Today we’d like to introduce you to Weihong Zhang.
Weihong, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I came to the United States in 2009 and completed my PhD in Biochemistry in 2014. After graduating, I moved to Houston to take on a postdoctoral researcher position at Baylor College of Medicine. At that time, my life was fully centered on science and academia.
In 2015, while traveling for an academic conference, I unexpectedly stumbled into a specialty coffee cupping. I tasted Kenyan coffees that reminded me of blueberry juice bright, juicy, and tea like. It completely blew my mind. I had been a daily Starbucks drinker and never knew black coffee could taste like that. That moment changed how I thought about coffee and planted a seed that kept growing.
I began learning everything I could about specialty coffee. The more I learned, the more I felt a strong desire to share that sense of discovery with others. What started as curiosity slowly became a calling. That journey led me to open my own coffee shop and roastery, with our first location opening in 2017.
As I became more involved in the competition world starting in 2019, it fundamentally changed how we operate day to day in our cafés. Competition pushed us to be more intentional and precise, and that mindset translated directly into our daily service. We began to focus more and more on the customer’s coffee experience not only by sourcing the best coffees we could get our hands on, but also by applying science, embracing technology, and delivering thoughtful, genuine hospitality.
Through sourcing, I started traveling directly to coffee producing countries, building friendships with producers, and establishing long term relationships based on trust and shared values. This allowed us to offer some of the most exclusive and rare coffees available. Along the way, I became deeply involved in coffee evaluation and served as an international judge for the Best of Panama competition, where some of the most expensive and celebrated coffees in the world are sold.
In 2024, I won the US Brewers Cup Championship and became the national champion for coffee brewing, and since then I have served on the judging panel for the same competition.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It definitely has not been a smooth road. Transitioning from academia into hospitality meant starting from zero in a completely new industry, while taking on financial risk and learning through constant trial and error.
In 2017, we opened our first café and roastery. Building everything from scratch taught us the fundamentals of roasting, quality control, staffing, and daily operations. From the beginning, we made a deliberate choice to prioritize coffee quality, which led me to travel directly to producing countries, build trust with farmers, and commit to long term relationships. While rewarding, this approach often came with higher costs, logistical challenges, and difficult decisions for a young business.
In 2021, we opened our downtown location. Expanding to a second shop revealed a new set of challenges. Operating multiple cafés while maintaining the same high standards forced us to develop better systems, training, and leadership. It was a crucial period of learning how to scale without compromising quality or the customer experience.
Competitions were another demanding part of the journey. I competed three times. In 2020, I placed third. In 2023, I placed second. It was not until 2024 that I won the championship. Preparing for competition while running multiple cafés required persistence, consistency, and long term commitment, with no guarantee of results.
This year, we have also started growing our wholesale business, with the goal of helping more coffee shops gain access to higher quality coffees. It is a natural extension of what we have learned over the years and a way to share our sourcing, roasting, and quality standards beyond our own cafés.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Blendin Coffee Club is a specialty coffee roastery and café focused on quality, transparency, and experience. We source coffees directly from producers around the world, building long term relationships that allow us to work with rare, competition level, and auction coffees that are often difficult to access.
What sets Blendin Coffee Club apart is our balance of science, precision, and hospitality. My background in biochemistry shapes how we approach roasting, brewing, and quality control, while competition experience pushes us toward consistency and continuous improvement. Those standards are not limited to the stage, they are built into our daily café operations so every customer benefits.
We are most proud of the trust we have built with producers, customers, and our team. In addition to our cafés, we are growing our wholesale program to help other coffee shops access better quality coffees and raise overall standards.
At its core, Blendin Coffee Club is about thoughtful sourcing, honest craftsmanship, and creating meaningful coffee experiences rather than following trends.
Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
I am happiest when I am in the pursuit of great coffee. Searching for exceptional coffees, tasting them, and discovering lots that clearly express terroir and the producer’s processing work brings me a lot of joy. When I drink a high quality coffee that reflects its origin and the care behind it, it reminds me why I chose this path. I hope to pass that same sense of happiness and discovery on to our customers through every cup we serve.
Pricing:
- Los Nogales Decaf (10oz) $28.50 (The coffee I used to win 2024 US Brewers Cup, and it is a decaf coffee)
- Panelita (10oz) $18.50 (Every day coffee and we are working with the farm to get the coffee certified as Organic)
- Finca Los Cenizos Washed Lot 123 (100g) $48 (One of my favorite farm in Panama that produces highest quality coffees in the world)
Contact Info:
- Website: https://blendincoffeeclub.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/blendincoffeeclub/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/blendincoffeeclub/
