Daycation coffee brings taste of China to DTSP
A coffee shop in downtown St. Petersburg is bringing something new to the Sunshine City's bean scene.
Daycation Coffee & Tea, which soft-opened three weeks ago, offers a unique blend of specialty coffee beverages and local pastries in a cozy 500-square-foot space at 189 Dr. M.L.K. Jr. St. N., in the same block as 11 Chicks Venezuelan cafe. Daycation is a play on the words "day" and "vacation," used to describe a day free from work to enjoy a mini-break.
Owner Rachel Zheng, who was born and raised in China before moving to the United States for college, drew inspiration from her cultural background when crafting the shop's menu.
"All the drinks here were kind of inspired by the culture that I grew up with; Chinese culture, and Asian culture in general," Zheng said. "I wanted to bring something new to the St. Pete community."
Zheng worked in advertising in Los Angeles for seven years, often moonlighting as a weekend barista to pursue her passion for coffee. After moving to South Tampa with her husband and starting a family, the 31-year-old decided to turn her long-held dream of owning a coffee shop into reality.
"Working with coffee just makes me feel happy and I always thought about having my own coffee shop, but I always thought it would probably be something for later in life, after I retired," Zheng explained. But, burnt out with her ad agency job and expecting her first child, Zheng was ready to take a step back from her 9-5 and jump into her true passion.
However, the journey to opening Daycation wasn't without challenges. Zheng spent months searching for the perfect location before securing the current space in October 2023. The build-out process took a year, complicated by issues with contractors and the need to redesign the interior herself.
Beyond the design, Zheng has put a personal touch into every element of the coffee shop. The shop's signature drinks include "Ode to my 90s," a black sesame espresso latte and "Morning Forest," which Zheng describes as a "dirty matcha" latte that combines ceremonial-grade Japanese matcha with espresso. Zheng takes pride in creating flavorful drinks that don't rely on traditional sweeteners, using ingredients like house-made rock candy syrup, a minimally processed cane sugar commonly used in China.
"I'm very proud of all the recipes here that I made myself," Zheng said. "My personal style is not overly sweet; I don't have a sweet tooth myself. Everything is balanced here, and I try to make things a little bit special and fun for people to try."
Daycation offers a staple menu of five signature drinks, seasonal specials, and traditional coffees and teas. Zheng is extremely focused on using fresh, seasonal ingredients and choosing Asian-inspired snacks, cold beverages and take-home coffee beans and teas.
The shop's logo was created by an artist friend of Zheng's, based on her French Bulldog, Dango.
Daycation's coffee beans are roasted by Torch Coffee, a specialty roastery based in Clay Center, Kansas. Zheng collaborated with Torch Coffee for months, tasting different variations in an effort to create her ideal custom blend of beans from Yunnan, China and Guatemala.
"The flavor is very fruity, a little bit of floral, and also sweet," Zheng said of the blend. "We tasted different batches and I was not very happy about the first few, but when I tasted the last batch, I was so happy. I call it a vacation blend, but it's still not on the shelf yet because I'm designing the packaging myself. Hopefully, we can get it on shelves very soon."
Zheng said the small space is mostly grab-and-go, as there is very limited seating. However, she's optimistic about the future of Daycation Coffee. The shop partners with local bakers for pastries while also producing some in-house baked goods. She plans to add more food offerings in the future, like avocado toast and cold sandwiches.
For now, she's simply living in the moment, reveling in the fact that she didn't wait for retirement to pursue her passion for coffee.
"I felt like, why not do it right now? I feel right about the space, If feel right about the city of St. Pete, so I thought, 'Let's do this,'" Zheng said. "I mean, being a business owner is no joke. It's still pretty tiring, but I love it. This is something I'm passionate about, and I love sharing it with other people who love it, as well."
Zheng is tentatively planning a grand opening celebration at Daycation for Sunday (Nov. 10). More details will be available on the Instagram page, instagram.com/daycationcoffee
