Ben’s business grows one cup of coffee at a time
Although the business is expanding, Ben's famous tuk tuk still pops up around the city to offer locals quality coffee
POLOKWANE – We’ve all seen, and many have visited, Ben Schempers’ tuk tuk for delicious, freshly brewed coffee. Ben recently opened a coffee shop at the Body Life Gym premises in Magasyn Street.
“David van Ryneveld, owner of Body Life Gym wanted to open a coffee shop. We knew each other from Crossfit and he decided to make use of me instead of a big brand coffee,” Ben explains.
Read more: Barista Brothers: brewing a career out of quality coffee
David explains that he wants the gym to be a place where healthy people meet in a healthy environment.
As Ben talks about the coffee, his delivery of fresh health bread and muffins arrive.
“We are a speciality coffee shop that sells rusks and health bread and cupcakes too. I make a variety of teas, flavoured lattes and espressos. Later on I will sell Craft iced tea in bottles, and protein smoothies.”
“The coffee I make is unique in the sense that it is ground in front of the customer. Ground coffee only stays fresh for about five minutes and therefore I grind it after the order is placed. I then process it through the machine for 23 seconds and steam the milk until it is immediately drinkable. This means that the natural sweetness of the coffee and milk are present and you do not need to put in a lot of extra sugar,” explains Ben.
He also makes pictures on the surface of the coffee and says that he can currently make three different pictures. He has a Barista Level 1 certificate in coffee brewing and is on his way to do level two.
The coffee shop is presently open from 06:00 to 18:00, but Ben said that the times may still change. You do not need to have a gym membership in order to buy some of the coffee and health food. Rynardt van der Merwe assists Ben with the tuk tuk, as well as the coffee shop.
“One day I am in the shop and he is in the tuk tuk, and the next day it is the other way around,” says Ben.
“We use biodegradable cups and spoons and our motto is : Screw screwing the environment. We also use the boxes for dustbins. If we see the coffee we just made is not good, we prefer to throw it away and make a fresh cup. It is about quality, not quantity.”
