MARS HILL, Maine — Local women are behind Aroostook County’s newest coffee and tea trailer.
A Different Point of Brew is making the rounds of Mars Hill and Presque Isle and offers a variety of coffee and tea beverages.
Food trucks are a popular summer staple all over Maine. Presque Isle built on the trend a couple of years ago by starting Food Truck Fridays, where various vendors offer their fare near the Sargent Family Community Center. Owners and partners Shyann Miller and Cassidy Keegan were drawn to the food trailer concept and wanted every customer to feel welcome.
“It’s a Different Point of Brew for a reason,” Miller said. “No matter what background you come from, no matter where [people] stand in life, they have a place that is always safe.”
Miller is from Oklahoma and remembers how popular food trucks are in the South. She’s excited to see the trend catching on in Aroostook County. Other food trailer businesses like Higher Grounds Coffee and Hometown Proud BBQ have popped up within the last few years.
Prior to starting a Different Point of Brew, Miller worked at Al’s Diner in Mars Hill and has always had an interest in the food scene, especially coffees and teas.
She and Keegan have been influenced by coffee and food. Keegan’s family owns Coffee Hound Coffee Co., based in Brewer, which provided guidance to the business venture.
The two also had help from Miller’s husband and a Texas company that builds food trailers. Miller used her own private investment to build the business, and had a specific target in mind.
“Last year on my birthday, I made a goal of owning my own business and having it set up by my [next] birthday,” Miller said.
They worked on the idea last summer, when the area had no other coffee trailers. By September 2022, Miller had started the LLC process.
A Different Point of Brew offers different hot and cold coffee, matcha, and tea combinations. The duo plan to take their trailer as far south as Houlton and also attend local events, including the recent Pride Aroostook Festival in Presque Isle.
One unique option they offer is a plant-based lotus energy tea. People can build their own flavors with multiple sweetened or sugar-free combinations.
“We decided to go with it because it didn’t have any artificial ingredients or anything harmful for your body and is 100 percent natural,” Miller said.
A Different Point of Brew uses a reward program through its Clover app and also plans several promotions. Most recently Miller and Keegan launched “Find the Brew,” where customers guess where the trailer is located through social media for a chance to win a drink.
Miller hopes to stay in Mars Hill and open a brick-and-mortar store later as business grows.
“It was a big leap of faith in myself,” she said.
