MERIDEN — When chaos comes around, this coffee truck will be there to calm the moment.
Chaos Coffee, owned by Dany Guzman, began offering its services to customers six weeks ago, and since then business has been steady rolling.
Guzman said the idea of beginning a truck had long been an idea, but it didn't come to life until her friends urged her to give it a try.
"So, it kind of just came about," she said. "Kinda threw on me, and then it's just like, should I do this? I'm so scared of now if this fails, this is all mine. What am I going to do?. It's just so that I can be a little bit everywhere, not so tied down to one location."
Coffee truck is a new venture that still brings connections
Though Guzman is no stranger to the coffee world, a truck is a new venture that she's learning more about as she moves forward.
Guzman was a manager for Pharm House Coffee in Meriden, which is now Mighty Beast Coffee. Guzman worked as the Mighty Beast's head barista.
"I'm just getting in the flow of trying to remember everything from the ice down to the diesel, from the generator straws, all that stuff," she said. "So, it just really came about because there's just a need for it."
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"I have a following that I really didn't know. I consider a lot of those people my friends, so they come in and have coffee and sit and chat and stuff," Guzman said. "And then now it's just like, well, I'm going to be in different locations and I'm finding that they're still following me. Whether they live in Meriden and I'm in Valley this week, they'll come out to Valley even if it's not on their way."
"I feel like I make great coffee, but I think that it has a lot to do with your connections with people and the friendships that you make along the way."\
What's on the Chaos Coffee Truck menu?
The Chaos Coffee truck offers such themed drinks as Hot Mess Express, 5 Minutes Late or Give Me a Sec, a caramel and white mocha latte. Guzman said her largest seller is the Give Me a Sec, but she enjoys Space Cadet, a lavender vanilla cinnamon latte.
"It was like 11 p.m., and I was laying on my floor trying to think of just something I could put out for the day," she said, "and those kind of came to me and I did not expect to keep them.
"I thought I'd just have regular type of names for my drinks, and then it kind of stuck, and now everyone knows them as that. So, it's been kind of fun."
Guzman said although she is experienced in making a variety of cafe favorites, she is keeping her menu is small and limited until she's comfortable with going larger.
All Chaos Coffee drinks are priced up to $6, with the largest size offered being 20 ounces, Guzman said. Drinks are made from Mighty Beast coffee roasters beans, 401 South Palmberg St. in Meriden.
Where can you find the Chaos Coffee Truck?
Chaos Coffee Truck can be found at various locations in Meriden, Topeka, Valley Falls and more.
The best way to keep up with its next stop is to follow the Chaos Coffee Facebook page. Guzman said she posts every Sunday where she'll be for the coming week.
She said she hopes to do more events and bookings in the upcoming months for local communities as she's willing to go to new locations.
"For wintertime, I'm hoping to have more bookings where I can do events and stuff," Guzman said. "Maybe not every single day, be out on the road hustling, but do more events.
"I'm really grateful for all the support I've had. Honestly, there's been mornings my first couple of weeks where I literally would just cry, happy tears. I can't believe this is my life now."
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Keishera Lately is the business reporter for the Topeka Capital-Journal. She can be reached at klately@cjonline.com. Follow her on Twitter @Lately_KT.
This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Chaos Coffee is bringing frappes, lattes and more to Topeka area
