12/28/2025
Meet CNT Cafe, Philly.
The backbone behind our Coffee and Tea program.
14 years of friendship
mentorship
and the kind of support that is priceless.
There are people who shape your life loudly, and there are people who shape it quietly but powerfully. Tan is the second kind. Someone weโve never formally introduced, yet his influence runs through almost every corner of Chew Chew Bun.
He isnโt just a close friend. Heโs the person I could hand the CCB key to and walk away, knowing the business would grow in capable hands. Tan gave us the fundamentals on which we stand today. The care, the technique, the logic behind the bar, the way we think about coffee, tea, and hospitality. Much of the backbone of our Coffee N Tea program began with him.
And many of you have been tasting their familyโs work long before you ever knew his name. Since 2021, in our Nittany Mall days, youโve been drinking their premium loose-leaf teas: Tieguanyin Oolong, Jin Jun Mei Black, Mudan White, and Jasmine Green.
When we started designing our drink menu in 2022, espresso was a different world to me. I only drank drip coffee then. I didnโt know what a โcoffee menuโ should look like. So our original drink menu? It was copied directly from CNT Cafรฉ. In any other situation, copying someoneโs menu would feel wrong. Here, it was permission. It was trust. It was a mentor saying, โ๐๐ญ๐๐ซ๐ญ ๐ก๐๐ซ๐. ๐ ๐ค๐ง๐จ๐ฐ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎโ๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐๐ฎ๐ข๐ฅ๐ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐จ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ฉ๐๐ญ๐ก.โ And we did.
When we took over the downtown space from Crust and Crumb, I called Tan and admitted I had no idea how to operate the espresso machine and the bar that were left there.
He just said,
โ๐๐จ๐ฆ๐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ฆ๐ฒ ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐๐๐. ๐โ๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐ญ๐ซ๐๐ข๐ง ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐๐จ๐ซ ๐ ๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐ ๐จ๐ ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฌ.โ
I asked what I should do for our drink menu.
He said,
โ๐๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ ๐๐จ๐ฉ๐ฒ ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ฌ.โ
It was never about the menu. It was about grounding me to provide direction and drive growth.
There was a night we stayed over at his place, talking long after midnight. Iโll never forget hearing him say this to me:
โ๐๐ก๐๐ซ๐ฅ๐๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐จ๐ฅ๐ ๐ฆ๐, ๐ฐ๐ก๐๐ญ๐๐ฏ๐๐ซ ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ฉ๐ฉ๐จ๐ซ๐ญ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ญ ๐๐ค๐ฒ๐ ๐ง๐๐๐๐ฌ, ๐ง๐จ ๐ช๐ฎ๐๐ฌ๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐๐ฌ๐ค๐๐.โ
Those three sentences shaped how I lead today. They became part of CCBโs belief, culture, and mindset.
Weโve discussed building something together in Philly countless times over the years. A large production facility, roasting our own beans, scaling pastries into regions, and providing education. Itโs so tempting. But I love State College, and thatโs whatโs kept me here (for now).
We know people come and go, especially in a college town. Many of you came from or are headed to Philly. So if you ever find yourself missing our coffee, you can get a similar or even better sip at CNT Cafรฉ in Philly.
Truly, without Tan and CNT, CCB wouldnโt have the Coffee N Tea identity we have today. Not even close. His influence is behind our success, our growth, and the quiet confidence weโve built over the years.
And yes, for those whoโve wondered, CNT stands for Coffee N Tea.
https://www.instagram.com/cntcafephilly/