Brewing A Cup Of Aggie Values

Story by Rachel Knight, VMBS Marketing & Communications

October 8, 2024

A Texas A&M veterinary student and his wife, a former psychology student, started a coffee cart business to share their Aggie values with espresso drinkers, one cup of joe at a time.

Jenner Brown, a Class of 2026 Doctor of Veterinary Medicine student, and Ashley Grewenig Brown, a Class of 2022 former student with a degree in psychology, didn’t know that a future business opportunity was brewing when they wed in June 2023. Just two months later, however, they started a coffee cart company and were making cups of joe served with a side of Aggie Core Values.

Today, Arbor Coffee Co. — the Browns’ mobile coffee business — is thriving and helping the couple reach their personal and financial goals as Jenner continues his veterinary education and Ashley begins her career with Breakaway Ministries.

Joining The Java Jive

Jenner’s love of coffee began as an undergraduate student at the University of Arkansas and quickly ballooned into a hobby.

“I started making coffee at home and loved it,” Jenner said. “I loved learning the art and craft behind it and even the science behind the extraction and roasting processes. I started going deeper and deeper down the coffee rabbit hole, and, eventually, I got an espresso machine and some nicer gear.”

What Jenner saw as a hobby, Ashley recognized as an opportunity to help the young couple achieve some of their goals that align with the Aggie Core Value of selfless service.

“In August 2023, Ashley said to me, ‘What if we started trying to do something with this coffee thing?’ And I said, ‘I don’t know if we have time for that,’” Jenner recalled.

Ashley pointed out that a coffee business would allow them to serve and share their faith and beliefs with people they wouldn’t otherwise meet.

“That was really the selling point for me, though Ashley’s puppy dog eyes were convincing as well,” Jenner said. “We realized that a coffee cart would offer flexibility that would allow us to fit the business into our schedules, and as we started, we realized it was actually a really fun thing to do.”

The Browns bought an espresso machine that Jenner refurbished. They also built a cart with a small sink for preparing and serving drinks. They worked together to develop their own syrup recipes, starting with classic flavors like vanilla and hazelnut and, eventually, developed more unique flavors like maple bourbon and arbor delight, which combines honey, cinnamon, and vanilla. They worked with a Bryan-College Station-based company, Polite Coffee Roasters, to source their coffee beans, and with the cart in working order and fully stocked, Arbor Coffee Co. opened for business in October 2023.

Pairing Cupping And Class Notes

While the Browns’ coffee business goals quickly became a reality, Jenner is still hard at work to achieve his lifelong dream of becoming a veterinarian.

“I’ve wanted to be part of this profession since I was a kid. I can remember dressing up as a veterinarian for my kindergarten career day,” Jenner said. “The veterinary profession is not just a health care profession, it’s a service profession that just happens to provide health care for animals.”

Jenner knew for a long time that veterinary school was part of achieving his career goals, but he said he never imagined the professional development opportunities that would come from starting a coffee business.

“The coffee cart has been a great way to learn some business skills, which will really help me with my goal of eventually owning a mixed animal practice in a more rural community,” Jenner said. “There are a lot of complexities in business — such as starting an LLC, filing specific tax forms, learning how to manage the books — and I’ve learned the basic principles of these complexities thanks to the coffee cart. Knowing how to do some of these things will be helpful as a practice owner.”

In addition to learning business skills and principles, Jenner said the profits from the coffee cart have been a blessing.

“A majority of our profits go back into the cart and the little expenses associated with running a business, but we’ve actually used a chunk of the profits to help pay for veterinary school as well,” Jenner said. “It’s been helpful to have a little bit of extra income from it to make up for the gaps that come with being a single-income household while I finish veterinary school. Neither the coffee cart nor vet school would be possible without Ashley. She’s incredible and handles all the coffee cart inquiries and bookings.”

Caffeinating Aggieland

Arbor Coffee Co. primarily serves Bryan-College Station residents and visitors at private events such as weddings and church gatherings.

“When we started the coffee cart, I don’t think we envisioned the pace with which we’d be moving when it is set up,” Jenner said. “If we have the coffee cart out, there’s almost always a line. A lot of people want coffee, which means that we’re always moving. Working at that pace is really good experience, because it’s similar to the pace in a veterinary clinic.”

Jenner said the coffee business and his veterinary school keep him buzzing, but he wouldn’t have it any other way.

“Texas A&M sets us up extremely well to go out into practice when we graduate,” Jenner said. “There hasn’t been a single professor or instructor who I felt like hasn’t cared for the students and been more than willing and excited to help us. I hope I can pay that forward as I get into the profession by serving in a semi-rural area where Ashley and I can serve as pillars of the community. The opportunity to play that role would mean a lot to us. For now, we’ll keep serving and loving people, one cup of coffee at a time.”

###

For more information about the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, please visit our website at vetmed.tamu.edu or join us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

Contact Information: Jennifer Gauntt, Director of VMBS Communications, Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, jgauntt@cvm.tamu.edu, 979-862-4216

Print