La KoffeeCleta de Yoli: itinerant coffee (and a philosophy of life)
"Everything happens for a reason". This is what Yolanda Díaz emphasizes several times during the conversation. "We need joy, more attitude and believe in what we do." A philosophy of life that Yoli takes every morning to the streets of Ainsa , a town in the Aragonese Pyrenees where last summer his great pride began to circulate: ** La KoffeeCleta! A camper bike that includes a cart with specialty coffee and chocolates. **
The origin of the project? A Cambodian cat.
THE DRAGON CHRONICLES
native of Ferrol, Yolanda Díaz is passionate about adventure, travel, but especially cycling. Proof of this was her award as she winner in the Enduro Championship of Aragon 2019. By then, his bike "The Dragon" already existed. But let's not get ahead of ourselves.
Linked to the hospitality industry since her youth, Yoli had worked in refuges in the Pyrenees and in ski resorts, in restaurants and tourist apartments. Until she came up with the idea of a food truck. "A friend and I thought about setting it up, but two city councils pushed us back," Yoli tells Traveler.es. ** The project was stalled for a while and then her trip came. The trip, rather. **
On the back of her bicycle "La Dragona", Yoli toured between November 2019 and February 2020 Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia. “I like to travel independently. They tried to get me to be a sponsor of some brand with another bike, but my Dragona is my great travel companion. I've cried too many times over her."
Hosted in local homes for much of her travels, Yoli considers herself a fan of the street food lifestyle of oriental culture, the root of the La KoffeeCleta project: “In Southeast Asian countries like Laos you wake up and you don't make breakfast in the kitchen. The local that welcomed me went out to the cart to buy it and I asked him for a khao pun for me too. It is another concept of restoration.”
However, little could our protagonist imagine what would happen when she reached the border between Laos and Cambodia. One night in the city of Stung Treng, Yoli was bitten by a cat that led her, between insurance calls, hospitals and rabies injections, to stop cycling and have time to think.
"Everything happens for a reason, and that cat was the reason." It was then, somewhere in Vientiane at 5 in the morning, that The concept of a hybrid bicycle and food truck was born: “I saw it clearly, it was very mine.”
Leaning on her ideas, her designs (and some help from Pinterest, she acknowledges her), she began to build her future. "I had options A, B, C, D and E: La CrepeCleta, HeladoCleta, FoodieCleta, ConoCleta and KoffeeCleta." However, **upon returning to Spain, the requirements of the town hall left him with only one option: La KoffeeCleta! **
Thanks to the help of a carpenter friend, Yoli added a stove with two burners and a refrigerator to a bicycle: “It is important to take into account what type of business you are looking for, since the bicycle is the basis of everything. It is your workshop and storage point, so you have to be very aware of the space”.
After reviewing all the health regulations and a good dose of optimism, Yoli embarked on the adventure ready to turn any tomorrow into a new opportunity.
WITHOUT LIMITED CAPACITIES
8 in the morning in Aínsa. The neighbors seem prepared. And at some point, I want coffee by Rosa Morena, the seventies symphony that announces Yoli's arrival with her KoffeeCleta. Aboard her project, emanates the warmth of those who pursue dreams and a warm specialty coffee accompanied by cookies or biscuits.
"Now I'm with Brazilian and Ethiopian coffee from the guys from San Jorge Cooffee Roosters, in Zaragoza, some cracks! Ours was love at first sight. In the beginning, the most common option was to use espresso machines, but to have an espresso, customers go directly to the bar. When I decided on filter coffee they told me I was crazy”.
Also, As a good Galician, there is no lack of coffee liqueur and in recent weeks she offers breakfast packs at home. For the summer, she reserves proposals for lemonades and flavored waters.
Yoli acknowledges that she would like to offer a broader menu, but she finds certain limitations. "I want to continue learning and many people have suggested that I add more dishes and proposals, but I am what I am: an aunt who sells coffee on a bicycle," she says. "I also considered bringing coffee to the 26 towns in the municipality, but, It's 170 kilos of KoffeeCleta!"
Her success has not been lacking in calls with the intention of franchising. "I thought about it, but I really value my time, and my KoffeeCleta gives me enough to live and keep traveling, I don't need more."
An inspiring business model, especially at a time when the hospitality industry is not going through its best moment and the health crisis forces us to take new directions. Yoli does not have limited capacity but neither limits as long as it adapts to sanitary measures. And optimism and joy, that which is so lacking these days.
“This Christmas I wore an elf hat and a ball necklace. Sometimes the brown mess” he says laughing. Of course, he is clear that his intention is to continue working outdoors and that of returning to a closed space, not even remotely at the moment. Although it's cold.
These past snowy days, Yoli has opted for his secret weapon: The MiniKoffeeCleta, a bicycle that pulls a camper cart, more adaptable to icy roads and a possible outline of future adventures. "I keep thinking about new projects, training as a barista, improving my bikes and, of course, continuing to travel with my Dragona."
His next step will be to promote the idea of taking this MiniKoffeeCleta to the south of Spain. But he still doesn't care. Yoli already has options A, B, C, D and E ready.