Lines in front of food trucks – I see that pretty often, but lines in front of a regular car? What is going on?
I was taking a walk when I passed by some food trucks with a normal car in between. There was a long line waiting by the car so I walked by and took a peek. I was so shocked I had to take a few steps back to look again. Someone is selling coffee from the back of his car! There is a sign on the sidewalk that said, “Coffee Organic.” Is that the name of this business?
The trunk had a whole coffee setup. There were coolers on the floor too. A very small menu was hung up, but the prices were way too small for me to see. I walked up and asked the guy if he serves coffee here everyday. He’s only here from 8am-1pm on Thursdays. Since I didn’t know the name of this place (I probably should have asked), I couldn’t find any information on it. I knew I had to go back.
The next Thursday, I walked by again. Indeed, the car was there. This time, he also had a little cart to hold his add-ons and utensils. The business is called Dolce Vita, which is located in Oxnard, but on Thursdays, the owner sells coffee from the back of his car. The menu that was hung up had both coffee and tea. It didn’t list cappuccino on there, so I asked him if he’s able to make a cappuccino.
“What kind of sweetener do you want?” he asked, as he started listing the different sweeteners he has. I was a bit confused because my cappuccinos are usually just espresso, steamed milk, and foamed milk, with no sweetener. I asked if he could make it with no sweetener.
He made my cappuccino, handed it to me, then charged me. It was $6.50. That’s around $1 to $1.50 more than the cappuccinos I usually get, but this cappuccino also came in a bigger cup. The cup had a cute design on it, with the stamp of a cartoon version of the owner, designed by one of his customers!
The taste of the cappuccino was not bad. I wish there was a stronger taste of espresso since it did taste a bit on the milky side. The experience of getting coffee from a trunk was definitely pretty cool, but I would only come again for the interesting experience. I would try the matcha latte instead next time too, or the Latte de Olla, which is served at the store in Oxnard. I also wondered how much dust from the street is getting blown into the drink if it’s being made on the side of the road.
If you visit this place, make sure you have the time to wait since it’s only the owner making the drinks one by one! Then, you can check off getting coffee from a trunk on your bucket list.