Hi! I’m Pack Katisomsakul, the founder and roaster and I’m thrilled to have you here.
Newbery Street Coffee Roasters just launched our Kickstarter Campaign this month to support the build out and finishing of our brick-and-mortar location near Coolidge Corner in Brookline. We are aiming to raise $25,000 with a stretch goal of $50,000. Every contribution helps us to fund the cafe build out as well as purchase café supplies, equipment and to fund our startup costs.
Curious about how Newbery St. began and where we're headed? Read our full story here. If our story resonates with you and you’d like to support us, visit our Kickstarter campaign through this link to learn more, explore our exclusive Kickstarter rewards and support Newbery St. as we work toward bringing our café to life.
After more than a year of hosting pop-up cafés, we've finally found the perfect place that Newbery Street can call home. We’re so excited to share that we'll be opening our first café at 240 Harvard Street in Brookline, near Coolidge Corner and we’d love for you to be part of this next chapter: creating not just a coffee shop, but a gathering place where people discover new coffee origins, connect with Asian café culture, and build community together.
The lease is signed, and construction is underway. We've already invested in securing the space, beginning renovations, and working with our contractors and designers to bring the Newbery Street vision to reality.
This campaign will support the next steps in bringing Thai specialty coffees, flavors, stories, and experiences we've been building toward for years to the Greater Boston community.
We can't wait to open our doors and share the Newbery Street experience with you.
Why It Matters
1) There are very few spaces dedicated to slow, hand-brewed pour-over coffee
Most coffee shops today are built for speed – grab and go, espresso on demand and efficiency over experience. But, there are very few spaces dedicated to slow, hand brewed pour over coffee as a daily ritual. At Newbery Street Coffee, we believe coffee deserves time. Time to extract flavor properly. Time to understand origin. Time to connect the drink back to the people who produced it. Slow coffee is not about luxury. It is about respect for the process, the farmer, and the cup in your hand.
2) Thai coffee is still underrepresented in the U.S. specialty coffee scene
Yet it is one of the most exciting origins in the world today, shaped by high elevation farming, dedicated producers, and a growing movement toward quality driven coffee culture in Thailand.
Despite this, there are very few spaces where Thai coffee is centered, celebrated, and shared in a meaningful way. At Newbery Street Coffee, Thai coffee is not a side offering – it is the foundation. We are building a space where Thai coffee farmers are a core part of the story and their work is highlighted, respected, and shared with the community in Boston.
3) Growing demand for Asian café culture in Boston
Beyond coffee itself, there is a growing desire for Asian café culture in the U.S. Outside of the food and beverage offerings, it is the atmosphere that stands out. The feeling of sitting in a space where you can slow down, talk, reflect, or simply exist without rush. Across Asia, cafés are often extensions of daily life. They are warm, creative, and community oriented spaces where people gather to connect with one another.
We want to bring that feeling to Boston. Alongside coffee, we introduce drinks inspired by Asian café culture such as Es Yen, Cha Yen, Azuki Matcha, and Black Sesame lattes. We also bring in salt bread, designed to pair naturally with coffee in a simple and comforting way. This is about expanding what a café can be. Not just espresso and pastries, but a more diverse, cultural, and welcoming experience.
4) A new category of coffee community space
What we are building is not just a coffee shop. It is a community space:
- built around coffee, culture, and connection;
- where Asian café culture and Boston coffee culture can meet;
- where farmers are visible in every cup;
- where people can slow down and experience coffee in a more meaningful way and
- that grows with the community, one cup at a time.
How Did It All Start?
Coffee is something deeply personal to me because it saved my life. What began as an unexpected cup of coffee eventually became the reason I'm here today and now I hope to create that same sense of discovery and connection for others.
A few years ago, during the COVID-19 pandemic, I lost everything and was left with just $27 in my bank account. At the time, my wife and I were building a travel tech startup. As we fought to keep the company alive while the world shut down, the pandemic took away our funding, our business and, for a while, my sense of direction. I found myself in a place I had never been before — overwhelmed, uncertain and searching for what came next.
Coffee wasn't part of the plan. I never imagined becoming a coffee roaster or working in the coffee industry.
Then one day, a friend from northern Thailand sent me a bag of coffee beans to cheer me up. I didn't know much about coffee or what to do with them, so I searched the internet, learned how to brew a simple pour-over and made myself a cup.
When I took that first sip, that moment quietly changed everything.
The coffee tasted like red cherry juice and hibiscus tea. I remember thinking, How could coffee possibly taste like this? It completely changed the way I thought about coffee. That single cup sparked a curiosity I couldn't ignore and opened the door to a world I never knew existed.
More importantly, it gave me something I had been missing: a new sense of direction. What started as one unexpected cup of coffee became the beginning of everything that followed.
Where My Mission Began
As my curiosity about coffee grew, so did my collection of brewing equipment. What started as a hobby eventually led me to open an online coffee equipment store in Bangkok, a path that introduced me to the people behind every cup.
