When cabin fever strikes, as it did for countless locals who sheltered in place during the pandemic, it’s natural to fixate on a new hobby or two. For one Orcutt couple, more time at home led to the creation of Woven Coffee Roasters.
“I was sitting at home during COVID and she kind of just said, ‘Why not?’” said Pearce Kramer-Montaño, who co-owns Woven with his wife, Sarah. “Her response to everything—the roasting and the shop—was, ‘Well, everyone loves coffee, why wouldn’t it do well?’”
Over the course of about a year, Pearce gradually mastered the art of coffee roasting at home for family and friends as a hobby. Sarah encouraged him toward starting a wholesale business in 2021—eventually supplying beans to coffee shops in Culver City, Catalina Island, and other areas—and later a mobile coffee shop, which the couple began operating in pop-up fashion at spots in Orcutt and Santa Maria near the end of 2023.
The couple considered opening a stationary location, but their trailer’s daily docket makes them feel like they’re already running one, Pearce explained.
“As it turns out, having a really consistent schedule and just a few locations, you kind of become a brick-and-mortar,” Pearce said, “because people get associated with your schedule.”
Woven Coffee Roasters keeps fans updated on its whereabouts via social media, but the mobile cafe’s schedule has remained mostly consistent from week to week.
Pearce and Sarah usually park their trailer at the Marian Medical Center heliport on Mondays; the Santa Maria Way Community Health Centers back lot on Tuesdays; the Santa Maria YMCA on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays; and in Old Town Orcutt on Thursdays.
While the majority of their interactions with customers through the mobile coffee shop’s pickup window consist of handing out hot and iced lattes and other sweet treats, the couple enjoys conversing about all things coffee. They hope their patrons walk away feeling “a connection to their coffee source,” similar to the feeling of trying wine at the vineyard it’s sourced from or in the company of its winemaker, Pearce explained.
“It’s kind of like wine. I compare it to the California wine industry. People love it so much because you can go to the farm and you can see the grapes on the vine, and you can see people making it,” Pearce said. “They have a very strong connection to their wine source, but most people here don’t have a connection to their coffee source. … We want to show people different coffees and show them the process.”
Woven Coffee Roasters sources its direct trade coffee, in unroasted seed form, from small family farms in Nicaragua and Ethiopia. During his childhood, Pearce became fascinated by different coffees from around the world thanks to his father, a coffee enthusiast. The apple didn’t fall far from the tree.
“Something about coffee roasting always appealed to Pearce,” said Sarah, a coffee fan in her own right who previously worked as a barista for a few different coffee shops and hoped for a while to start her own venture someday.
“I’ve always loved coffee,” Sarah said. “It’s always been a dream of mine to have my own place.”
While Pearce spearheads coffee roasting at Woven, Sarah makes some of the company’s flavored syrups from scratch herself. The two tag-team on baking pastries—including banana muffins and Oreo brownies—to sell alongside a plethora of beverage options at their pop-ups. Woven occasionally collaborates with local bakeries to sell additional baked goods as well.
The company’s drink menu includes Americanos, cortados, cappuccinos, teas, and multiple variations of flavored lattes. Sarah’s personal favorite customization is a simple double shot of espresso with cream, which Pearce usually enjoys as well, minus the cream.
“My palate has really gotten used to our espresso, so I like just a double shot or a drip. I just like the taste of coffee,” Pearce said. “But if I was going to get something sweet, the Spanish latte would be my go-to.”
Arts Editor Caleb Wiseblood is a coffee being. Send hazelnut creamer to [email protected].
