Skool Beans Cafe, the story of the Icelandic school bus turned café

From the small Icelandic village of Vik comes the successful experience of a coffee shop on board an old yellow school bus regenerated and powered by renewable energy.

There is a place, in the southernmost village in Iceland, where everything is about sustainability, inclusion and kindness.Vík í Mýrdal, or more simply Vik, is not an unusual destination for locals or tourists on the Ring Road, the famous road that embraces the entire nation.And it is right here, at the base of the Katla volcano, that it has found its home a decommissioned yellow school bus.Above, facing the passage of the seasons, the flags of the Pride and peace.

That old yellow school bus is actually a food truck.Is called Skool Beans Cafe and it is, to all intents and purposes, the first and only micro café Icelandic on four wheels.With just eleven seats, a wood-burning stove, a small three-legged orange cat and a selection of local artwork, this place quickly became a symbol of slow living, of living slowly, of respect for the environment and its people.

The endless streets of coffee

The story of Holly Keyser, a forty-two-year-old of British origins, and his Skool Beans Cafe begins Melbourne, Australia.“I lived there for six years and one of the things I loved most was the coffee culture.I loved going into coffee shops, it quickly became part of my routine,” recalls the owner.“Now… if you find yourself in Iceland, you will quickly discover that there is a distinct lack of coffee shops as soon as you leave the capital Reykjavik.I stopped complaining and started doing something about it."

As, in 2020 Skool Beans was born.“I didn't know how Iceland would welcome this project, so I decided that a food truck was the best option to start with.The bus was part of the US air base fleet and, when it closed in the early 2000s, many of these school buses ended up scattered across Iceland.Mine was destined for landfill, but luckily I knew the right people at the right time to get it back up and running, just in time!”

One of the American symbols par excellence, therefore, found a second life in Iceland thanks to the innovative vision of a young English woman.In her school bus Holly produces coffee, tea and chocolate various using zero kilometer products and coming from ethical agriculture, along with flowers and spices to flavor drinks.“Skool Beans is a unique world,” continues the owner.“We roast coffee but we are also a tea and chocolate mixology laboratory.It was also the first café-restaurant I had used insects in Iceland and I'm really proud of it."

A school bus with a sustainable soul…

Once you arrive in Vik, Iceland, finding the Skool Beans Cafe is quite immediate.From the old partially nailed doors, which have borne the weight of many Icelandic storms, you enter a micro universe made of pastel green seats and wooden benches, where they are offered free hugs And free books in different languages ​​with the “take it and leave it” formula of bookcrossing.

“Being sustainable is really important to me.There are some things that are difficult in a country like Iceland, where it's easy to get caught up in marketing and biodegradable lids, for example, when in reality we don't have the processing facilities to decompose those same biodegradable packaging items.But we do our best."

Holly Keyser

In Skool Beans, this translates to recyclable lids, compostable cups and no plastic packaging.“We use chemical-free detergents and soaps, with the exception of coffee machine cleaner.We choose ethically grown products and I even require my coffee supplier not to use plastic in their packaging when they send me the beans.”

…powered by clean energy

It all starts from a very specific will:“I just try to keep things as pure as possible,” clarifies the owner.“Coming from a rural background and even having attended an agricultural school when I was young, I know first-hand how chemicals can destroy areas and creatures, including us, within communities.”

Attention to the environment it can be found in every little detail of the Skool Beans.“We are completely powered by mains electricity, which means we are one hundred percent green energy, because Iceland is powered one hundred percent using natural geothermal and hydroelectric energy,” adds Holly Keyser.“Our wood stove uses waste wood from local builders and it is a dual combustion stove, so we have very low carbon emissions when we use it.”

And also for online sales the yellow food truck can boast a low carbon footprint, since each item is made in the buyer's delivery country.

The power of word of mouth and social networks

Soon, the fame of Skool Beans conquered social networks, from TikTok to Instagram.This is certainly thanks to word of mouth and the many testimonials, but also and above all to the variety and uniqueness of the drinks offered.

“We get a little rebellious with chocolate,” jokes the owner, “we make it with wasabi, mate tea, cayenne pepper or cherry.There is also no shortage of shots of pure melted chocolate, or with real lavender flowers in the white chocolate, with fennel and much more."To believe it, read the “Stranger things” section of the menu.“When it comes to teas, however, I search far and wide to find incredible loose teas from all over the world and where possible directly from farms.”

The story of Skool Beans proves that a business, whether small or large, can stand on its own sustainability.Indeed, it can make it its greatest strength and attraction.A path that Holly Keyser intends continue walking:“I'm about to launch a completely different new business,” concludes Keyser.“It has a strong focus on organic and cruelty free ingredients, but that's all I can say for now.You will have to wait for the social media boom when it is ready to launch.”

In the meantime, we can console ourselves with the playlist of the yellow school bus suitable for every state, perfect soundtrack of landscapes and travel Icelanders.