voyager craft coffee

Q: How long has Voyager Craft Coffee been at The Market? 

A: June 21st, 2019. We just had our two-year anniversary. It’s an amazing opportunity to be in the middle of DTSJ in an area where people feel like they are at Voyager yet also get the feel of the whole Market. 

Q: Describe your café in a few words: 

A: Fun. Community-centric. Creative. We try to inspire a sense of wonder and gear our menu towards that adventurous concept. Our travels have shaped our lives quite a bit and we incorporate those experiences into creating our one-of-a-kind 'Destination Lattes.' We love people, and for us it goes beyond customer service. It's about relationship building, and the love of community and people is truly what our company is based on. 

Q: What is your favorite drink you make? 

A: My favorite is the Bali Pour Over; it’s the most vibrant, juicy, fruity, delicious coffee that I could ever think of! Sam’s favorite is the Bali Latte, from our Destination Drinks, which is inspired by Indonesian cuisine with notes of cayenne, coconut and spice. It’s a cascading waterfall of deliciousness! He likes his hot because it homogenizes the spices. 

Q: What is the inspiration behind most of your recipes? 

A: Traveling and different cultures, which is our passion- our favorite part of traveling is the people. Food and flavors are a huge part of how people interact with each other. At our locations here in San Jose we’ve had customers from the destinations based on our drinks say it reminds them of home. We want to be a coffee shop for everyone and examples like that make us feel like we are engaging that successfully. We offer all kinds of milks and options to create that accessibility. As we’ve grown our staff has influenced our recipes and now 100% of our recipes are created by our Menu Innovation team. They get together every quarter, discuss the menu ideas submitted by the staff and have created the most delicious drinks. We have 4 seasonal drink and food menu rotations annually- look out for the Fall menu next! All our beans are sourced ethically, sustainably and transparently; we are proud to say we are starting to directly source our beans.

Q: What is an interesting barista technique you use? 

A: There is a lot within the realm of latte art and our baristas love getting the most out of their coffee. Such as when doing the pour overs, adjusting the grind settings to get the best extraction flavor out of the coffee. Sensory capabilities and understanding of the beans come into play. Also, balancing consistency with art is huge. Weighing the coffee is essential for getting the best tasting coffee every time.

Q: What led up to you starting your café? 

A: I wanted to do something community based and chose coffee! We started out of a trailer in Spring of 2016 and would stop in different San Jose locations such as The Farmers Market. We both have roots in this area and wanted to build something in San Jose. We found our location at Stevens Creek and expanded to our second location here at The Market in June of 2019, which was originally our dream spot to open. We have a third location and have some exciting plans for the near future. We cannot emphasize enough how amazing and incredible our team is- we love everyone we work with and absolutely wouldn’t have this success without their expertise, positivity and enthusiasm. Huge shout out to them! 

Q: What is your favorite part about San Pedro Square? 

A: The vibrancy and feeling like you're living in a big city. We love everything about this central part of Downtown San Jose. The creativity of all the vendors is also incredible and a continual source of inspiration. We absolutely love the street closure and hope it stays this way! 

Q: What is the most fun thing you’ve done in Downtown San Jose? 

A: Sam has a lot of fond memories going to Sharks games. I have really enjoyed the San Pedro Street nightlife in general! 

Q: Give us a few fun facts about yourself: 

A: Sam and I are proud parents of two sweet rescue dogs. Also, we love rock climbing and the outdoors. I backpacked the Camino de Santiago trail in Spain, which took a month and was one of the best experiences of my life.