Brooke Goldberg: A New Pearl in Specialty Coffee

On a crisp morning in Margate, New Jersey, the salty sea breeze brushes a young girl’s skin while her grandma takes her for a walk to local Wawa. The coffee aromas fill the tan walls while a row of options meet her eyes. The grandma gets herself a coffee while treating the girl to a mouthful of Columbian roast drip coffee with a good amount of milk. The caffeine can come later, but for now, the time spent with her grandma and the ritual is what keeps her hooked.

Brooke Goldberg, 23, grew up in Bucks County Pennsylvania where she still resides. Goldberg recently graduated from Ramapo College of New Jersey where she studied sustainability, while simultaneously breaking into the world of modeling. During this time, her passion for sustainability met with her love of coffee at a time when more people are aiming to be environmentally conscious. Roast magazine reported in a 2022 article that by 2050, climate change will cut the suitable land for coffee plants in half. The industry of specialty coffee will never go away, it is only growing, which is why Goldberg set out to be a positive change.

Goldberg set out to create the perfect combination of her passions. Pearl Brewing Company takes the everyday joy of coffee and combines climate-conscious practices to create the perfect cup. Going back to that little girl who enjoyed her morning brew from the Wawa in Margate, it is clear that her grandma, the beach, and nature, all came together in her efforts to create Pearl Brewing Co. “My grandma would wake me up every morning super early and we’d walk to the Wawa and she'd get me the tiniest bit of coffee with a ton of milk while she drank her coffee.” 

In Bucks County, as Goldberg got old enough to enjoy a more traditional cup of coffee, she would frequent local coffee shops where she fell in love with the community aspect and ritual which kept her coming back. “It was the community that really drove my ambitions to open my own shop.” Being able to experience the joy she got, Goldberg wanted to share that with her community, “When you get your coffee it's like a special moment that breaks you away from all the other stressors in life.” Now that the spark had been lit, it was time to get started on the journey.

Pearl Brewing Company lives in a coffee cart fully constructed and idealized by Goldberg and her boyfriend, noting he works a full-time job, so she took it upon herself to learn how to install plumbing by watching YouTube videos and constructing the wooden body, “I had these big slates of wood and just kinda slapped it all together.” Aside from the perfect cart, the sourcing of materials was a top factor in bringing this idea to life. Wanting to ensure top quality with sustainable practices, Goldberg found a roastery in Upper Black Eddy, Pennsylvania. Homestead Coffee Roasters works with small farms and small businesses that ensure liveable wages and consciously sourced beans. Goldberg works with another local farm for her dairy milk, Shady Brook Farm, located in Bucks County, has a milk trade-in program where they use glass bottles that can be cleaned and refilled to reduce waste as well as provide transparency in dairy production. Going beyond the typical standard of practices for coffee shops was crucial considering Goldberg’s knowledge and passion for sustainability, “It’s important to have open conversations about sustainability in coffee.” Every small step creates a change, customers of Pearl Brewing Co. can also get a 10% discount for bringing in their own cup to help incentivize environmental consciousness. 

The first day of service was at a local market in September of 2024 and has made appearances all over PA since. Goldberg plans on opening a brick-and-mortar store in Pennsylvania in the near future, as well as a store in Margate, where the passion was born, as well as New York City, where she spends a lot of time pursuing her modeling career. This dream has turned into reality at a young age, but Goldberg notes that it is never too late to feel and be fulfilled by the work you do every day, “If this is your dream and this is your passion and what you truly want to do, I think not doing it is more of a risk than actually going for it, jumping in, and seeing what you can do.”

Bringing the cart to NYC is another goal for 2025 as well as keeping up with the local markets in Pennsylvania. The markets provide a space to connect with the community and other business owners who share a passion for loving what they do. Keeping her goals clear and living up to the goals for a cleaner world of coffee, Pearl Brewing Company will continue to strive for the best practices, and in the meantime, you can find Brooke Goldberg running the cart, making delicious espresso, and sipping on a traditional cappuccino, her personal favorite.