Celebrity Trave: Go away with Sahra Nguyen
Born and raised in Massachusetts, entrepreneur Sahra Nguyen was inspired by her Vietnamese heritage when she founded Nguyen Coffee Supply ( https://nguyencoffeesupply.com/ ). “Vietnam’s coffee industry specializes in the robusta coffee species, which is very different from arabica coffee – the dominant coffee species in America,” said Nguyen, 37. “Robusta coffee has double the caffeine content, double the antioxidants and 60 percent less natural sugars than arabica, which means the flavor profile is more bold, dark chocolatey and nutty with a clean boost of energy.” A resident of Brooklyn, Nguyen is active on Instagram and X (@ oneouncegold ).
Q: Tell me a little bit about where you grew up.
A: My parents escaped Vietnam on a boat after the war ended in 1975 and they came to the United States as refugees. I was born and raised in Boston … surrounded by lots of immigrant families from the Dominican Republic, Haiti and Puerto Rico. I attended the Boston public school system, which was as diverse as the city of Boston. Having a lot of exposure to diverse cultures at a young age helped shape my love for culture and community. I moved to New York in 2013.
Q: How much traveling have you done this year?
A: The whole team [went] to Anaheim, California, for Expo West. Next month, I’m traveling to Chicago to speak on a robusta panel at the Specialty Coffee Association EXPO. Just earlier this year, I spent two weeks in Vietnam for work. That was a big trip.
Q: Do you go to Vietnam often?
A: Since most of my family still lives in Vietnam and we import Vietnamese coffee beans, I have a lot of reasons to visit Vietnam each year. Often times, I’m not able to do everything I want within each trip. For work, I often have to travel to cities where my relatives don’t live, like farms and factories in Da Lat, Sơn La, Saigon and Buon Me Thuot. My relatives live in Hanoi, Quang Ngai and Nha Trang. So oftentimes I’m either going strictly for work or strictly for personal, because it’s hard to do both in one trip. For my recent trip in January, I visited four cities in two weeks, traveled on four planes and four road trips getting to all of my destinations.
Q: What is your favorite vacation destination?
A: Paris. This was the first trip I took with my now husband and it definitely helped us understand each other better through the experience of travel. Plus, we love good food and drinks!
Q: How have your travels impacted your business?
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