Pinned Brews - A social coffee community

This is a submission for the DEV Weekend Challenge: Community

The Community

I spent 12 years in the specialty coffee world before pivoting into web development in 2020. One thing I always wished existed was a simple place to see what other people were actually brewing, enjoying, and recommending.

There are plenty of places to buy coffee, but not many places that make it easy to discover new coffees and roasters through other people’s real brew logs and tasting notes. I built Pinned Brews for that kind of coffee community: people who love trying new roasters, comparing brew methods, and sharing what’s in their cup.

What I Built

I built Pinned Brews, a social coffee logging app where people can:

• post the coffees they’re drinking
• log brew methods, ratios, and tasting notes
• discover new roasters through a public feed
• build profiles around their coffee habits
• unlock achievements for exploring and posting
• get AI-powered brew suggestions for future tweaks

The goal was to keep the app simple and approachable while still making it fun to explore what the wider coffee community is brewing.

Demo

Give it a try here: Pinned Brews

Code

Repo: github.com/puginator/pinned-brews

How I Built It

I built Pinned Brews with:

• Next.js for the app frontend and routing
• Supabase for auth and database storage
• Vercel for deployment
• Gemini for AI brew suggestions
• custom SVG brew method icons for a more coffee-specific UI

I also used AI tools during the build process to quickly explore early UI ideas, generate some custom brew graphics, and help organize seed data from roasters and coffees listed on drinktrade.com.

What I Learned

This project was a fun way to combine two parts of my background: specialty coffee and web development. The biggest challenge was keeping the app lightweight and fun while still making it feel like a real community product instead of just a personal brew tracker.

What’s Next

If I keep building it out, I’d love to add:

• comments and discussions on brews
• following favorite brewers or roasters
• richer coffee search and filtering
• more personalized discovery features