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Darmawan has a significant advantage over
fixed cafes though. He and his team made
Cangkruk Coffee Bike themselves and installed
their own power system so the cafe is self-suffi-
cient. “It doesn’t need electricity from outside,
so wherever we go we can make coffee.”

The Remodelled Cart

A creative mobile cafe owner who avoids
using electricity altogether can be found in north-
ern Thailand’s Pai, a town about 70 kilometers
from the Myanmar border that sits on the banks his goal. Analog Cafe is rustic, whimsical, and
of a river at the bottom of a densely green tropi- super cool all at once. It is little wonder most of
cal valley. Suphamit Khaospoa, who prefers to go Ja-ae’s customers are tourists. Watching him
by the nickname Ja-ae, transformed a typical Thai ‘manually making’ your coffee is an experience
cart into Analog Cafe. This barista does not use a in itself. “The way I do coffee, it’s like a TV show.”
single kilowatt of power to make coffee. “I do it Plus, Ja-ae uses beans harvested from the moun-
with a moka pot and pour over system, a gas stove tain of Pai that are roasted by his friend, giving
and manual grinders. It’s kind of the old way to visitors the chance to taste local produce and
make coffee.” support the region.
Like Darmawan and the Bakers, Ja-ae want- Ja-ae created his mobile cafe three years ago
ed to create a unique mobile business stamped with a few personal aims. He wanted a coffee
with his personal style. “Here in Pai, there are a business that could be set up with little money
lot of fixed cafes already so I wanted to try and and little disturbance to his local community. This
do something different.” He certainly achieved is where the electric free mobile cart idea came
from — although Analog Cafe is usually stationed
in the same spot on a small street that connects
with Pai’s main drag of markets and food stalls.
Still, a cafe that requires no electricity source or
Photo / Cangruk Coffee Bike generator has the benefit of great flexibility.

Hard Work Yields Success
Photo / Analog Cafe

Polglaze said his company making mobile
cafes is booming. “It’s been a huge success because
they make amazing businesses. The main reasons
for that are low overheads and mobility.” His
advice for anyone wanting to run a mobile cafe:
“The main ingredient for success is people’s abil-
ity to work hard and just get out there and have
a crack.” And don’t fret if it doesn’t work out, he
said. “At the end of the day, you can sell the cafe.
The buyer doesn’t care if you weren’t successful
like with a fixed cafe. They’re going to take it
Analog Cafe is rustic,
somewhere else and rebrand it.”
whimsical, and super
The Bakers, Darmawan, and Ja-ae all echo
cool all at once. It is little
wonder most of Ja-ae’s similar sentiments. Their collective tips for running
customers are tourists. The word ‘cangkruk’ mobile cafes: Back yourself, love coffee, put in lots
roughly translates to of effort, and have a creative mobile cafe concept.
gathering and chatting...in
Indonesia cangkruk is “There are lots of beautiful and successful
about social life. bricks-and-mortar stores,” Polglaze said, “but they
can’t move.”

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