Our cart is small, silent and completely off-grid, a high-tech espresso setup
that runs all day on batteries and goes where coffee vans can't. Here's exactly
what's on it, and why that makes us different.
The machine, a Decent DE1
At the heart of the cart is a Decent DE1, a precise, modern espresso machine. Rather than keeping a big boiler hot all day, it heats water on demand, shot by shot, with tight control over temperature and pressure. The honest trade-off: it won't machine-gun shots the way a traditional dual-boiler can, so it's not the tool for flat-out, hundreds-an-hour service. But with a pro on the handle it's plenty fast for relaxed serving, and what you get back is a more consistent cup, a lighter setup, and the efficiency to run all day on battery alone, no generator needed.
The power, around 5 kWh of DJI batteries
The cart carries a bank of DJI Power batteries, roughly 5 kWh all in, about the same as ten e-bike batteries. That's a full day of service on a single charge, with no generator, no fuel and no mains needed. It's silent, so it's fine next to a ceremony, a speech or an open-plan office, and there are no cables snaking across the floor for anyone to trip on.
Self-contained, water on board
Fresh and waste water are carried on the cart, so we don't need a tap or any plumbing on site. Between the batteries and the water tanks, the only thing we need from you is a 3 × 2 m spot and a way in.
Compact, it goes where vans can't
The whole thing is under 80 cm wide and fits through a standard doorway. It rolls indoors, upstairs, into a marquee, onto grass or gravel, and is set up and pouring in about 15 minutes. A coffee van simply can't follow it into most of those places.
Why that makes us different
Put it together, an ultra-efficient machine, a serious battery bank and onboard water, and you get something most mobile coffee can't offer: genuinely good, fully off-grid coffee, anywhere. As far as we know, it's one of the only fully-electric, go-anywhere speciality coffee carts in the UK. (More on the tech in how a battery-powered cart works.)
