Capital Conversations: Moon, Musician and Manager of Alias Coffee

By Maurice Burbridge | September 15, 2025 

Photo Credit: Maurice Burbridge | The ASP

A few blocks from the MVP Arena, and slightly further from City Hall, lies the cozy Alias Coffee, one of the highest rated cafes in Albany. Behind the counter, is Moon, the manager of both locations, making drinks and conversation. From barista to musician, Moon or Moonboi, his musical persona, does a bit of everything. 

Andrew “Moon” Martins recalls jokes made by his friends, five to six years ago, about the moon neck tattoo he got when he was 19, resulting in the nickname he still uses today.

After failing the year prior, in seventh grade he met a sweet language arts teacher who offered him an olive branch: passing him, if he completed a singular poetry assignment.

“I was experiencing a-lot as a young kid too and I was semi-depressed, quote, unquote, so I really needed that expression to get that off my chest. And so when I finally started writing what she had described to me to write… I ended up having a great time expressing myself”.

She applied his entire class to an online poetry contest– and he won. “I got my poem published in a book with a bunch of other poems from other kids all over the country. I never got the book but I’m sure it’s somewhere out there”. His poetry became freestyling with friends, which then became songwriting, building off of the love he had already developed for music.

“I would definitely give a huge part of that to being Brazilian, and having my culture from Brazil, especially from the South. ‘Cause we’re called the gaúchos, it’s like the southern Brazilian cowboys, we wear these cool puffy pants, and we make music called sertanejo and it’s very expressive, usually with strings, very detailed lyrics, a lot of emotion, lot of storytelling.”

He adds, “I think a lot of music nowadays… is glorifying sex, drugs, [and] killing, death-culture.” He felt as if participating in that was the only way to successfully be a musician, but has since realized that’s not true. “I know that my music can touch people and that’s really what I want, support people living their best lives creating their happiness.”

While living in New York City, unemployed, during the 2020 pandemic, when his ex-wife asked him to get her a coffee, he ended up making a new friend in the manager. A couple visits later, he was spontaneously hired to fill a vacancy, as the cafe’s chef had just left.

“But eventually, as time went on, I slowly started going upstairs, and it was slow, downtime, and he was teaching me stuff on the bar.” Eventually, he became a barista.

When he and his ex-wife broke up, he worked at bwè kafe back home in New Jersey, improving his skills. After he and his new partner agreed to move in together, he found work at Jacob Alejandro, another cafe in Albany.

“I’ve only ever practiced at work, while I'm working, pumping drinks out, and at Jacob Alejandro’s specifically, if somebody wanted a drink, to stay, in a mug, it had to be in a mug, to stay, and look good. It doesn't have to be, but if you're the lead barista, you should be able to make sure that drinks look and taste great.” 

Photo Credit: Maurice Burbridge | The ASP

Moon added, “Great quality, great pours, great art, you know? ‘Cause it’s all combined, it’s all connected. If the texture of the milk is off, the flavor of coffee is off, so it’s all connected. That’s where my passion for [latte art] came about, just giving somebody something to enjoy, and be like, ‘Wow, thank you’, and I get that almost everyday now.”

Now, as a manager, Moon says he does find himself being friendly with the customers, perhaps more so than the friend that hired him in New York City was.

“I have my friends here, locals, and regulars every day. I get people from all over the world here, 'cause this point in Albany is kind of a passing point. Like people going to either Canada, or down to the city. It kind of works perfectly, so I get people all the time that come and are interested in coffee.”

He continues, “I do get people sometimes saying that they would like to do the job. I haven’t hired anyone because of it. I'm a manager, but, up to a certain extent, I don't pull all the strings.”

Hernan Lopez started Alias Coffee as a micro batch roasting company hosting pop-ups in Troy, but years later, after two brick and mortar stores have opened, Moon says Lopez still roasts every bean himself, sourcing them as ethically as possible. 

“Even with the waste that we create, we try to be as mindful as possible, at least. [Lopez] said, recently, during one of our meetings, that his goal, his dream, would be to have a no waste cafe running in the middle of the city… If that's something that can actually happen that would be, I think, a beautiful thing for the world”, said Moon.

Currently, the cafe offers large black mugs (and plates) for to-stay drink orders, and collects/cleans them when the customer is done, minimizing waste. 

Moon also attributes Alias Coffee’s growing success to love. “We love what we do, and we try to keep people here that also love what they do. As far as the baristas, it's not always how it works, because barista work is kind of in a transition, I think, where some people don't really want to do it. They’re just doing it because they need a job and money. But it is slowly becoming a better paying job, especially [with] tip culture growing.”

He doesn’t seem to lack any pride in his job though. “A lot of people nowadays put stereotypes around having a job, when you have a dream, when you have a passion… but as long as it's providing for what you need, not what you want, but what you need to survive, and you can pursue your dreams. That’s a beautiful life in my opinion.”

Alias Coffee is located at 76th North Pearl Street in Albany. Find out more about Moon’s music at @moonboimusic on Instagram.