Coffee in a Cloud's whipped lattes are crafted with a bartender's touch

Scott Skibosh created a lot of cocktails as a bartender. Going sober meant making a few changes, including his career.

Teaming up with his childhood friend, Dominic Guerino, he began brainstorming business ideas. They kept coming back to coffee. Together in 2021 they created the mobile business Coffee in a Cloud, offering unique dairy-free whipped lattes.

The business name comes from a play on Skibosh’s favorite childhood dessert made by his mom, and it perfectly encapsulates their product, which is coffee with a creamy side. Skibosh puts all his bartending background into creating the drinks, which are made with a cold brew base, oat milk and whipped coffee, with the option to add a bevy of syrups and toppings.

Prices start at $6 for a regular whipped latte and $7 for the matcha and chai options for non-coffee drinkers. Specialty lattes with fully loaded toppings are $8. Coffee in a Cloud’s mobile stand can be found at events around town, including from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays at the Oak Creek Farmers Market at Drexel Town Square, 361 W. Town Square Way, Oak Creek; and from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sundays at the Greater Menomonee Falls Foundation Farmers Market at Village Park, N87-W16749 Garfield Drive, Menomonee Falls.

Skibosh recently talked about his business and what sets it apart.

Buddies become business partners

I was a bartender my whole life. I quit drinking three years ago. That’s when Dominic and I started talking about creating a business for ourselves. We kind of wanted to be our own boss.

I used my bartending skills to create a coffee drink. The more I got into coffee we realized everyone gets into coffee and there is a market. I create almost like building a cocktail, but we’re talking coffee. Dominic is more the numbers guy, the accountant. We work great as a team.

Dominic does all the licensing and permits. We actually played youth football together back in the day. We’ve been friends forever. Dominic works in manufacturing. I actually manage a bistro in Brookfield. I am still in the service industry, but in a different way. I am so happy to still be in the industry; it is such a big part of my life. The joy I get out of offering a good experience to someone is everything.

A sweet start thanks to Mom

The business name came from my mom. When we were growing up she would make a dessert, pudding in a cloud, always in a fancy little glass. I kind of took that name and took the coffee aspect to it with our cold brew.

What sets this coffee apart

I wanted to do something that not every cafe or place offers. That’s where the creative aspect kicked in. Essentially what I tell everyone is our recipe is a strong concentrated cold brew. We serve it with oat milk, and it is amazing.

There are a lot of dairy allergies. People are always asking about alternatives. When we tell them we use nothing but oat milk, their eyes light up. The signature topping is just coffee. It looks like cream, and some people think it is caramel, or peanut butter, or whipped cream. It is just coffee, so it is almost like a double shot in a cup. (The texture) is like whipped cream on top, but it is just coffee. That is the coffee in a cloud. That is what you are getting that is different. We have a plethora of flavors. We do regular whip lattes and we offer specialty lattes more geared to all the toppings and fixings. Those are more loaded, just loaded with all treats.

They don’t go nuts with toppings

Anything candy bar related goes great with coffee. When we look at flavors, I always tell Dominic we have to stay away from peanuts, because of allergies. We just don’t want to deal with that. Then coconut, that is like cilantro. People either love it or hate it. Peanut butter and coconut are two things we stay away from when making coffee.

Coffee versus cocktail culture

This is definitely similar to bartending. When I built the coffee recipes, that’s how I thought about it. When you go to the bar, you order and you wait and your drink is made. Our coffee is kind of like that, but it is quick. Whipped coffee was trendy on TikTok. I said, "What is this? It looks amazing. I could sell that." I started playing around with cold brew. I learned things by trial and error.

It all begins with dark roast coffee

Everyone loves the dark roast. That is definitely more of a crowd pleaser. We use a Colombian dark roast. The medium and light roast fans, those people are used to tasting the coffee without creamer and sugar. The dark roast is perfect for us. We use the good stuff.

I drank a lot of coffee trying to figure this out. Dominic and his family were always taste-testing for us. I finally figured it out, and I knew it was the recipe. I was going to do milk with the whipped coffee, but the coffee was lost. I added our concentrated cold brew with the whipped coffee and it all just came together.

Completely mobile coffee

We are a coffee service. People have asked us, where are you located? We both still have full time jobs. This is our side hustle. You have to come find us. We list our schedule online. We are a completely mobile coffee service. We will come to your work and set up for the day.

Be open and try something new

People approach our stand and order their coffee the way they want it. I say you should try it the way we make it. If not, I’ll make it your way. They take a sip, then they look back at the stand and say it is so amazing, so good. That’s my true pleasure in doing this. That’s my thank you.

It is amazing to me when people give it a chance and try it the way we make it. We will be accommodating and make what they want, because that’s what we do. Just give us a chance and let us do what we do best, let us give you something a bit different, something that hopefully you will enjoy.

Where you’ll find him when he’s not working

I’m still so passionate about coffee. Since I quit drinking, I really enjoy toys now. I have a motorcycle, an electric dirt bike. Literally on a daily basis I like to take out my bike and explore coffee shops.

I love coffee, but I also love to explore the different businesses. I ask what is the most fun, cool thing that you do that no one else does? More often than not, I hear, “uh, caramel latte,” but I have found some fun things. It is all research, and I love coffee, so it is always enjoyable.

Fork. Spoon. Life. explores the everyday relationship that local notables (within the food community and without) have with food. To suggest future personalities to profile, email clewis@journalsentinel.com.

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Coffee in a Cloud's whipped lattes are made with a bartender's touch