Through my work, I had the privilege of visiting coffee farms across Thailand and building relationships with local producers. I saw firsthand how specialty coffee could transform lives, creating better opportunities for farmers, helping families invest in their futures and encouraging younger generations to continue growing coffee with pride.
One of those producers was Billy, a second-generation farmer in the Maemon Mountains of Chiang Rai, the person who grew the coffee my friend had sent me, the coffee that saved me. Billy showed me that coffee could be much more than a beverage. It could restore forests, strengthen communities and create lasting opportunities for the people who call those mountains home.
In 2022, together with I'M NOT BARISTA, we launched a fundraiser that raised enough to plant 750 Geisha and Java coffee trees to support Thai coffee farmers and promote sustainable farming.
This year, that journey came full circle when I placed 5th at the 2026 U.S. National Brewers Cup using coffee from the coffee trees I helped fund, donate, and plant four years ago. Moments like this remind me why Newbery St. exists and it's the story I hope to share: that every great cup of coffee begins with the people who grow it.
Looking back, it's incredible to see how one small act of support grew into something I never could have imagined.
Supporting New Coffee Origins
Our journey begins with Thailand, where we've built close relationships with farmers and producers, but it doesn't end there. We hope to introduce coffees from across Asia and beyond, showcasing lesser-known origins, unique processing methods and thoughtfully produced coffees that are rarely represented.
We believe every great cup begins with the people behind it. That's why we're committed to building long-term relationships with farmers, supporting quality and sustainability and sharing the stories that make each origin unique.
Today, we're proud to work with Akhaza Coffee Farm, Khunlao Coffee Farm, Indoi Coffee Farm, Sopa Estate, Live Specialty, and many dedicated smallholder producers throughout Thailand. As Newbery St. grows, we hope to support even more farmers and introduce even more coffee origins from across Asia.
Taking the Leap / Moving to Boston
My wife, Thunya, our cat and I moved to Boston with a mission to bring Thai coffee to a global stage and, ultimately, help elevate the lives of the farmers and producers behind it.
When we were students in this city, we noticed something was missing. Boston has incredible coffee, but there weren’t many spaces dedicated to slow, hand-brewed pour-over coffee or the kind of Asian café culture experiences we grew up with back home, so we decided to build one ourselves.
We started as an online shop, selling Thai and Asian coffee beans and exploring unique light roast profiles and processing methods. That eventually led us to pop-ups, where we could finally share our coffee with people in person.
Why "Newbery Street"?
The name "Newbery Street" is inspired by Boston’s iconic "Newbury Street," a beloved gathering place for locals. The word "Bery" echoes "berry," symbolizing the coffee berry, with just a slight twist. When combined with "new," the name "Newbery" represents a new frontier, a fresh opportunity and a stronghold for discovering something exciting.
Newbery Street embodies our mission: to bring new coffee origins to the forefront and offer you the chance to explore something unique. It’s a place where you can deepen your knowledge of coffee and it just might become your go-to spot for specialty coffee in the Greater Boston area. Here, you’ll experience exceptional coffees from across Asia in an inviting space where we can share the love of coffee from all corners of the world.
From Pop-Up to Our Own Space
After more than a year of pop-ups, I began to see how Newbery St. could grow into something beyond coffee, a space where people could gather, slow down and discover Thai coffee origins and more together.
Since founding Newbery Street Coffee Roasters in 2023, we’ve hosted pop-ups across Boston and New York to share our passion for Thai coffee. Our weekend pop-up at Merai Bar in Brookline became a turning point. What started as small, quiet service grew into full rooms, long lines, and moments we once only dreamed about. We’re grateful for the opportunity to continue hosting pop-ups there every weekend.
Along the way, something beautiful happened. Customers became regulars, regulars became friends and some even became teammates. We’ve watched people return week after week, bring their families and make this space part of their lives. We’re deeply grateful for every one of those moments.
As we continued building Newbery Street Coffee Roasters, we realized we needed to amplify our voice. This led us to compete at the national level, becoming a three-time finalist in the U.S. Brewers Cup Championship (2024, 2025 and 2026). Especially in this year’s competition, we’re proud to bring Thai coffee to the national stage and continue sharing its story with a wider audience.
Along the way, we also received recognition from the Global Coffee Awards and were named a Coffee Hero by Sprudge.
We first set our plan to open a café in 2024, after our first crowdfunding campaign helped us purchase an espresso machine. But what followed wasn’t a straight path, we spent over a year searching for the right space.
We visited location after location across Cambridge, Jamaica Plain, Seaport and beyond. Even though Brookline was always our ideal neighborhood, finding a space within reach felt almost impossible. At times, it was discouraging and we found ourselves unsure of how long we would continue operating only as pop-ups.
Late last year, things finally shifted. Through a broker we had contacted about another listing, we were introduced to a space on Harvard Street in Brookline at the perfect time. What started as a different inquiry unexpectedly led us to the place we now call home.
