The comforting taste of coffee has always brought Natalia Chappotin’s family together.
Since she was six years old, she’s been drinking coffee — making cozy drinks from the Moka pot her father brought from Cuba.
A cup of coffee and a pastry is how the night ends after a family get-together, sipping on the rich drink while they reminisce on the fun they had.
They even have coffee and plant days, where they grab coffee and do some plant shopping.
With how big a role coffee plays in her family and culture, it was only a matter of time before Chappotin shared her love for the bold, smooth drink with the community.
Parked outside EcoGro sits Chappopin Café, a bright blue trailer where Chappotin serves up delicious concoctions inspired by her Latin culture.
“There's not a lot of Latin culture coffees here,” Chappotin said. “I know when I go to Phoenix and California, they're everywhere, but I don't I feel like I can't get any here.”
For years, Chappotin managed companies for a living, but once she paid off her car, she knew she wanted to look into buying a trailer in hopes of making her café dream come true.
She was able to buy a former taco trailer, feeling like buying a used truck would be a good luck charm. After lots of hard work and renovations, Chappotin was able to transform the trailer that was once used to cook up carne asada into her own mobile café.
“I thought, oh, I'm going to put my coffee machine in there and I'm going to be ready to open… no way,” Chappotin said. “Since I took the kitchen out, I had to be like an architect and draw every single thing in that truck. I felt like a contractor.”
With the turquoise trailer ready to hit the road, all Chappotin needed was a name. Inspiration came from a mistake the United States government made in 2014.
“The government messed up my last name,” Chappotin said. “For the longest time, I had to spell my name like Chappopin. I just got into the habit of spelling it like that and I said, well, this is really catchy. I'm going to run with it. So every time I would celebrate, I'd be like, oh, it's Chappopin time.”
Above: In December, Natalia Chappotin opened her mobile cafe, where she infuses Latin flavors in her coffee drinks. Inset: New Chappopin Cafe creates specialty drinks every month, in addition to the regular menu.
On Dec. 23 last year, Chappopin Café hit the town and had their first event. To help fellow small business Anita’s Street Market raise money to keep their doors open, they parked their trailer in Barrio Anita and passed out free hot chocolate to kids.
Months after their first event, Chappopin Café was able to find their new home, which is another nod to Chappotin’s family. On Saturdays and Sundays, the café can be found at EcoGro, located at 657 W. St. Marys Road, so customers can grab an iced latte and shop for some plants, just like her family loves to do.
“The owner just inspires me, he's had that location for 10 years,” Chappotin said. “I found this place I follow on Instagram and I showed him. I'm like, look, it's coffee and plants, let's build off each other. Plus, when people buy plants, they're not in a bad mood. They’re happy.”
With an espresso machine and Tucson Coffee Roaster beans, Chappotin is able to create silky lattes intertwined with Latin flavors. Along with her vanilla, hazelnut and caramel lattes, she also combines espresso with the cinnamony goodness of horchata, creating a sweet and creamy latte.
Another one of Chappotin’s staple drinks is her café de olla, which is a traditional Mexican drink where you combine ground coffee, cinnamon and dark brown sugar in a clay pot. Just like the horchata latte, you get a nice cinnamon flavor that feels like a giant hug when you take a sip. Chappotin describes it as “dessert in a cup.”
“My boyfriend is actually from Nogales, Mexico and his grandma has this olla and she's had it for 30 years,” Chappotin said. “When she found out I was going to open my own coffee shop she gave it to me.”
One of the specialty drinks is Sol, which combines Jarritos soda and espresso, topped with cold foam.
Along with her regular menu, Chappotin will also be creating new specialty drinks every month. Right now, she is featuring her Sol drink, which is Jarritos orange soda with an espresso shot topped with cold foam.
She also created Frida, a drink inspired by famous Mexican painter Frida Kahlo. For this drink, she melts Abuelita chocolate with an espresso shot, adding vanilla and lavender for an extra kick. To top it all off, she adds edible flowers as a nod to Frida Kahlo’s colorful style.
Another specialty drink is the Frida: Abuelita chocolate that is melted with an espresso shot, vanilla, lavender and topped with edible flowers.
“It's really fun,” Chappotin said. “At first, it was stressful. I didn't know how important it was to move your grinder around to make sure your beans are coming out proper and weighing every shot. It's like you're a chemist in there.”
Right now, Chappopin Café is only open on the weekends since Chappotin works during the week, but her goal for this year is to serve coffee as her full-time job. For now, she’s going to continue to infuse Latin flavors into her coffee, taking her customers on a flavorful journey one sip at a time.
