Today we’d like to introduce you to Kashish Juneja and Cinque Holliday.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
“Boba or coffee, which one is it today?” We started off as two average Joe’s – *no pun intended* – with a crazy obsession for caffeine. As two college students, Kashish and Cinque were accustomed to the daily pick-me-ups and all nighters. It wasn’t until the beginning of quarantine when we both stepped on the scale and exchanged numbers. And we aren’t talking about phone numbers. We’re talking about worrisome three digit numbers that told us we were harming our bodies with excessive calories and sugar. Despite our unwillingness to accept that boba and coffee were the culprits, it only took a Google search to tell us that a cup of boba has 2x more sugar than a can of cola. Our obsession kicked in with the caffeine. Our mission was to preserve all the goodness of bubble tea and coffee without all the sugary bull sh*t. And we didn’t stop there – for our 420 lovers, we added CBD boba and coffee to our menu. From hours of experimenting in the kitchen during our Zoom lectures to So You Think You Can Dance’s finalist, Kida The Great, trying Aura Tea, we started seeing the power of good taste with functional benefits. As we started selling our tea at UC Berkeley, we realized that Aura Tea is more than just a drink. It’s a movement to bridge the community and to bring BADA** change-makers together. And just like that, Aura Tea & Coffee was born – the rise of non-dairy, low calorie bubble tea & coffee with functional benefits.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
At Aura Tea & Coffee, we believe in keeping it real and so we’ll be 100% transparent with you. The dark circles under our eyes would expose us for lying if we said the road was smooth. We didn’t have the experience. We didn’t even have a proper kitchen. We were two full-time students opening a business during the pandemic. We were the marketing, PR, operations, legal, and product department all in one. Ironically, consuming our drinks helped us throughout the long nights. From Cinque quitting his only source of income to Kashish isolating herself from her friends & family, we realized the sacrifice that goes into transforming a vision into reality. As we established ourselves, it was our day 1’s that kept us going – our peers, first customers, and community change-makers that believed in us. Today, every Aura drink is handcrafted with that same love and passion. We do everything to see that smile after the first sip.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
au·ra noun
1. the distinctive atmosphere or quality that seems to surround and be generated by a person, thing, or place.
At Aura, we’re all about good vibes. Our menu features a collection of CBD infused drinks, plant-based bubble tea, and flower-based coffee that are guaranteed to boost your mood. That’s right, we’re talking about rose black oat milk tea and lavender almond milk latte. And don’t forget about the mango matcha…That’s just a sneak peek at our menu. With Aura Tea & Coffee, enjoy the piñata of flavors burst in your mouth while keeping it under a 100 calories. What’s our secret? We use REAL ingredients. No artificial flavoring. No high fructose corn syrup. We freshly brew our tea using REAL loose leave teas and we replaced sugar with Purecane’s Zero Calorie sweetener. We said it before, and we’ll see it again: We like keeping it REAL with you.
So, before we go, how can our readers or others connect or collaborate with you? How can they support you?
From leading a team of student ambassadors at UC Berkeley to collaborating with the Bay Area’s and LA’s top talent, we’ve always been big on empowering others to create a community of growth. Whether you want to just have a coffee chat with us or directly collaborate, shoot us a DM and we can make something happen.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: www.aurateacoffee.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aurateacoffee/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aurateaofficial
- Twitter: https://Twitter.com/Aurateaofficial
- Other: https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMeUN2bd1/
