Filipino-inspired mobile coffee shop three-wheeling through Vancouver streets

A mobile coffee shop with a Filipino twist is making its rounds in Vancouver.

The brainchild of Philip Generoso, the coffee is sold to customers on a tricycle, one of the most common forms of transportation in the Philippines.

According to Generoso, the concept originated from his fascination with tricycles during his trips to the Philippines as a child.

“I’ve taken many vacations in the Philippines,” he said. “I’ve ridden these things.”

Generoso also designed the tricycle he uses for his mobile coffee business to keep up with Vancouver traffic.

“I’m a welder by trade, that’s my background,” he explained.

“I fabricate my own personalized sidecar shell that would parallel my motorcycle… all the weight that we carry, including the passenger, we don’t have trouble keeping up with traffic anywhere we go.”

However, he says securing permits for the business was quite tricky given its uniqueness.

“We didn’t have a blueprint of what to do to make it legal. We acquired all the permits as we were building. We needed a health permit to approve our product.”

Generoso, who worked as a barista as a teen, says he wants to make customized coffee breaks accessible to everyone, even for those juggling several jobs in the city.

One of their specialties, he says, is the “bikerccino,” a trendy mix of ice cream and espresso made fresh in his tricycle.

“We just have to showcase our particular brand of coffee and our culture as well as North American ingenuity,” Generoso said..

“I’m obviously Filipino but Canadian born and raised.”