OUR STORY

The quest for authentic Vietnamese coffee began when...

Michelle was desperate to find Vietnamese coffee or cà phê sữa đá (pronounced: Cah-Fay-Suh-Dah and literally translates to "iced coffee with milk" in Vietnamese) that had the same bold flavor as the coffee she’d had on family trips to Vietnam. She turned to her high school best friend Stanislav, a coffee addict and aficionado, for help. They quickly realized that options were limited— the coffee was either too acidic, too light, or made from poor-quality beans.

That’s when they set out to create a Vietnamese coffee drink with the traditional flavor that they both loved.

After sourcing the perfect beans, identifying the ideal roast, and spending hours and hours experimenting with grind sizes and brew times, Michelle and Stanislav finally created what they’d been looking for: strong, rich, delightfully bitter coffee flavor that cuts through the sweetness of condensed milk.

Using single-origin robusta coffee beans harvested from a family farm in the famous coffee-growing region of central highland Vietnam, Daybreak is the perfect union of third wave-quality coffee and the traditional flavor of Vietnamese coffee.

  • Michelle Tu, Co-Founder

    Michelle earned her PhD in cell biology and is a serial entrpreneur. She loves brand-building and is always daydreaming about big ideas and how to bring them to life. Outside of work, you can find her planning her next international getaway, doing nail art, or binging true crime podcasts. 

  • Stanislav Kroll, Co-Founder

    With a business degree from UC Berkeley and 20 years in the manufacturing business, Stanislav is constantly searching for ways to improve efficiency and optimize processes. In his free time, he enjoys photography, surfing, and of course, coffee.