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- Tale Lites Issue 9
Which Truck Stop has the Best Coffee |
Where Trucking and Coffee Meet
-Lombard
I got the March/April issue of Landline Magazine in the mail recently, and although it’s cover piece was dedicated to talking about Autonomous Trucks, I found tucked in towards the back a powerful story of a trucker who has also launched their own coffee brand. Meet Natasha Cruz-Sanchez from Puerto Rico! An aspiring nurse, she graduated college and not long after the island was devastated by Hurricane Maria. Her community came together and persevered, but still feeling responsibility to help her family, to find work she had to move to the Continental US. Coming to Washington DC she had $500 in her pocket, and knew absolutely no one. Leaning on her passions, she found herself working at a specialty coffee shop, and after a year sunk her teeth in so much paid her way to Italy to learn even more on the coffee trade. After returning home she won a coffee roasting competition that opened her up to more opportunities. Along the way she learned the supply chain of coffee, which starts at the farm, and only moves via truck. One memory sticks out when during Covid she spoke with a driver who needed to use the restroom, and if you’re a trucker you know that many distribution centers have gotten flak for not even allowing bathroom use. Not only did she let him use the restroom, but made him a cup of coffee and a care package of merch.
What drove Natasha into getting her CDL was not just the positive experiences from receiving trucks at the coffee warehouse, but that she didn’t notice any female drivers cross her docks! Once she found out only 12% of truckers were female, she decided that she wanted to be apart of the 12%. It would be put on hold due to some medical and family issues that took her back to Puerto Rico, and where she felt like she was moving backwards, she had trucking and coffee career waiting for her when she returned. This time making her way to Arizona, at CDL school she was one of three women out of a class of 30, and at her first Carrier was one woman out of 20 new hires. As she entered the industry, coffee now reentered the picture where at a truck stop in Texas she had a less than ideal cup of coffee, and was just absolutely floored. Catering to a little bit of my narrative, she explains how bad coffee can only be changed by adding large quantities of sugar and flavored creams, which can lead to excess of calories, and be unhealthy for drivers.
After 15 months of trucking, Natasha unfortunately had an ACL tear in March of 2023, and all the money she was saving to start a coffee business now had to support her lifestyle. The next part is what is the most important, and it is why I am so big on community, and that in this tough time, a good friend ended up gifting her a coffee roaster. They believed in her, and her dreams. She had lived showing people who she truly is, so they believed her! From there her first product simply dubbed “Over the Road” was born. Not only paying tribute to America’s truckers, but the farmers who make coffee possible. Sourcing her coffee from a farm in Mexico she discovered years ago, she prides herself on it being Trucker tested and approved, as many drivers were shocked to not need any sugar or cream because it was that good.
Natasha is back on the road still driving, and with her coffee business in full swing! Her mission is a noble one, driving home how important truckers and farmers are. Something I say often is how taken for granted the US Supply Chain truly is, and how just 5 years ago people paid attention, albeit briefly, when suddenly toilet paper couldn’t be purchased on demand. The same goes for a simple commodity such as coffee. Imagine a world without coffee tomorrow…
You can support Natasha and Nacrusan Coffee at nacrusan.com
I want to hear from you! For Driver Submissions, questions, and comments contact me at: [email protected] or Text me directly at 423-275-2444
Read her story in Landline online
And Check out her story on the Lombard Trucking Show below!
DOT Compliance Corner
CVSA Out of Service Criteria
by, Santiago Talamantez
Every yea on April 1st, the newest edition of the out of service criteria, published by the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) goes into effect. Not only does it benefit company management, but more so drivers understand that there are differences between conditions that are only violations, and conditions that red tag you or the vehicles. For example when checking your tires, in 393.75(b) you’ll read that the front tires of a bus, truck, or truck-tractor must have a tread groove pattern depth of at least 4/32 of an inch when measured at any point on the tire. Therefore, if a DOT inspector measures a steer tire less than 4/32, then you have a violation. In the CVSA OOS Criteria, you’ll read that if a steer tire is measured at less than 2/32 of an inch in two-adjacent grooves, now the truck is OOS. If I only have a violation, the DOT inspector would usually inform the driver that they are required to replace the tire before the truck is dispatched again after returning back to the yard. However, when you have an OOS condition, that must be repaired before you even move the truck any further, which is also going to incur additional costs of a road service and tire purchase. I highly recommend becoming familiar with this publication, you can buy the latest edition for 2025 that will go into effect next month at this link.
Note that FMCSA writes the rules and regulations, CVSA writes the inspection criteria and policies that govern the entire inspection process.
Question from Driver: Can I use the short-haul exemption if I cross state lines? Yes, the short-haul exemption in 395.1(e) is a federal exemption. The 150-mile air radius (172.5 land mile) restriction doesn’t require you to stay within the boundaries of a single-state. You would just have to make sure that you have the required operating permits (apportioned plates, IFTA, UCR, etc.) in order to be physically operating in those other states, despite the fact you are running either a timesheet, mobile app or whatever method your carrier is using to keep track of your hours.
Health Tip of the Week
Reducing sugar intake
Reducing Sugar Intake: Did you know the average American consumes a total of 350 calories a day from added sugars? In one year, most Americans will consume anywhere between 80-150 pounds of sugar! Consuming this much sugar can put us at higher risk for developing things like heart disease, diabetes, obesity, and other health problems. Try out these tips for reducing your added sugar intake:
Choose plain water or carbonated water with lemon instead of a soda or juice.
Buy plain varieties of products like yogurt or cereal and add fruit as a sweetener.
Avoid making treats an everyday food and reward yourself with non-food rewards.
Enjoy desserts occasionally, a smaller portion will help keep calories down while still satisfying your sweet tooth.
Marketing in food is deceptive, and not all that seem healthy are as they appear. Look at the nutrition labels for some of these yogurts, and sports drinks especially that are dumped with added sugar. Body Armor Flash IV is one that promotes hydration, but has 16g of sugar along with 15g of added sugar. Steer clear of juice, and stick with eating the physical fruit instead.
There is no need to fully restrict sugar, as restrictive diets aren’t the most sustainable habits. It isn’t the sugar itself that is the problem, it’s the quantity of it which leads to an excess of calories.
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Partner Post of the Week
Big shoutout to our guy Michael Nelms, a fleet owner who has helped countless others find success within all aspects of the trucking industry. You can use his code maddy20 for $20 off a one time use booking. Be sure to give him a follow!
Truck Parking Club Partner Program
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