A young man in northwestern Bursa turned his bike into a coffee shop to meet his two greatest passions, coffee and cycling.
The 27-year-old Enes Sefa Ünlü, who studied aircraft maintenance in high school and then worked as a technician in an airline company in Istanbul, met tour cycling in 2021. After working in different fields he bid goodbye to his aviation career and returned to Bursa in 2020.
Ünlü, who combined his passion for cycling with his other passion, coffee, implemented the "coffee on a bicycle" concept last year after receiving brewing and presentation training.
He repaired his 1980 model racing bike with the help of a friend and turned it into a coffee shop.
Ünlü, who hits the road with his bicycle with two baskets filled with the necessary ingredients of coffee and a bench, serves his customers by going to other cities as well, including the Görükle district of Nilüfer, Bursa.
Ünlü, who prefers products made of metal or reusable cotton cloth instead of paper coffee filters and does not use plastic bottles, contributes to the Zero Waste Project by reuniting coffee pulp with nature as compost at the end of the day.
Ünlü told Anadolu Agency (AA) that, in addition to Görükle, he went to other cities of Türkiye, individually or with members of a bicycle club, to coffee festivals and organizations where he was invited.
Stating that it is possible to brew coffee with sustainable and environmentally friendly methods, Ünlü said that he started this business by combining his two passions to bring the culture of countries such as Vietnam and Indonesia, where bicycles are common, to Türkiye.
Explaining that his passion for cycling started as a result of a serious illness, Ünlü said: "I am a freedom-loving person. After recovering from a serious illness, I wondered how people travel on bicycles and travel the world. I also decided to do it. In other words, I want to travel by bicycle and introduce our coffee to the world, and carry out sustainable and environmentally friendly events. This bicycle has now really become my traveling companion. We went to so many cities together that we formed a bond of love."
Ünlü stated that the bicycle is the vehicle that causes the least harm to the environment and nature.
Stating that the focus is on environmentally friendly production in the presentations he makes at the events he attends, Ünlü said: "The reason why I do this on a bicycle is because of its contribution to nature and this libertarian spirit. I chose the bicycle because it gives me the philosophy of being on the road. Now, after consuming coffee, there is a pulp left and this pulp goes to waste. However, this pulp is composted at home with egg shells and returned to nature. It can be recycled. By returning the resulting waste back to nature, I actually bring many things back to nature. I hope everyone could do this and contribute to nature."
Alpaslan Zengin stated that he saw "coffee on a bicycle" on social media and came across it by chance while walking in Görükle.
Zengin said, "I loved the concept of coffee on a bicycle. Being a young entrepreneur, being so dynamic ... We need people like this." He also said he liked the coffee prepared by Ünlü.
