SAN FRANCISCO, CA, USA – Hangover Coffee, a new specialty coffee brand launched in September, is introducing a punny way of brewing premium coffee. They sell single-serve pour over coffee pouches designed to hang over any cup rim, allowing coffee to be brewed directly into the mug. Ultraportable and requiring no specialized coffee equipment, these “Pour Over Pouches” are perfect for working from home, dorm living, and travel.
Co-founders Natalie Ma and Melody Jung were inspired to start Hangover Coffee when they saw Pour Over Pouches through their travels in Asia. Originally invented in Japan, coffee pouches have long been popular in Asia but are still largely unknown in America.
“We flew back from separate trips, but each with a suitcase full of coffee pouches,” recalls Ma. With the shift to remote work, the pair saw even more reason to love the coffee pouches. “When we saw our friends start spending $4 a day at cafes or resorting to instant coffee,” says Jung, “we knew we wanted to share this great solution from overseas.”
As coffee aficionados, Ma and Jung made a commitment to only sourcing specialty coffee for their brand. Their offerings are also all single-origin coffee, small batch roasted to capture the nuances of each lot. According to Jung, their tasting panel tried close to 50 beans in search of the perfect coffee. Hangover Coffee has even eliminated concerns of staleness, packaging the Pour Over Pouches with nitrogen flush technology to preserve freshness for up to a year.
Driven by their medium roast selling out in under two months, Ma and Jung are working on expanding their collection with a dark roast to be released early 2022 and a decaf following after. “We’ve heard from customers who want to cut down on caffeine or drink our coffee later in the day,” noted Jung. Currently, Hangover Coffee offers two roasts with thematic names: “Happy Hour,” a light roast Ethiopia Guji with “floral aromas and flavors of blueberry and molasses” and “Breakfast Buzz,” a medium roast Nicaragua that’s “smooth and balanced, with notes of hazelnut and honey.”
This upcoming year, Hangover Coffee has big plans, looking to reach beyond their e-commerce store. “We’d love to work with hotels, offices, gift boxes, and retail stores to get our coffee out into physical spaces,” stated Ma. They’re also looking to partner with bakeries or dessert shops. “Everyone who has tried it loves the convenience and taste of our coffee, so we’re excited to get it to as many people a we can!”
Hangover Coffee is a proud AAPI women-owned specialty coffee brand selling single-serve pour over coffee pouches.
