Every Tuesday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., a sleek white truck parked outside the Cox Science Building drew a steady stream of students. With its signature matchas, lattes and small-batch baked goods that sell out fast, Honey Veil quickly became a go-to destination last semester for matcha lovers on campus.
Founded by Miami-native sisters Ceci and Regina Alcobe, Honey Veil is a mobile café born out of a shared love for matcha and baking. At just 22 and 19 years old, the sisters have transformed a passion project into a popular campus staple, offering thoughtfully crafted drinks, sourdough pastries and a moment of calm amidst college chaos.
While you may not be shocked to hear that the drinks are delicious, you may be surprised to learn that both sisters and their older brother attended UM. This inspired Ceci’s decision to bring Honey Veil to UM. She felt like campus was the perfect place to start the business.
“Ceci did her research, reached out to the right people, and we got confirmation that we could be on campus two days a week,” Regina said. “She took the spring semester off to fully focus on Honey Veil, but she wanted to stay connected to campus — and this was the perfect extension.”
Behind the truck’s success is a story of resilience and inspiration rooted in family. The sisters cite their mom and multicultural background (Mexican, German and Spanish) as their most significant influences. It all started when their mom, Cecilia, shared a photo of her sourdough bread in a group chat and received a flood of orders. That led the sisters to start selling baked goods at farmers markets.
What began as a two-day setup quickly expanded to three. Starting in fall 2025, the truck is expected to operate Monday through Friday.
The name “Honey Veil” originated from an unexpected source: ChatGPT. Regina, known for her love of descriptive writing, struggled to sum up the brand’s vibe in just a word or two. She typed out a long paragraph explaining their vision of something delicate, natural, sweet and intentional. AI suggested words like “honey,” “nectar,” “lace” and “thread.”
After mixing and matching, Regina initially landed on Honeylace, but the Instagram handle was taken. That’s when she found Honey Veil. She felt that the name captured their essence and even included a nod to her love for weddings.
Honey Veil stands out because of the intention and authenticity behind it. While their age might seem like a disadvantage to some, the sisters believe it’s one of their biggest strengths. Being young helps them connect with their audience and to their brand, from recipes and design to service with energy and meaning.
“I think sometimes when you take things too seriously, it’s hard to achieve what you set out to do because everything becomes about the destination — not the process,” Regina said. “We were so focused on enjoying the process and making that as authentic as we possibly could, and great things ended up happening.”
When it comes to their matcha, the sisters are perfectionists. Drinks are refined sugar–free and made with clean, simple ingredients. After conducting numerous tests, they perfected the matcha-to-milk and water-to-matcha ratios, striking a balance between taste and froth in every cup.
Ceci led many of the matcha experiments. During this time, Regina accidentally invented their now-signature whipped honey, which was initially a failed attempt at a healthy meringue. While Regina keeps their recipes a secret, she’s always transparent about the ingredients.
As someone with a sweet tooth and a performance-driven mindset, Regina also began adjusting her recipes to cut refined sugar, opting for coconut sugar, maple syrup and more natural ingredients.
“I noticed that when I had too much processed food, I would break out, bloat and just not feel my best,” Regina said. “We never wanted [our food] to be about ‘low-calorie’ — it’s about real, whole foods that help your body feel good while still tasting amazing.”
Honey Veil even offers gluten-free and dairy-free options.
Flavor creation is one of Regina’s favorite parts of the job, even though she doesn’t have as much time for it now.
“I have an endless document of flavors that have popped into my head and I’ve been wanting to test and try out,” Regina said. “A lot of them come to me when I’m working on the truck, or when someone mentions something, or I’ll see a TikTok with a cool dessert recipe and imagine it in a drink with a different twist.”
Right now, she’s still heavily involved in the day-to-day operations and plans to regularly release new and exciting flavors in the near future. One of her biggest inspirations is Hallie Meyer, founder of Caffè Panna in New York, who is known for her creative ice cream combinations.
“Her flavor concepts always blow my mind — I look up to her so much,” Regina said.
The sisters’ dedication goes beyond recipes. One of Regina’s most memorable days on the truck came when she gashed her foot open with a syrup bottle. She had no choice but to bandage herself up, prop her foot on a stool and keep working through the pain.
“It was honestly pretty painful working like that for hours, but the constant flow of matcha and conversation with students kept the pain at bay,” Regina said.
Despite needing crutches for two days, she was back in the truck shortly after.
“One of the girls told me, ‘Thank you for coming back,’ and those words meant the world to me,” Regina said.
Operating a food truck comes with its own set of challenges including permits, logistics, weather and power outages. But the sisters have built a strong system and learned to adapt.
As former competitive tennis players, Ceci and Regina were enrolled in online school to travel for tournaments, training five to six hours daily. The discipline and sacrifice tennis demanded taught them the necessary skills for running a business.
“I think tennis gave me the skills to persevere, adapt and be consistent no matter the circumstances,” Regina said. “You have to master what you can control so you’re always ready for the unknown — whether it’s on the court or the truck.”
Regina was even talking with Division I tennis programs before Honey Veil took off but ultimately chose the café over a collegiate athletic career. She’ll begin at the University of Miami in fall 2025.
UM students have been some of Honey Veil’s most loyal supporters and a major reason the sisters have pushed forward.
“There have been a lot of hard days that made us doubt,” Regina said. “But the students were always there — showing up, talking with us, giving us their energy.”
The sisters never set out to specifically “market” to students, but the connection came naturally.
“I credit them more than I credit us — for taking a chance on us and supporting us every step of the way,” Regina said.
That connection helped cement Regina’s decision to attend UM this fall.
“I think I resonate with our customers because I am our customer — young, curious, a little bit confused about the world, but with a hunger to learn and be so much more.” Regina said.
From a trending sourdough craze to a sleek campus truck, Honey Veil is more than a café. It’s a story of sisterhood, vision and passion sweetened with a little whipped honey on top.
As the truck’s following continues to grow and its menu evolves, Honey Veil is proving that thoughtful ideas, genuine connection and a bit of boldness can go a long way even without formal training or years of experience.
With every pour, swirl and smile, the Alcobe sisters are building community, one matcha at a time.
