Stock up on cold brew and pastries with CHNO, Charlotte’s newest coffee company

CHNO, a locally-owned coffee company, will launch a ready-to-drink cold brew and pastry service starting Jan. 28.

Owner Carlea Recinos is calling it a subscription service but without the recurring fees. The menu includes both customizable cold brews and pastries from local bakeries. 

How it works: The weekly service will offer customizable cold brews, plus the option to add pastries from a rotation of local bakeries, says Recinos.

• Orders open every Saturday at midnight and close the following Tuesday at 11:59pm.
• Pick-ups (at varying locations) will be the following Friday from 6:30-11am.
• You can order through the Odeko app.
• There’s no order minimum or maximum for the cold brew.

This week, orders will open on Saturday, Jan. 28, at midnight and close Tuesday, Jan. 31, at 11:59pm. There’ll be a pickup pop-up on Friday, Feb. 3, from 6:30-11am at 1200 S. Graham St. (outside Bhramari Brewing).

Why it matters: CHNO lets customers get their caffeine (and sweet tooth) fix while supporting small, locally-owned businesses.

Background: Recinos launched CHNO Coffee Co. in September as a pop-up coffee shop. While her eventual goal is to turn CHNO into “a brick and mortar community space,” the subscription service felt like the perfect next step, Recinos told me.

• Of note: CHNO, pronounced “CHEE-no” is a nod to the chemical formula for caffeine (C8H10N4O2).

Details: All cold brew comes in 16oz bottles. “Poured over ice, you can usually get two servings from one bottle,” Recinos says.

• You’ll be able to fully customize your order with a range of house-made syrups and both dairy and non-dairy milk options.
• Recinos gets weekly fresh-roasted coffee from Minnesota roaster, Folly Coffee, to make the cold brew.

Pricing: Each bottle of cold brew is $5.50 for syrup and milk. It’s $6.50 per bottle for syrup and oat milk. Pastry prices will depend on each vendor, and the bakers will get 100% of their pastry profits, Recinos says.

Latina-owned bakery, Dulce Dreams Cafe, will be CHNO’s opening-week pastry partner. They’ll be featuring Conchas (a Mexican sweet bread in the shape of a sea shell) from their Valentine’s day menu.

• [Read more: Dulce Dreams Cafe brings flavors of Mexico to Charlotte ]

Zoom out: Besides the subscription service, you can find Carlea and CHNO Coffee Co. at various pop-ups around town. There, you’ll be able to try a wider variety of her menu, including espresso-based drinks and plant-based energy drinks.

• Keep up with CHNO’s subscription service, such as upcoming pastry partners and special discounts, through their weekly newsletter and Instagram page.

What’s next: Recinos hopes to expand the subscription menu to include her energy drinks in the near future.