Owner of the neighbourhood independent says customers happy to make 200-mile round trip for “unique” taste of drinksInside Tranquil 1992 Coffee Shop in the Jewellery Quarter which is expanding to a new premises in September 2025(Image: Thang Nguyen)

Coffee loving punters are driving to Birmingham from as far as London in search of “unique” drinks, one city business owner has told BirminghamLive.

Thang Nguyen owns Tranquil 1992, a Vietnamese coffee house in the Jewellery Quarter famed for its signature hot and iced drinks.

The drinks house opened in Vyse Street in December 2023 and quickly won praise for its signature drinks like egg coffee, salted coffee and Uji Matcha.

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Now the neighbourhood independent is expanding to a second site in the Jewellery Quarter, which you can read more on here.

BirminghamLive met with Tranquil 1992 owner and adopted Brummie Thang this week to find out why customers are driving more than 100 miles each way just for a drink.

“It’s because I run something unique, you have to come here to get the coffee, you can’t find it anywhere else” explained Thang, 33.

“I see Starbucks as my competitor.

“We use robust Vietnamese beans, we roast them with butter and chocolate in the shop, we are like chefs!

“We then hand brew it, we have customers asking for beans and asking how to brew coffee at home.”

Drinks at Tranquil don’t come cheap – an espresso will set you back £4, white coffee £5.65, to more complex drinks like egg coffee costing £6.10, coconut coffee £5.85, salted matcha latte £5.95.

“It is expensive for a coffee but for the quality it is not expensive and it’s still cheaper than Starbucks for some things” Thang said.

He then listed some of the ingredients that a drink might contain, such as condensed milk, fresh milk, sugar, in-house roasted coffee, cinnamon, matcha, coconut.

Inside Tranquil 1992 Coffee Shop in the Jewellery Quarter which is expanding to a new premises in September 2025. Pictured: Owner Thang Nguyen(Image: Thang Nguyen)

As part of Thang’s expansion plans, he revealed he plans to move Tranquil’s coffee operation into the former premises of Nails Bab on Hall Street after outgrowing the Vyse Street site.

However the Vyse Street will remain open, but as a wine bar.

“My main business will still be coffee – the wine bar is my passion project,” said Thang.

“We need a bigger space, especially in winter people say they want to bring their whole family.

“They like sitting in and the vibes we offer.”

He explained he wants to keep the “cosy and intimate” feeling of his Vyse Street location for the new wine bar, which seats 10 people, and then run a bigger coffee operation at his new Hall Street location, with space for 28 seats.

“The decoration is done it’s just the carpentry” he said of the new space, which he hopes to open in September.

Thang worked in fashion PR in Vietnam for 10 years, then landed a full scholarship to study marketing at the University of Birmingham, and he has never left.

Tranquil 1992 Coffee Shop in the Jewellery Quarter is expanding to a new premises in September 2025. Pictured: New shop on Hall Street(Image: Naomi de Souza / BirminghamLive)

His customer base is diverse and he speaks lovingly about the city and its communities.

“I have always loved coffee and used my experience.

“I feel grateful to Birmingham they gave me a scholarship, there’s always a bad reputation about Birmingham but it is not bad, every city has got good and bad parts.

“My long-term dream is for Tranquil to a be a tourist destination, I have customers from London, people literally just drive here, just for egg coffee!

“I see myself as a Brummie.”

Thang’s family have not been able to make it from Vietnam yet to see the shop yet, but what did they think of his business idea? “At the beginning my family were quite shocked,.

“They were asking why I left a job and [graduated] from a good masters to run my own business.

“I wanted to prove when you pursue your dream, you can still manage that risk.”