From asparagus spring to blueberry summer
During the peak season of May and June, over 10,000 visitors make their way to the “asparagus and adventure farm” Klaistow near Potsdam, Germany, to buy or enjoy freshly picked Beelitz asparagus every day. To help cope with this seasonal demand, the 80-strong permanent team of the Buschmann and Winkelmann families is supplemented by some 800 asparagus pickers and 250 helping hands. Meanwhile, the coffee machines of Melitta Professional are already advertising the next highlights.
The asparagus and strawberry crops are followed in summer by blueberries and in fall by pumpkins. And from October to late December, the farm shop, farm restaurant, and barn kitchen feature duck, game and free-range geese.
“Elizabeth” lengthens the blueberry season
Farm tours show how asparagus is harvested and processed, before being ready to serve. Asparagus seminars are offered to teach visitors how to pick, sort and prepare this seasonal specialty. A Blueberry Festival on July 14th and 15th marks the start of a “blue-tiful summer”. Four different varieties of “pick-your-own” blueberries are available, with the late fruit-bearing “Elizabeth” lengthening the season well into September.
Visitor from Berlin
Jörg Niemann lives on the outskirts of Berlin and enjoys taking his family on trips to the countryside – and especially to Klaistow. The Regional Manager of Melitta Professional Coffee Solutions soon recognized that the adventure farm’s various “enjoyment stations” also offered great potential for an attractive coffee business. 15 of Melitta’s professional coffee machines, including 9 Melitta® Cafina® XT7s, have been ensuring a steady supply of delicious coffee since 2017.
Attractive billboard
But the XT7 is not only rightly praised for its inner qualities and excellent coffee in the cup. Melitta® TopFoam also provides outstanding frothed milk quality, while the coffee machine’s sleek, top-notch design make it a real eye-catcher – especially with its pioneering multimedia TFT touchscreen and robust glass panel. “We also use the coffee machines as an attractive billboard for our future attractions,” explains Maika Ziehl, head of Marketing and PR at the adventure farm. Moving images on the Melitta® Cafina® XT7’s screen grab the attention of visitors: the “Asparagus Till You Drop” campaign is followed in summer by the “Blueberry Festival”, before the more relaxed “Pumpkin Time” and “Duck & Game Buffet” seasons round off the year in fall and winter.
“A good cup of coffee is always in demand,” reports Marco Verleih, who runs the kitchen together with his colleague Jan Laufhütte: “At the bakery in the morning, at the restaurant after lunch and evening meals, and at the Blueberry Café, the playground’s Food Hatch, and our Country Ice Cream Parlor throughout the day”. Quality pays for itself. A mug of coffee at the Farm Bakery costs EUR 1.95, a large café crème in the self-service Barn Kitchen EUR 2.10, and a large cappuccino is yours for EUR 2.95.