Yami and Cristina Correa are two sisters born in Venezuela, raised in Miami, and now based in New York City. They’ve created a high quality cold brew coffee from traceable sources with sustainable practices. We caught up with the sisters who answered a few of our questions about the brand.
Tell us a little about your business:
We are Yami and Tina, two sisters in love with food and it’s ever surprising community. We’re an online coffee shop focused on sustainable practices, hosts of virtual dinner parties and storytellers of all our food adventures.
What inspired you to start The SisterYard?
Our business began around 2014. We knew we loved food and wanted to be part of the industry but didn’t know how to. We started out as a meal plan service but did not enjoy that. We catered. Did not enjoy that, either. We then offered nutritional consultations with short cooking classes at the end of the sessions and felt like we were up to something there.
The SisterYard was born when we realized we needed a bridge that connected people to food in a hands-on environment that was not intimidating. So we created a space to cook in nature, using and learning about fresh ingredients while also making them taste GREAT. So, the cooking classes were our gig for two years!
Once COVID hit the world last year, we had to cancel all events and the cold brew coffee that we had been making at home, saved us in the most unexpected way. We knew we wanted to eventually come out with a product, but never thought this would be “the one” and specially didn’t think it would happen during a pandemic.
We have been early risers for a while, and little by little, we became obsessed with high quality coffee that tastes just right. After failing one too many times at achieving really delicious coffee at home without a fancy espresso machine and very little time in our hands, we started making our coconut cold brew concentrate.
Tell us a little about how your cold brew coffee is made and the ingredients you use:
We use a slow and cold brewing method that increases caffeine concentration while lowering the coffee bean’s natural acidity. Our Coconut Cold Brew Concentrate is made with higher than average quality coffee beans, toasted coconut flakes and coconut water. Coconut water, aside from offering a thicker bodied cup of coffee, elevates the drink’s overall pH. Adding coconut chips gives you toasty, chocolatey, caramel notes that will make you forget about adding any sugar to your cup.
Tell us a little about your background and what brought you to this point:
We are two sisters born in Venezuela, raised in Miami, and now based in New York City. We learned from a young age that we could tell our story through our creations. Our home has always been filled with family and friends who love to gather around the kitchen. We grew up watching our abuela, tias, and mom use food to celebrate the big and small moments of our lives. When we moved out of our home country, we became inseparable. Basically because we were all we had. Later on, food became our careers.
What are some of the challenges you’ve faced while launching The SisterYard during the COVID-19 pandemic?
One of us got laid off at the very beginning of it all, while the other had to wake up at 4 AM to be the manager of a bakery. Having one paycheck and the same bills to pay, while also launching a new product to keep the company alive was the first challenge we bumped into. Then, came promoting the coffee, which could only be done through our socials as farmer’s markets and many retail spaces were completely shut. We were pushed to the limits at times, but we can only be grateful that we saw our way through.
What’s next for you and The SisterYard?
For now we can only tell you that our plans are big and anything is possible in this city. You may see our cold brew in more places that you expect.
