We crossed paths with Curly Tail Coffee when one of our employees posted a photo of an elderly pug, and it went viral. The local coffee brand is known for the cute animals featured on their packaging. Plus, some of the proceeds go to helping local animals in need!
Tell us about yourself and your brand:
My name is Nicole Waltenbaugh. I'm the Owner/Roaster/Do-er of all of the things at Curly Tail Coffee is a woman-owned, small-batch coffee roaster that donates a portion of sales to the local animal rescue. Specifically pug and pig rescue, hence the name. All of our coffee is roasted made-to-order to guarantee ultimate freshness.
Why did you start your brand?
I’ve always dreamt of owning a coffee shop so I figured that I should know how the process all starts. I decided to educate myself by putting in hours of research, and then I taught myself to roast coffee by trial and error in 2015. I was almost immediately roasting coffee for friends and family, so I figured why not start an online store to get my brand out there until I was brave enough to make the leap from my dental hygiene job. I also really wanted to incorporate my passion for animal rescue into it all, so I decided to donate a portion of our sales to local rescues in need. After a year of online sales, our 1969 Serro Scotty trailer was restored and ready to be our traveling coffee shop. We set up all over the city and surrounding areas serving our coffee by the cup.
What's one product that you want our customers to know about?
Our Steel City Howler Roast has been a big hit. It’s named after a blind pug, Charleston Chew, who has gone viral and was featured on our local news and nationally. He just moved to The Burgh and has been howling up a storm searching for his mom until he gets comfortable in his new space.
3 words on Pittsburgh:
Pens, yellow bridges and yinzers.
Where can we learn more about Curly Tail Coffee?
We are on Instagram as @curlytailcoffee or you can visit our website curlytailcoffee.com.