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Their mobile cafe, which is towed by
car, is named Little Things Big Things to
honor the circumstances it was created in
and a famous song by Australian musician
Paul Kelly. It is based in Torquay, a quintes- they face include high fees to operate at
sential Australian beach town just over 100
kilometers south-west of Melbourne, and liable power sources, and servicing long
first operated as a pop-up at one end of the
Great Ocean Road, a spectacular 243 kilo- and change our system along the way, which
meter coastal drive. “We feel like many of
the opportunities along the way were not
only because we support local and organic,
but also because of the unique look of the
caravan. People stop to take photos,” said
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the Bakers.
“It only took two weeks until we were
thrown into our first major festival and it
was so much fun,” they said. The challenges
major events (often in four figures), unre-
lines of customers quickly. “We had to adapt
meant upgrading from a 2-group to a
3-group machine, bringing on an external
milk steamer and continually figuring out
the quickest workflow to produce quality
volume coffee.”
Mandana and Stephen warn setting which is hard work for a bicycle, the very
up a bespoke mobile cafe like theirs costs thing that makes Darmawan’s coffee
more than you might expect — in both shop mobile.
hard work and dollars. Kim Polglaze, Darmawan’s cafe is called Cangkruk
founder and owner of Spitfire Vintage Coffee Bike. The word ‘cangkruk’ rough-
Caravans, the company that made Little ly translates to gathering and chatting.
Things Big Things, said an eight-foot He says the name is very important to his
van that accommodates two people like coffee cart concept because “in Indonesia
the Bakers’ costs between US$10,727 cangkruk is about social life”, and with
and $12,619, and a 12-footer that fits coffee you can make friends with anyone.
four is between US$13,250 and $15,774. The Cangkruk Coffee Bike has been
After the cafe itself, registration fees trading for over three years and is in fact
and a commercial espresso machine, two stalls: A fixed one in the east coast
comes the labor. “You definitely have to beach suburb of Sanur in Denpasar, and
not shy away from lots of work behind a mobile one used for events. The fixed
the computer to apply for events and cafe still exudes a sense of transience with
work out taxes,” Stephen and Mandana a hut-like structure and mobile counter
said. And there are early mornings and out the front that sits upon a bicycle.
lots of driving. Darmawan said his bike cafe is the
only one in Bali, which is just as well
The Bicycle Cafe because he chose the concept to be de-
liberately distinct. He said it “attracts
The biggest disadvantage for Awan people’s attention” and offers customers
Darmawan’s mobile cafe in Denpasar, a unique experience. There is a lot of
Bali is rain. With the tropical archipela- “curiosity about our coffee bike”, he
go of Indonesia being so close to the said, and that makes people want to try
equator, it has two distinct seasons: dry their goods. But Darmawan also feels the
and wet. During the wet season from very thing that gives Cangkruk Coffee
November to April, the skies open sev- Bike its charming and unique character
eral times a day with heavy downpours. is a difficulty. “The challenge of our
It’s what makes Bali so leafy and pictur- business is to compete with sophisticat-
esque. It also makes it wet and muddy, ed coffee shops.”
Photo / Little Things Big Things
Mandana and Stephen warn
setting up a bespoke mobile
cafe like theirs costs more
than you might expect — in
both hard work and dollars.
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