Although the space was previously a bakery and coffee shop, it requires significant work both functionally and aesthetically before we can open our doors. Thunya has been working closely with her best friend, an interior designer in Thailand, to bring an Asian café aesthetic to Brookline and transform this space into our vision for Newbery St.
A Community Hub, Not Just a Café
Newbery St. is designed to be a space where people gather, slow down, and discover Asian café culture together. Beyond serving coffee, we're building a home for:
Community Events
We plan to host a series of specialty coffee classes, workshops, and creative events designed to bring our community together and introduce people to new coffee experiences. As a national coffee competitor, I'm excited to share what I've learned with the Greater Boston coffee community.
We've already been hosting coffee classes and workshops through our pop-ups. With a permanent space, we hope to create more unique, thoughtfully designed experiences while partnering with local artists, makers, and small businesses. Each event will be an opportunity to learn something new, connect with others, and experience a different side of coffee and Asian café culture.
Cultural discovery
Greater Boston has incredible Asian food. What it has had far less of is Asian specialty coffee — the cafés, the drinks and the traditions that sit right alongside that food and are just as much a part of daily life back home.
We want Newbery St. to help change that – to be a place where Thai coffee and Asian café origins are centered, celebrated, and shared in a meaningful way, where the drinks we grew up with are on the menu under their own names, made the way they are meant to be made. This is about creating visibility for the origins, flavors and traditions that deserve to be seen.
It's also why we think of Newbery St. as a creative space. We're always experimenting — new origins, unique processing methods, seasonal flavors and playful combinations we haven't tried before. We hope you find something here you've never tasted before, and that it makes you curious about where it came from.
Signature Salt Bread, Asian-inspired food and beverage pairings
Alongside our rotating selection of pour-over coffees, we also serve Asian café favorites made with dairy or alternative milk, including Es Yen, Azuki Matcha, and Black Sesame Latte. You'll also find playful combinations like coffee with fruity juices and other signature drinks.
While our pour-over menu highlights the unique character of each coffee origin and processing method, our signature drinks combine nostalgic flavors with contemporary trends and tastes.
As for food - everywhere you go, it's usually a croissant. But we're Newbery St., so we figured we'd bring something new and different instead.
Our signature, made in-house salt bread combines the best of a croissant and a butter roll — buttery, crisp on the outside and soft on the inside. It's a staple in many Asian cafés, and it's quickly become a favorite at our pop-ups and often sells out.
We rotate seasonal flavors throughout the year and plan to keep introducing new Asian-inspired food creations, each thoughtfully crafted to pair perfectly with our coffee, matcha and Thai iced tea.
Our Funding Goals & Timeline
Kickstarter is an all-or-nothing platform
This means we only receive funds if we reach or exceed our goal by the end of the campaign. We're asking our community to help us raise $25,000, with a $50,000 stretch goal. We've already invested in bringing Newbery Street to this point, covering the lease, demolition, design, and the first phase of construction ourselves.
Your support will help us take the next steps in bringing the Newbery Street experience to life. From the final details of the space to our coffee program, cultural experiences, and educational programming.
If we reach our $50,000 stretch goal, we'll be able to expand what we offer our community with a wider selection of unique coffees and processing methods, additional coffee education and collaborations, and more Newbery Street merchandise.
Our goal is to open our doors by late August, and we'll be sharing regular updates throughout the process — both the big milestones and behind-the-scenes progress.
Supporting Newbery Street Coffee Roasters
Not everyone is able to contribute, and that is completely okay. Sharing this campaign still helps us more than you might know.
As we’ve built Newbery Street, we’ve watched a community grow around it. Customers became regulars, regulars became friends, and some even became part of our team. Almost everyone who found us found us because someone they knew told them about us.
If you'd like to help:
- Send this to one person who you think would love it. Not everyone – just the one person you're already thinking of.
- Share it with a reason. A sentence about why you want this café to exist does more than a link on its own.
- Come see us at the pop-up. We're at Merai Bar in Brookline every weekend, and we'd love to meet you. Bring someone who hasn't been.
- Every bit of support, no matter the size, brings us one step closer to opening Newbery St. and sharing this space with you.
Special Thanks
Thank you for taking the time to read through our story and for being part of this journey.
This journey would not have been possible without your support. Newbery Street has been built step by step through years of work. I’ve worked tirelessly to build this coffee business, from working in restaurants, cafés and catering companies to using the funds earned to support this venture. Juggling multiple jobs has brought me to where I am today and I am incredibly grateful for the help from those around me.
This project has always been rooted in a deep passion for Asian coffee culture and a desire to share it with a wider audience here in the United States. We are truly grateful for every form of support that has helped us reach this point.
This café has been our dream and seeing it come closer to reality means everything to us. We feel incredibly lucky to have a community that believes in what we are building.
From the bottom of our hearts — thank you.
With love and gratitude,
Pack, Thunya and Newbery Street Coffee Roasters team
If you’d like to be part of bringing Newbery Street Café to life, you can support our campaign through the link here.