Sashaline, Shominic and Shasitie Nguyen knew they wanted to go into business together in Denver, but just what type to open was a lingering question.
The sisters are into fashion, so they considered retail, but given Colorado's , let's say more simple clothing preferences, (looking at you my fellow plaid, cargo and Birkenstock lovers), the trio had to think a little bit harder.
What could they give Denver that was both fresh and allowed them to introduce themselves to the city?
They looked to their culture and upbringing and realized the idea had been brewing since childhood: A Vietnamese coffee shop.
So in 2021, Tí: Cafe Ta was born, bringing Denver its first Vietnamese coffee shop, a community space and a cultural learning experience all wrapped up in bomb aesthetic.
The shop at 30 N. Broadway celebrated its second-year anniversary last month.
"We're three sisters. We are Vietnamese American and we just wanted to bring something different to Denver," Sashaline said. "We decided on something that we grew up with, which is Vietnamese coffee. It was just something we were around on the daily, whether it was our grandparents or our parents... Vietnamese coffee culture is growing in America and we want to help catalyze that growth and put representation on it."
Sashaline said she was born in California while her siblings hail from Texas.
The family moved to Denver in 2006, joining a small section of Denver's Asian community and an even smaller section of the Vietnamese community.
According to a APIAVote, a nonprofit dedicated to registering Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders to vote, Colorado is home to 303,735 members of the AAPI community with about 32,737 identifying as Vietnamese, many of whom live in the metro area.
In the '70s and '80s, many Vietnamese refugees settled in Denver, fleeing from the Vietnam War. Some started businesses along South Federal and later Little Saigon and the Far East Market were born. The migration is also why Denver is home to so many pho places.
Sashaline said when the sisters were considering a business they noticed that many pho places sold some form of Vietnamese coffee or iced tea, but no shop they knew of sold just that.
Vietnam is the second largest coffee-producing country after Brazil, according to Statista, so coffee is a big part of Vietnamese culture.
"The coffee culture itself is such a big scene in Vietnam and it's also something we wanted to bring to America and show everyone that Vietnamese coffee culture is something that can stand on its own," Shominic said. "It holds a lot of our values with family and community. You go to Vietnam and you order coffee and you sit on the streets and you just kind of hang out. You just kick back and you just enjoy this cup of coffee versus grabbing it on the go. It's that nostalgia and that warmness that we wanted to really emulate in our business."
Offering that nostalgia and warmth to Denver was the sisters' ultimate goal.
They took a leap of faith, opening the shop in 2021 and, despite opening during a turbulent financial time caused by pandemic closures and safety restrictions, Sashaline and Shominic said the response and support has been overwhelmingly positive.
Sashaline said she feels like the shop opened at the right place and the right time.
First, many people were looking for a third space, for community after spending the height of the pandemic in solitude. Though hate against Asians spiked during the pandemic, the community in Denver has pushed back and spoken up for its protection and rights.
In recent months, the Asian community has also received overdue recognition. Sashaline pointed to Lunar New Year becoming a state holiday. New Asian businesses like Sap Sua on East Colfax have also arrived on the scene.
Sashaline said the shop has felt that support from Denverites, non-Asian, Asian and Vietnamese, as they've continued to frequent Tí after visiting for the first time.
"Everyone was just ready to get out and try new things, so the fact that we were ready to open our doors during this time where people wanted to connect and see each other in person, it was awesome to see that they could do that within our coffee shop," Sashaline said.
Shominic added, "We chose Broadway because we felt like everyone there would be very open to trying new things and you see it with everyone that comes through our doors. We have our menu in Vietnamese for a reason. It's to encourage people to order our drinks in Vietnamese. And with every order we get, they order in Vietnamese and they'll always ask, did I pronounce this correctly or they'll ask us about our brewing process...We like to think of our coffee shop as a starting point for a conversation and we see it with every customer."
That kind of respect and warm reception, Sashaline said, is why the trio works so hard in curating the menu and putting on events to craft a special space.
If you haven't been to Tí prepare for a mix of convivial, animated and chill vibes. Upon walking in, visitors are greeted by a red lantern display centered by No-Face, a character created by Japanese animator and Studio Ghibli co-creator Hayao Miyazaki. Throughout the shop, you'll see Ghibli-related content, various art installations done by the sisters or friends. At least one of the sisters is usually behind the bar manning the register or making drinks.
