Serving up coffee and mini-Dutch pancakes to the tireless GPs and nurses at Stonehaven Medical Centre was a humbling experience for Graeme Cheeseman and his partner Lauren Myron.
For the couple from St Katherines, this reflects everything The Vintage Koffiecabine is about.
Far from just your standard food van, the couple have put their heart and soul into the horse box they lovingly converted to bring “good coffee”, sweet treats and a sprinkle of community spirit to people across the north and north-east.
“The week of Christmas we were asked to go and help out at a GP surgery as their Christmas party had cancelled so we went and served pancakes and coffees to GPs and nurses at the Stonehaven Medical Centre,” said Graeme.
“It was great because everyone was so lovely and it was great to help to restore a bit of Christmas for them.”
It was four years-ago when Graeme, who works as a materials manager at an aviation facility, and Lauren, who works in social care, bought the “rotten” horse trailer for £100.
Inspired by a festive holiday to Cologne, the couple set about transforming the trailer into a bespoke horse box serving up artisan coffee and mini-Dutch pancakes.
From naming ceremonies and weddings to kid’s birthday parties and food festivals, the horse box they named The Vintage Koffiecabine has been hired for events up and down the country.
But what is it that makes it so special?
“We don’t do it specifically for the money,” said Graeme.
“We know that there’s other trailers and food vans that are much fancier and much more expensive than what we are but we pride ourselves on making fresh tasty pancakes and making good coffees.
“We don’t necessarily do the fanciest coffees we just do a good-sized coffee and we don’t expect people to pay a lot of money for them either.
“I wouldn’t charge someone more than what I’d expect to be charged for a coffee.”
As well as serving good affordable coffee, The Vintage Koffiecabine is also renowned for its epic hot chocolates.
“We have a S’ mores hot chocolate served with a chocolate stick, biscuit, toasted marshmallow on the top with the cream and the sprinkles, it just exactly what you need during winter.
“This year we’re going to branch out more to special hot chocolates like mint hot chocolate.”
It’s their coffee though that Graeme and Lauren pride themselves on.
“We don’t use beans that are really fancy flavoured or over-the-top,” said Graeme.
“We just want to give people a really good coffee because at the end of the day that’s all people want.
“People go to Starbucks and they still only order a latte or I do anyway.
“I don’t go there and order a chai skinny latte with lots of syrups and lots of things.
“Yes we do offer syrups and chai latte but that’s not what we pride ourselves on, we pride ourselves on serving a good cup of coffee. We’re the every day person’s coffee trailer.”
As well as their coffee, their mini-Dutch pancakes, proffertjes, have also gone down a treat.
“We had an amazing Christmas holiday to Cologne in Germany about six years ago and there was all these big yurts and wooden huts selling lovely treats like waffles, crepes and proffertjes, which are mini-Dutch pancakes.
“So when we got the trailer we didn’t want to be another burger van so we settled on the idea of selling sweet treats like mini-Dutch pancakes.”
With toppings such as Nutella, caramel sauce and maple syrups, it’s no wonder that The Vintage Koffiecabine is in demand.
Word of mouth about their mouthwatering pancakes and good coffee has certainly spread.
“Last year we did the Scottish Car Show at Castle Fraser, which was our busiest ever event, it was mad,” said Graeme.
“We had so many people enjoying our coffee and breakfast pancakes which is always a favourite of ours.”
Their love for what they do certainly shines through as the couple even managed to keep The Vintage Koffiecabine going during a brief spell in Poland.
“Pre-covid we were still flying back from Poland once a month or once every couple of months to do the odd wedding or large festivals like the Deeside Food Festival,” said Graeme.
“So we did that at the same time as living in Poland which was really good but quite stressful at the same time but we enjoyed it because we love going to these local events where we’re able to show people what we do and what we enjoy doing.”
After moving back to Aberdeenshire in May last year, the couple couldn’t be happier.
“I came from Poland in May this year and then I got a job again in August so I’ve been juggling doing the trailer and my full-time job, said Graeme.
“We love it though.
“We’ve met so many wonderful people doing what we do even other vendors that we work with which makes it all worthwhile.”
When the couple have some time off, instead of putting their feet up, they love nothing more than firing up the pizza oven they have in their back garden.
“We both really enjoy our food and last year’s lockdown project was building a pizza oven outside so we even make our own pizzas at home.”
Looking to the future, Graeme and Lauren just want to continue bringing people good coffee and sweet treats.
“Not much more that will put a smile on my face like a good latte,” said Graeme.
To find out more about booking The Vintage Koffiecabine, check out their Facebook, Instagram or email vintagekoffie@gmail.com
Around of questions with Graeme Cheeseman
Tell us a secret trick of the trade?
We don’t use the same bag of beans for longer than one event as you can taste when the beans aren’t fresh and the coffee tastes stale and bitter!
In your opinion, what makes a good coffee?
Freshly opened and ground beans, with hot steamed milk which isn’t over-heated where the proteins in the milk break down.
If you were a drink, what would you be and why?
Bourbon Whisky Old Fashioned – traditional but good tasting and available all year long.
Best drink you’ve ever tried?
Can’t beat a classic Gin and Tonic – Bombay Gin, Schweppes Tonic with a slice of lemon and ice.
If you could take The Vintage Koffiecabine anywhere in the world, where would it be and why?
The Netherlands, to see if our pancakes would be up to standard in the Dutch homeland.
What other drinks do you enjoy?
I enjoy most coffees, milkshakes and hot chocolates.
Best coffee and food pairing?
A latte and a portion of fresh pancakes with Nutella and whipped cream, of course.
If you were stuck on a desert island, what three drinks would be there with you?
Freshly brewed iced latte, Diet Coke and Glenmorangie 10 Year Old.
You have to make a drink to represent your local area. What would that be?
S’mores hot chocolate – Hot, tasty and comes with a signature chocolate stick, biscuit and toasted marshmallow! Just what you need to warm you up on a cold blustery day.
You have to serve your favourite superhero or celebrity a drink. Who is it and what do you serve?
James Hoffmann (famous coffee consultant) – I’d love to know what he thinks of our coffees.