Who am I?
Hello! My name is Helen. If there are two things in this world I am most passionate about, they are coffee and adventuring. Having grown up in the Scottish Borders, nothing makes me happier than climbing the Scottish peaks and jumping in the open water. Travelling around Scotland, I noticed the lack of specialty coffee in rural areas. I want to combine my experience in hospitality and barista training with my love for exploring, and take Adventure Beans, a coffee van, around rural Scotland. Providing these areas with specialty coffees, affordable and accessible training while building a community around them. 
'Mobile Coffee Shop' Inspiration:
A sense of community is a big motivator in anything I do. Sharing experiences, connecting with each other and connecting with nature. That is what is most important to me and it is exactly what I want to do with Adventure Beans. Connect with rural communities around Scotland, and bring them high quality, specialty coffee. Hitting up walking spots, cycling routes, mountain bike trails, swim spots, communitity events and areas that do not have local access to a coffee shop. Teaming up with local businesses, such as coffee roasters and bakers, to provide coffee and treats.
My introduction to coffee at 24 started a passion for drinking and making coffee (both very much fuelled by each other). I have been a barista for the last 10 years, I have managed several coffee shops and I have been training baristas for the last 5 years. I want to take this experience on the road, and help caffeinate the nation!
'Other Stuff' Inspiration:
I grew up in a very remote location and would have loved the opportunity to learn a pratical and creative skill. Travelling around Scotland, small villages and towns, coffee is something that is very underdeveloped. Furthermore, areas out with city boundaries and more rural communities, lack resourcing to help develop skills. I want to provide specialty coffee and barista training to people, focusing on rural areas. Those looking for further skills and local businesses, who may not have those resources in their area, providing them with affordable and accessible training.
Adventure Beans will be trading as a coffee van and training within businesses. However, after expenses, any profits will be reinvested into the business. Investing into training resources, greater geographical outreach and coffee van community development. Providing not only a coffee service but one of skill development, future employment oppurtunity and community. I want to organise socials so that Adventure Beans will not be a van that only supplies coffee, but one that also serves as an active creator and participant in community engagement, fostering a sense of togetherness.
The seeds for this business venture have already been laid out, tried and tested. I have travelled around Shetland's rugged landcape and supported small businesses, teaching a range of ages in groups and one on one. This has been incredibly well-received (see testimonials below), proving that this is a viable, and needed, enterprise.
Why crowd funding?
A medium van with a big plan! – Looking for crowd funding to pair with additional funding and personal investment to make this a reality. The fine details can be found in the progession plan below.
We have all seen those ads for reasonably priced, reliable vans? Well… Imagine one of those with a professionally fitted coffee machine inside, with the ability to connect to multiple power supplies…the world is your oyster! This gives me the opportunity to build a coffee van and a community, taking amenities to areas that may not have access. Bringing coffee to communities and beautiful places and bring opportunity to rural and remote locations to learn new skills or improve existing skills.
A plan that is already been tried and tested in Shetland, going as far as the most northerly island in the UK (Unst, Shetland Isles) to train staff to make coffee in the only café on the island. I have been collecting testimonials from those I have been training, creating a portfolio of my work in the hope of using it to gain funding and future training ventures. This feedback has powered my idea, from both individuals and businesses, I can see the positive effect it will have. (Below are a couple of examples of feedback)
- ‘Having Helen come to Unst to do training with us has been brilliant, being a rural small business, we don’t get a lot of opportunities to be able to access training. She was brilliant and very knowledgeable helping us all understand not only how to make coffees but the process as well. If we had someone like Helen when we first started our small tea rooms it would have been invaluable to us instead of having to just learn through trial and error, making costly mistakes along the way! I think Helen’s idea of taking training into rural areas is genius, i see it helping many small rural businesses like ours, and giving young people the opportunity to learn new skills to help them in the future.’ – Café Owner, Victoria’s Vintage Tea Rooms, Unst, Shetland Isles
- "Thank you so much for the coffee training. We all thoroughly enjoyed it and you have the patience of a saint!
I personally found the training very, very helpful and your warm, friendly approach put us all at ease, ready and willing to learn. I have had compliments from some of our regulars who say they can fairly taste the difference in our coffee now. It was very informative but did not bamboozle us with too much and you ensured we all knew what we were doing at each step. I would highly recommend this training for anyone, whether they are new or old to coffee making." - Cafe Owner, Braewick Cafe, Hillswick, Shetland Isles
I am so passionate about this project. I have a history of running businesses and in my life, I have made a billion coffees. I have lived it for 10 years, trained people for years and as you can see by the testimonials, I have received very positive feedback and results.
Can you hire Adventure Beans?
Events-
Yes – It would be an honour to be a part of any event, big or small. Pricing will be based on group size and location. Any additional trader licences may be needed, I will take care of this, the prices vary but are not overly expensive.
Corporate hire- for team building, for a fun and educational experience, unless team members have worked in a coffee shop, this will be a very new experience for them, learning about a new industry. Depending on the team, it will be slightly competitive but mainly fun and informative. The experience will be built up of team work and individual work.
Outreach – The business will be visible on social media platforms, a website and can be contacted by email.
Training-
Availible to businesses, individuals and, in the future, as a reinvestment process as outreach to youth projects and rural community outreach. Having the van will allow me to go to locations with limitied coffee facilities.
Prices for businesses will be based on group size and full day or half day rates. The benefits of being afforbale and fitting around the business requirements will be considered throughout.
Projected Progression Plan
The fundraising goal is based on buying a suitable van to fit the coffee machine, the average price of vans within 100-mile radius. Money raised from this project will be going towards the purchase of a suitable van that complies with Coffee Latino's specifications (the company fitting the coffee machine). I will then use my personal investment to have the coffee machine fitted which can cost upwards of £12,000 which is an incredible service.
Funding and personal investment will be used to gain street traders licences,road tax, food hygiene certificate, accountacy support, website/marketing, business insurance and insure the vehicle and a minimal stock start up.
Street Traders Licence: Prices for a year vary depending on council district. Midlothian and the Scottish Borders will be the main districts I will operate in, with I hope to be trading in both within a year. Training will not be limited to these districts exclusivley.
Join me please and support me in making this happen!
Investor Rewards:
To gain rewards, contact details such as email address and address must be declared at donation stage.
(All information will only be used for this purpose and will not be given out to any other party).