Perk Up With Paul
This is Us
A small, family-owned cart. Here's what we're about.
How this started
It started by accident
I was working at a church as a video engineer, so I had a lot of early mornings and late nights, and I drank a lot of coffee. I was spending more on it than I wanted to, so I figured I'd learn to make it myself. A family member gave me an old consumer espresso machine, the kind you'd find at a thrift store. Nothing fancy, but it worked.
What I didn't expect was that people started showing up. Somebody would smell it, come over, ask what I was making, and then stay and talk. That ended up being my favorite part. Making somebody a drink they love, and then getting to stand there and hear about their day. I've never met somebody whose story wasn't worth hearing, and it turns out a good cup of coffee is a pretty easy way to get somebody talking.
So we got more serious about it. My wife learned to make syrups from scratch. I spent every spare hour figuring out what actually makes a good cup. Organic beans, real ingredients, no junk in it. And when that old machine couldn't keep up with what I wanted to hand people, we found a proper setup on Facebook Marketplace.
Word got around the church. Then house parties. Then events big enough that we knew our gear wasn't going to make it. Our family and friends chipped in to help us buy the commercial machine we still run today.
Perk Up With Paul is full-time now. We sell beans, we book events, and we keep growing. But it's still the same thing it was at the start. Good coffee, and the people I get to hand it to.
Our mission
Coffee we'd actually drink
We're a small, family-owned business, and our mission is simple: serve coffee we'd want to drink ourselves, made with ingredients we trust.
We handcraft our syrups from real, simple ingredients — never the artificial stuff — so every drink tastes good and feels good to drink.
Why we support adoption
Paul's story
Paul was adopted from Romania at the age of four and a half. He has a somewhat unique story, where he was actually able to connect with his biological family later in life.
He learned his mother's heart behind her choices, has a relationship with his biological siblings, and knows first hand the impact that adoption has on everyone involved. It's a beautiful gift, and we want to make it as accessible to as many families as we can. This is one small step towards that goal.
Why homemade syrups
Bodies are temples
We believe our bodies are temples, created with care and purpose, and we're called to honor them in the way we live and what we consume. That belief guides everything we do — from the drinks we serve to the ingredients we choose.
That's why we make our syrups in-house using real, thoughtfully sourced ingredients, never shortcuts or unnecessary additives. For us, coffee is more than a beverage; it's an opportunity to serve others with intention, stewardship, and gratitude for what God has given us.
Our roaster
Roasted by Hao Bao Bao
Our organic beans are roasted for us by Hao Bao Bao Coffee. We work closely with them to pick flavor profiles and taste test every coffee, so we only pour what we'd happily drink at home.