Partnerships can have the power to clarify and sharpen traits, skills, and ideas, and that’s true of Kaleena Teoh and ChiSum Ngai—who goes by Sum—who are the co-founders of Coffee Project New York. 

Originally started as a small shop in the East Village in 2015, Coffee Project has expanded to a number of retail stores, a roastery, and a Specialty Coffee Association-certified training lab. Sum is a Q grader, which means she’s passed rigorous tests to evaluate and tastes coffees, and both Sum and Kaleena take their role as leaders seriously.

In this episode, we learn more about how their relationship to coffee, each other, and themselves has changed over time. Both Sum and Kaleena believe in the power of education, using Coffee Project as a space to bring customers into the coffee world. 

They also strive to build meaningful careers for their staff—which is why they’ve grown their business. But they still know the value of leading by example and are always looking to learn and expand their knowledge base. Here are Sum and Kaleena.