The shop's design is an ode to the family's fashion interest and that extends to the drinks. Each cup comes with a retail-like tag that has the customer's name and the order.
So what exactly is Vietnamese coffee? The simple version of the answer is a mixture of coffee and condensed milk. But Sashaline said there's way more aspects to it.
For one, the sisters use robusta beans. These are different from the typical arabica beans used in most coffee shops. Sashaline said robusta beans bring a more "bold and nutty profile" to the drink and it has a higher caffeine content. The beans are sourced from Vietnam and roasted here.
"With the bitterness and boldness of the espresso, we pair it with condensed milk to give it a nice, rounded flavor," Sashaline said.
Condensed milk was customarily used in Vietnam because fresh milk wasn't readily available and condensed milk doesn't need to be refrigerated. Plus, the sweetness of the condensed milk paired nicely with the extra dark robusta beans.
The trio doesn't use espresso machines. The coffee is slow-dripped through phin filters and then hand-pressed.
The traditional Vietnamese coffee, or Cafe Sua, is the base of Tí's menu. "Sua" means milk in Vietnamese. For those looking for a dairy-free option, there's the Cafe "No Sua" that's made with coconut condensed milk.
There's also the Cafe Trung, a traditional Vietnamese egg coffee made with espresso, condensed milk and whipped egg yolk.
"It's very different and unique and we weren't worried but we were very intrigued on how it will sell and it's one of our top drinks," Sashaline said. "People are like 'Egg coffee, what is that?! I want it!' And they love it."
Besides coffee, Tí is serving up various sodas like lychee soda with lychee whipped cream and a white chocolate covered lychee; matcha drinks, with the strawberry matcha being the most popular and aesthetic; hojicha, which is a roasted green tea.
They recently released their Kem series of beverages, a Vietnamese twist on the einspänner coffee, which is a Viennese espresso drink with a thick layer of cream on top.
Sashaline said the menu is always growing, especially with customer recommendations, such as the hojicha and cherry rose milk tea, and the events the cafe throws.
Every few months, the café hosts Anime Week, when it offers new beverages ones inspired by various anime shows.
There was a Witch Delivery drink, a taro coconut tapioca pudding drink with grass jelly and red bean based off of "Kiki's Delivery Service." There was also a Chainsaw Heart, cherry plum soda with a blackberry sorbet topping based off of "Chainsaw Man."
The café announces its themed weeks via Instagram, which Shominic curates, down to the photoshoots with the drinks and the graphic designs.
In June, Tí celebrated their second anniversary the only way they know how, in style. The lead up featured a dope social media campaign, along with a flight of their popular drinks and animal-shaped macarons.
On day one of the celebration, Kani Dang and Sev Armstrong were at the shop indulging on the special for the day, a drink flight featuring the shops greatest hits. Dang was hesitant to pick a favorite but said the Cafe Trung is a must have. They added that the shop reminds them of their upbringing but also adds a modern twist to the Vietnamese classics. Overall, it's a spot that's showcasing Vietnamese culture in the center of the city.
"I moved to Denver two years ago and I was a little bit worried that Denver wouldn't be diverse enough for me, like the food scene for me, but one or two weeks later [Tí] opened and I was like, oh a Vietnamese-owned coffee shop on Broadway, yes I feel at home," Dang said. "It's accessible and inviting for everyone... Now you don't have to go to Little Saigon for this. It makes a statement."
The statement being that if you pause and look, there's various cultural pockets all around Denver.
Sharing cultural food and beverages is just one of the many ways to immerse others into new spaces. A seat at the table has always been a means of gathering and connecting and that's what the sisters want to continue.
Sashaline said in the next 20 years, the sisters would love to see the brand expand to new stores and states but really the goal is to be better and give more. More events, more menu items, more culture, more community.
"We just want to shout out to our community because of them and because of all of our bakers, contributors, our coffee roasters, we have reached our second year. We're so grateful and appreciative that we are still standing strong. It makes us more hopeful that we can grow as a business," Sashaline said.
"Bigger, better, stronger!" Shominic and Sashaline laughed in unison.
Editor's note: An earlier version of the story incorrectly stated that customer Sev Armstrong had never visited Tí: Cafe Ta. It has been updated to reflect that Armstrong is a regular.
