Today we’d like to introduce you to Cameron McAdams.
Hi Cameron, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
In 2015, I was living in the US Virgin Islands where I got a job managing a coffee shop / wine bar. At that time, I had no knowledge of coffee or espresso. When I moved to Ohio the following year, I was lost and sorting what to do with my life.
I was looking for meaning in my life and I made a list of things I enjoyed doing, things I was good at, and how I could make a living. A coffee food truck came to mind. At 26 years old with a credit card, I started my business at the Oxford Farmers Market. With a tent and table, I started making coffee for my community. In 2019, I decided to build a coffee truck with my dad. It is made out of 40% recycled material from doors that I found on the side of the road as countertop to trading my neighbor for some extra barn siding if I helped cut down a tree. I made it happen with what little I had.
The Japanese have a word called “Ikigai” which translates to “ a reason to live”. My motivation is to love what I do, to earn an income doing what I love, and to have artistic freedom and expression in my work. I hope that when people see me with my business it inspires them to follow their dreams as well. I know that if I won a million dollars in the lottery tomorrow, I would still get up every Saturday morning at 5:30 AM and serve coffee at the Oxford Farmers Market.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I quit my full time job at Amazon and had events lined up for 2020… and then Covid hit. All events were canceled and I had no way of making any income so I lived a whole year on a credit card. My business survived the pandemic and in 2021 I finally started to see growth in my business and was able to pay off all my debts.
If you have ever worked in the restaurant industry you know it is tough. Being a single female starting her own business is even tougher. Large financial risks, long hours on your feet, rising costs of materials, and the stress and anxiety. But through it all, I continued to learn how to manage and grow my business. I learned what my value and what my time is worth. I built new skills I was not expecting to learn such as towing a trailer, knowing the total amps required to run my cafe, networking and building relationships with event promoters.
For four consecutive years now, I have had great success with my mobile coffee business. Now I do movie sets, corporate gigs and my crowning achievement: organizing and planning for a 5 day music festival that had 60,000 attendees operating 24/7 with 20 employees.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Back in 2016, nitro coffee and iced coffee were just starting to pop up. When you walked into a coffee shop back then, you’d order an iced coffee and get hot drip coffee poured over ice. It wasn’t great. And when it came to flavors, your choices were the same everywhere: vanilla, caramel, maybe chocolate if you were lucky. Nothing exciting, nothing real.
That’s when I decided to do something different. I wasn’t happy with the fake, overly sweet syrups everyone was using — so I started making my own cold brew infusions. I’d soak real, seasonal ingredients in cold brew for 24 hours to naturally capture the essence of the flavors without adding a ton of sugar.
Take our Lemon Vanilla Latte for example: we brew our cold brew for 18 hours, then soak organic lemon peel in it for another 24. After straining, we add a touch of Ghirardelli vanilla and oat milk, then serve it on tap. It’s bright, smooth, and unlike anything you’ll find at a chain coffee shop.
Another thing we started experimenting with? Herbs. In 2016, no one was putting rosemary or basil in coffee. People told me it would never work — but my Honey Basil Cold Brew Latte and Rosemary Mocha Black Pepper Cold Brew Latte quickly became fan favorites.
I’ve made hundreds of recipes over the years. Some work, some don’t. I change up a new specialty flavor every Saturday at the Oxford Farmers Market, so we roll through about 36 different flavors a year.
What makes you happy?
I like being of service. Serving my community gives me a sense of purpose.
Besides that, spending time with friends and family and traveling.
Contact Info:
- Website: Ramblinroastcoffee@gmail.com
- Instagram: @ramblinroast
- Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/RamblinRoast/
