekly schedule on there so you’ll know where to find me. I do manage my own social media accounts so…while you can certainly tell a 35-yr-old who’s out of touch with technology is running it, it is very authentic & genuine content from yours truly.
I also like to think I’m kind of funny, so there’s that. I’ll be doubling the cat jokes for 2026.
