A MAN who "fell in love with coffee" while travelling in Peru has launched a micro coffee shop after seeing a gap in the market.
With coffee beans one of the major exports of Latin America, Peruvian coffee is considered one of the world's best blends due to the country's varying altitudes, humidity, and heat.
Once Max was attuned to this blend while on a trip to Macchu Picchu in 2018, the drink remained on his mind until he and his partner Olivia decided to launch a coffee business in Newton-le-Willows.
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Lying along the busy Manchester to Liverpool railway line, Newton-le-Willows station - which underwent a £19m refurbishment in 2019 - is reported to be the busiest station throughout the borough.
Despite this, 29-year-old Max, who commutes through Newton every day, noticed that the station did not have any fresh beverage spots, as they do in busy city centres.
Believing that the station was crying out for a high-quality coffee spot, Max and Olivia began investing in a new business and bought all the necessary barista tools and trailer to make the drinks.
Once Max had located a Peruvian coffee brewer in Birkenhead, the couple launched 'Bean On Board' outside Newton-le-Willows station last month.
Speaking about the business, Max, who is based in Haydock, said: "I use Newton station all the time going to work and I noticed that there was nothing for people to pick up on their commute.
"Me and Olivia started planning this about six months ago because we thought the demand was there for something like this, so we saw our opportunity and thought let's just go for it."
Although the couple both work full time, they open up the Bean On Board trailer at 6am and sell a selection of Peruvian coffees (hot and iced), as well as hot chocolates, teas, and soft drinks for the early morning commuters.
Max and Olivia then head off to work at 8am, when a friend comes to carry the shift on until 1pm, who also brings a selection of sweet treats with him.
Despite launching the business just over six weeks ago, Max and Olivia have received great feedback from customers and have big ideas of growing their brand.
"We definitely have big plans to grow the business", Max added.
"Firstly we want a bigger container which will allow us to expand our menu and start offering more food options.
"Then we are planning to potentially bring this idea to the other stations across St Helens and Warrington that also don't have anything similar."
For more information about Bean On Board, you can visit the Facebook page here.
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