Moonwake Coffee Roasters Ditches the Cybertruck Pop-Ups and Goes Permanent With a New San Jose Cafe | Eater SF

"I visited Moonwake Coffee Roasters in West San Jose after it opened on Friday, September 27th and was struck by owners Ming Wood and Mabel Yeung’s hands-on approach: they started selling roasted beans at pop-ups and farmers markets (notably serving drinks out of the trunk of a Tesla Cybertruck), built much of the cafe themselves, and even planted coffee trees in the heart of the shop. The menu highlights finely tuned drinks — grassy, silky matcha lattes; zippy elderflower tonics with sweet, tropical flavors; classics like cortados and Americanos; and specialty offerings such as espresso sarsaparilla floats and fall squash spiced lattes — paired with pastries like pistachio berry twice-baked croissants and mushroom tarts. Wood is a certified Q‑Grader who began roasting in his garage and now selects beans purchased directly from producers; the shop’s beans are categorized as fruit-forward, cocoa-forward, and the experimental Nova series (lightly roasted to preserve unique flavors), with rotating lots that can taste like lager, candy bars, or blueberries thanks to varied fermentation methods. They train staff to taste and communicate flavors clearly, embrace a community-building ethos despite some backlash to their Cybertruck pop-ups, and lean into playful branding with a possum mascot and upcoming merch. Moonwake is open daily from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m." - Octavio Peña