JAMAICA PLAIN , Massachusetts ( CNN ) -- Lucy Valena is hooked on coffee . Lucy Valena went to Seattle to learn from the best baristas before opening her Boston espresso company . `` I had my first shot of espresso when I was 14 , '' she says . `` And it was pretty amazing for me . '' With the dream of opening a coffee house , Valena -- a 24-year-old artist -- went to Seattle , Washington , to learn at the aprons of the best . `` The first time I went into a cafe , I saw someone pour the leaf , the rosetta , on top of a latte , and I 'll never forget , I just saw that barista pour that rosetta and I said , ' I 'm not leaving this town until I learn how to do that . ' `` Valena returned to Boston , Massachusetts , and launched Voltage Coffee , a mobile espresso catering company , last fall . `` When I was in Seattle , I kind of was amazed by this kind of wired culture that they have going on there . People are just obsessed , '' Valena says . `` They just make this amazing coffee and are just really caffeinated and just getting stuff done . It 's a very exciting place to be . `` So when I moved back to Boston , I really wanted to kind of bring that energy back with me in a way . And Voltage Coffee is a way to bring that on the road and bring it into other peoples ' environments instead of bringing them into a separate place . It 's bringing the caffeine to the people , '' she says . Watch Valena talk about her enthusiasm for coffee » . Her corporate headquarters is her bedroom , and she wrote her business plan `` with all these Business Plan Writing for Dummies books , '' she says . Valena then took her plan to the Small Business Administration and was directed to Accion USA , a company specializing in microloans . Accion had just begun a partnership with the Boston Beer Company -- brewer of Samuel Adams beers -- to help small food and beverage businesses get funding and free advice . `` I love Lucy 's dedication to the quality of her product , '' says Samuel Adams founder Jim Koch . `` I 'm a big believer that a great product , and the passion that an entrepreneur brings to that , can carry a long way if you have a helping hand . `` Lucy stands out as an entrepreneur because she 's got a lot of energy , she 's got a huge amount of passion for coffee , for her product . And she does wonderful things about quality . `` She makes her own flavorings from scratch with fresh ingredients . So , that reminded me a lot of brewing and how we make our beer , and of course you know I believe that anything brewed is good . '' Valena started Voltage with $ 2,000 of her own cash and a $ 4,000 loan she got through the Samuel Adams Brewing the American Dream program . That $ 6,000 `` covered the espresso machine , the grinders , my table , some membership costs , licensing ... and my costs for a few months with the commercial kitchen facility , '' she says . Now she 's focused on opening a storefront . But she has to incorporate , find a space and get a loan . `` I need to convince someone to give me 180 grand , '' she says . `` That 's a good chunk of change . '' Despite the economy , Valena remains undaunted : `` I 'm just going to keep working at it . I 'm not letting up . I 'm not letting up , Boston ! I do n't care ! ''
Lucy Valena traveled to Seattle to learn from the best baristas . She returned to Boston and launched a mobile espresso catering company last fall . Valena started with $ 2,000 of her own cash and a $ 4,000 loan from brewer . Beer maker helps small food and beverage businesses get funding , advice .