For Charlotte, a mum of two, coffee started as a simple pleasure.
“I was spending a lot of money on coffee anyway,” she laughs. Weekend café trips and visits to independent coffee shops soon sparked something more.
I just really enjoyed it. It’s one of the cheapest ways to socialise now. Not many things are cheap anymore — and coffee isn’t cheap either — but it still feels like an affordable little treat.
Originally from Bedford, Charlotte later moved to Rushden with her partner Jake and their children, Summer, 15, and Rian, 13, after buying their first home. While working full-time in administration, she began thinking about a new direction.
“I was seeing pubs turning into coffee shops and cafés popping up everywhere,” she says. “I thought, ‘I quite like this industry. I’ll dip my toe into it and see what happens.’”
That idea grew into a plan for a coffee trailer. Despite having no hospitality or barista experience 34-year-old Charlotte was undeterred. She taught herself the basics, researching cafés, menus, branding and speaking to other business owners.
“I was paying attention to everything — what cups they used, how they branded themselves, why customers liked them.”
Her original vision of converting a vintage Volkswagen van proved too costly, so the couple opted for a new trailer instead. “We picked it up and just looked at each other like, ‘Oh my God, we are mental, aren’t we?’”
Sourcing Local Environmentally-Friendly Produce
From the start, Charlotte wanted to keep things local and environmentally friendly. That led her to Wooden Hill Coffee Roasters, where she also received hands-on training in everything from grind size to brewing temperatures.
From there, the family built the business together — handling branding, social media and product testing themselves. Crushed Coffees was born! A small pop-up in their front garden helped them trial equipment before their first events.
“We’ve got a professional espresso machine and grinder, a dedicated blender for milkshakes, and a traditional matcha set with a bamboo whisk—everything made fresh to order.”
The menu has become a family effort, with coffee, milkshakes, iced drinks and matcha, including a popular blueberry matcha. “We’ve had lots of trials at home,” Charlotte laughs.
After a few rejections of early applications to major car events, the business secured smaller bookings to local events that quickly built momentum.
Their first big event at Cranfield Market in Bedford, drew unexpected queues.
“ What was funny was how dramatically the weather changed over that first weekend of events. Saturday was absolutely roasting, so we sold loads of iced drinks — milkshakes, matchas, all the cold drinks. But by Sunday, it had completely flipped and turned quite chilly, so suddenly everyone wanted hot drinks instead. Then the blueberry Matcha proved an unexpected hit as well!”
Suddenly people were asking, ‘Can you come to our event?’
The business now has 15 events booked, with more enquiries coming in. Charlotte still works full-time but says the contrast with event days is refreshing. “You get to connect with people again. It’s social. It’s fun.
“I think the biggest surprise has been how quickly it’s grown. At first, I was sending emails and getting a lot of no’s, which definitely made me question whether we’d made the right decision. But then, almost overnight, the enquiries started pouring in, and suddenly we were getting booked up for weekends. It really turned around so much faster than I expected.””
She’s also been surprised by the support she has received from other coffee businesses. “You’d expect rivalry, but there really isn’t.”
Looking ahead, she’s open to wherever the journey leads — from hosting more events to potentially securing a permanent location. “We are currently looking for a permanent pitch in the week so my daughter can run the trailer,” Charlotte said.
I’m amazed at how quickly it’s taken off.
“The possibilities feel endless. And that’s exciting.”
Her advice to others is simple. She says she wanted to share the story of her month-long journey to inspire other people who are thinking about starting a business. “Just go for it. Sometimes if you just take the first few steps, then new doors open.You’ll always regret it if you don’t.”
For Charlotte, what began as a coffee habit has become a growing family-run business built on community, creativity and taking a chance.
An Instagram post on Crushed Coffees’ page tells customers where they can find the business throughout June.
The number one question I keep getting asked..
WHEN IS YOUR NEXT EVENT? Well here’s JUNES EDITION..
🎉6th June- Cranfield Market
🏆20th June – Football Awards/ Funday at NN29 Titans
🎪28th June – Family Fun day at Lois Weedon, Millenium Field Northampton
You can find further details on Crushed Coffees’ Instagram Page: https://www.instagram.com/p/DYhGKFCI8uB/