Robusta, from home.
We pour only fine Robusta, and we stand firmly behind its quality. Grown, harvested, processed, graded, roasted and packaged in Vietnam, it’s the bold heart of every cup.
OUR STORY · AUFE /aw-fey/Built on gold.
Built on gold.
Held together
by iron.
A husband-and-wife dream, strengthened by family and community. Modern Vietnamese coffee with a story in every letter: something old, something new, from right here and from home.
The nameTwo elements,
Two elements,
one new beginning.
Au is gold and Fe is iron. Together they spell Aufe, said /aw-fey/.
Au means gold. The resilience and perseverance behind the founders’ dream.
Fe means iron. The patience, discipline and courage of the family team that helped bring it to life.
Aufe
/aw-fey/A new beginning. Something old, something new, from right here and from home.
NHAT & TRANHusband and wife.
Husband and wife.
Mom and dad.
Nine-to-fivers with a dream.
We are Nhat and Tran: parents of three, keepers of two dogs, and two people who still work full-time jobs while we pour for you on the weekends. We were born and raised in Vietnam and moved to the Pacific Northwest a while ago. We have been building our life here ever since, and learned so much along the way.
We have been through rejections, losses, layoffs and big transitions. Through all of it, we picked ourselves up and kept moving forward, creating a life we love. Aufe is what we built out of all of it.
It took the resilience and perseverance behind our dream, and the patience, discipline and courage of the family who helped bring it to life.
THE LONG WAY TO AUFEA dream we talked about
A dream we talked about
for years.
- Summer 2024
A third layoff.
Nhat was laid off for the third time. The search for the next job went on until unemployment ran out, and he took his first-ever job as a waiter. Tran held on to her full-time job so the bills were paid and the kids were taken care of.
- Something sparked
Two jobs, three kids, one idea.
We kept working hard, sometimes two jobs at a time, and the hurdles kept coming. Somewhere in the middle of it we decided to stop only talking about our dream and try to make it real.
- Years before
A paper about Robusta.
Tran wrote her undergraduate paper on Vietnamese coffee beans, especially Robusta, back before “Fine Robusta” was even an idea. It was only the start of a wave toward better-quality Vietnamese beans. Aufe had been a long time coming.
- Back home
From the tree to the cup.
We restarted our research and traveled back to Vietnam, up to the coffee farms, including one run by a good friend of Tran’s uncle. We learned every step: the tree, the harvest, the processing, the roast and the brew. Those conversations with farmers, and later with our roaster and supplier, pushed us to do something more.
- Learning from zero
Late nights, after the kids are asleep.
We had never run a business. There were late nights of research, many calls to the health department to learn each step, and round after round of drink trials in Nhat’s hands. We asked our cousins to join us, because we knew we couldn’t build Aufe alone, and asked the grandparents to help with childcare. Between full-time work and Aufe, a day off became rare, and we missed time with our kids. Aufe is our dream, our baby, come true.
- Our beans
A full cup from home.
Back from Vietnam, we tasted bean after bean from home before choosing ours. Aufe beans are grown, harvested, processed, graded, roasted and packaged entirely in Vietnam, with nothing else mixed in. Every cup is a full Vietnamese cup.
“With kids, and not so young anymore, we can still create something beautiful.”
FROM RIGHT HERE AND FROM HOMEOur childhood,
Our childhood,
in everything we make.
We love Vietnam, and our wedding was centered around it. Our wedding photos were taken in front of Nhat’s childhood snack stand, and at Mount Rainier, here in the home we’ve made for ourselves. We bring that same mix of memories into every cup.
WHO AUFE IS FORFor everyone
For everyone
in between.
Aufe is for everyone. Whoever you are, wherever you’re from and whatever you’re celebrating, there’s a place at our cart and a cup made with care for you.
“In between” is a feeling many of us know: between two homes, two cultures, two chapters, or the life you have and the dream you’re chasing. For us, it’s being born and raised in Vietnam, now at home here, and still carrying both.
Aufe is also for anyone with a dream they are scared to chase, while bills are real, kids need to be fed and bathed, and there is a roof to keep and a future to save for. It’s about persistence and perseverance: following what you believe in, even when the road gets rocky and takes as many turns as the winding alleys of Vietnam. Aufe isn’t about taking blind risks. It’s about moving forward and taking chances while still thinking ahead: protecting the foundation, the family and the people you’re responsible for, while you take each brave step toward your dream. It’s chasing a dream while living and breathing reality, so we can show our kids we lived fully, and encourage them to follow their dreams too.
PAST · PRESENT · FUTUREA table for
A table for
every generation.
We picture Aufe as a dining table with three or four generations around it: grandparents, parents, kids and grandkids, sharing hopes, dreams and accomplishments. A conversation with the past, while living in the present and dreaming about the future.
That is what we want you to feel at our cart: warmth, a personal welcome, and connection. Something more than a good cup.
Old taste, new twist.
The unhurried phin drip invites a pause. We keep the traditional taste and give it a modern twist, bridging generations one cup at a time.
A Village of Aufers.
Farmers, roasters, cousins, grandparents and every guest who stops by. A cup is never just one person’s work.
