Copper Cow Coffee on 'Shark Tank': What is the cost, who is the founder and how to brew Vietnamese coffee at home?
A good cup of coffee can perk up even the most grumpy person. But thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, all of us are stuck at home with no access to our favorite cafe to grab our morning cuppa. Although brewing your own coffee isn't exactly rocket science, many of us still fumble when it comes to recreating the coffee made by a barista.
If you ever found yourself wishing for your cafe-style coffee's preparation to be as simple as just pouring some hot water into a mug and having your favorite beverage ready, then you are in for luck. Copper Cow Coffee helps you prepare barista-quality coffee at home with their simple Vietnamese style "pour-over coffee". As Copper Cow Coffee's founder Debbie Wei Mullin gets ready to pitch for her unique Vietnamese pour-over coffee to the Sharks on 'Shark Tank', here is all you need to know about its unique product that makes brewing an amazing cup of coffee a cakewalk.
RELATED ARTICLES
‘Shark Tank’: The Sharks expose a gimmicky weight loss bar and advise the audience not to buy it
What is Copper Cow Coffee?
You might have heard of Ethiopian, Guatemalan, Brazilian coffee, but have you heard of Vietnamese coffee? If no, then allow us to introduce you to this sweet and addictive beverage that will leave you wanting more. Vietnamese coffee is made of Robusta beans which have higher caffeine composition compared to Arabica beans that make up most of the coffee grounds found in the market. Vietnamese coffee has bitter and nutty notes to it, so to offset the bitter taste it is served with condensed milk.
So Copper Cow Coffee sells handy Vietnamese "pour-over" coffee kits that help you brew your favorite coffee anywhere and anytime without any special equipment or ingredients aside from a cup of hot water. These pour-over kits comprise of sustainably sourced coffee from Vietnam and sweetened condensed milk creamer from California cows. Since it is a pour-over coffee, each packet of coffee has a biodegradable filter basket with built-in hooks that can be attached to any cup. After attaching the filter to your cup, you simply need to pour the hot water through the filter, and then remove the filter and add the condensed milk to your brew, and your barista-quality coffee is ready. These portable pour-over coffee sachets come in very handy while traveling.
The brand's website describes their coffee as, "If you've got 90 seconds, that's all it takes for a bold and smooth pour-over. Top if off with one of our addictive creamers, and congrats: you've shown yourself some major love."
You can watch a demo of how to brew your cup of Vietnamese coffee using Copper Cow Coffee here
Who is the founder?
Copper Cow Coffee is the brainchild of Vietnamese American Debbie Wei Mullin. She clubbed her love for Vietnamese coffee and culture with her passion for sustainability to come up with Copper Cow Coffee. This woman-owned coffee brand aims to bring an authentic, yet modernized, pour-over barista-quality coffee experience to homes across the nation.
Prior to setting up Copper Cow Coffee in 2017, Debbie had another business venture named Wei Pantry, which sold Vietnamese cooking ingredients and pantry essentials. In an interview with Rho MarketFit, the entrepreneur revealed, "My mom is from Vietnam, so even though I grew up in California, we only ate Vietnamese food growing up. ." It wasn’t until I was older I realized that basically no one was familiar with the kind of food that I grew up eating. I always thought that was such a shame, that people were not aware of the awesomeness of Vietnamese cuisine. Even though those products are really near and dear to my heart because cooking was such a big part of my upbringing and my culture, I realized it wasn’t a big enough business idea. Not that many Americans cook. If you’re looking to have a scalable business you really have to ask yourself: ‘What is a big business idea? What is the addressable market?’” This is when she stumbled upon the highly lucrative coffee industry.
After some research and a trip to Vietnam, Debbie launched Copper Cow Coffee. She focussed on supplying her products to hospitality, office and wholesale. But when the pandemic began, her sales channels were severely impacted. The entrepreneur then turned to grocery and e-commerce stores to sell the product. This move turned out to be a smart decision as e-commerce revenue tripled, grocery doubled and 2020 earnings were 4 times the previous year, coming in at around $7 million, according to Shark Tank Blog.
What is the cost and where to buy Copper Cow Coffee from?
A five-pack of coffee costs $15. It comes with 5 filter packs and 5 creamers. Currently Copper Cow Coffee is available in the following variants: rose latte, vanilla latte, salted caramel latte, churro latte, ginger latte, coconut, just black, and classic.
There’s also a monthly subscription service that lets you save up to 30% off the retail price. You can also buy bundle packs of your favorite flavor or assorted flavors of coffee at prices ranging from $49 to $115. The brand is currently offering a 10% discount on all bundles. You can purchase your very own Copper Cow Coffee from the brand's website here or Amazon.
The brand's website and social media is filled with rave reviews about the pour-over coffee. An Amazon customer's review reads, "This was the best Vietnamese portable pour ov.... NAY coffee I’ve ever had! Bold yet mellow, complex yet approachable, Copper Cow Vietnamese portable pour over coffee filters offered a delightful reprieve in my otherwise dismal office beverage routine. Even the packaging is a classy and tasteful work of art. Would I give this as a gift to a cherished loved one? Absolutely! Oh and don’t even get me started on the California sweetened condensed milk packets… oy, mamma mia! Gimme that sweet creamy goodness!! (*shimmy* *chef’s kiss* *high kick*) Do yourself a favor and don’t sleep on this. Will order again, except that’s right, THIS time I’m going for the 30-pack. And who knows, I MIGHT even go down to the coffee cart on the first floor and show those monsters what GOOD coffee looks like."
Where is the Copper Cow Coffee now?
Copper Cow Coffee's recent subscription model called Coffee Club seems to be a hit amongst the customers. To subscribe for a monthly delivery of your favorite Vietnamese pour-over coffee to your doorstep you just need to pick your favorite variant of coffee, and a box of 20 coffees alongside two free samples will be sent to you. The prices of these subscription boxes range from $35 to $49 based on the coffee variant you pick.
Who will steal the deal?
Either Daymond John or Kevin O'Leary might close the deal with Copper Cow Coffee. The brand's sales numbers and profit margins will ultimately be the major deciding factor for the sharks on whether to invest in the business or not. So, we will just have to wait and watch to see if the Sharks even make a deal.
Catch the finale episode of 'Shark Tank' Season 12 (episode 25), featuring products like Dino Don, Lit Handlers, Super Potty Trainer, and Copper Cow Coffee on May 21, 2021, from 8 pm ET to 9 pm ET on ABC.
Missed an episode? Been wanting to catch up? Episodes can also be viewed the next day on demand and on Hulu. Not just that, you can also watch old seasons and episodes on Amazon Prime Video and iTunes.