Though Cafe Mollie has steadily built an online following since it opened in 2021, the response to their matcha drinks increased drastically when the mango sticky rice creation went viral in March this year. Whether it was temperatures starting to warm up or simply increased exposure online, posts by Cafe Mollie traded dozens of views for thousands.
Vicky Huynh and her husband James co-founded Cafe Mollie on 16th Street just north of Bethany Home Road. The shop serves Vietnamese-style coffee and tea drinks.
Vicky Huynh conceptualized the now-viral mango sticky rice matcha after being inspired by the unique ice cream flavor combinations at local scoop shop, Sweet Republic. She was introduced to one of the founders of Sweet Republic, Jan Wichayanuparp, via a mutual friend.
"It kinda just happened out of luck and inspiration," Huynh says. "I've had this popular dessert before, and the ingredients are very simple. Sticky rice, coconut milk, and the star of the show is good ripe champagne mango."
Huynh approached Wichayanuparp about collaborating on a new flavor and cross-promoting each other's businesses.
"She loved the idea, and I'd made a new friend, plus a popular flavor," Huynh says.
The drink uses A1 ceremonial grade matcha and a secret ingredient, which provides the taste of rice.
When developing the recipe, Huynh didn't use conventional measurements. Instead, she would add ingredients "just until my ancestors said, 'That's enough, my child,'" Huynh says.
Cafe Mollie's mango sticky rice matcha went viral on social media, bringing big crowds to the tiny shop.
Melissa Pickering
A taste of home in Phoenix
Cafe Mollie started as a passion project. Originally from Vietnam, Huynh's family used to frequently make tea, and her grandmother grew coffee beans. She remembers walking through the coffee groves growing up."Coffee is such a big thing on my mom's side of the family," Huynh says. They also had a stall at a wet market in Vietnam, where they sold tea drinks. "That's one of the core memories that I have," Huynh says.
It's also one of the few things she recalls of her childhood in Vietnam. The coffee culture is huge in her home country, and was something she wanted to bring to Phoenix.
"It's part of the lifestyle," Huynh says. Just like meeting for happy hour is popular here, meeting for coffee is a casual and affordable pastime in Vietnam.
But the style of coffee is something many American customers aren't used to. Coffee in Vietnam is very strong, Huynh notes, explaining that the drinks are concentrated and made with lots of ice.
"It's a lot of bold flavors," she says.
Once her customers got a taste for their menu, keeping the unique flavors of Vietnam available has not been easy for Huynh.
"Things have gotten very hard to get," she says, in reference to recent product shortages from Asia. The suppliers for Cafe Mollie's unique ingredients are frequently out of stock, and Huynh says they are not always able to find their fresh ingredients at nearby Asian markets in Phoenix. For instance, she sometimes scours markets in Mesa and Chandler on the hunt for passion fruit.
Cafe Mollie creates all sorts of unique flavor combinations with their high-quality matcha.
Melissa Pickering
Increasing demand for matcha
Since the shop made its debut, the owners have noticed an increasing demand for their matcha drinks, so much so that matcha sales have now outpaced those of coffee. Cafe Mollie uses matcha from Nekohama, a small matcha grower and exporter in Japan. The owner of Nekohama came and trained Cafe Mollie employees on how to store and prepare the matcha, as they place a huge emphasis on quality."We were selected as one of the two coffee shops here in Phoenix that carries their product," Huynh says.
"Matcha has been a really big part of our sales," Huynh says. Luckily, despite fears of a matcha shortage due to recent tariffs, Huynh hasn't felt the impact at her shop.
"I have been hearing about the matcha shortage for about a year now," she says.
Fortunately, Nekohama has been preparing for the anticipated shortage and tariffs by expanding their farm and working directly with local businesses to mitigate price increases and shortages.
Since its huge increase in popularity online and in real life, largely thanks to their viral mango sticky rice matcha, Cafe Mollie has taken the opportunity to optimize their workflow to become more efficient, invest in new equipment and redecorate their space.
"The new surge of clientele is a welcome change that we much needed," Huynh says.
The large increase in volume has come with some growing pains, and even a few negative reviews, Huynh says, as she and her team have gotten used to the demand.
Huynh takes it in stride. "I always take it as a learning opportunity," she says.
Cafe Mollie's focus on customer service and employee satisfaction has served them well.
While going viral has been great for business, Huynh is focused on the future. She's looking toward potential expansion opportunities as well as maintaining the quality standards that originally made Cafe Mollie so popular.
"We want to be in this business for the long haul," she says. "We are grateful for being viral right now but more importantly, we want to focus our attention back to quality and service... That will carry our business many years to come."
