Imagine winning a lifetime supply of free coffee. Sounds like a dream? To most coffee lovers this tantalising thought will probably remain just that, a dream. But to Lorren Kuhn it isn’t.
The 21-year-old has just become the Blue Crane and the Butterfly’s second ever winner of the lifetime coffee supply raffle. And the terms and conditions are simple: One free coffee. Every day. For as long as the restaurant, or Kuhn, exists.
MatieMedia met up with Kuhn at Blue Crane to find out how this all came to be.
Originally hailing from Durban, Kuhn now studies marketing management at the IMM graduate school in Stellenbosch.
On the only day the entries were open she and her good friend and classmate, Hannah Mayer (21), had gone for a coffee only to find that buying a coffee was all it took to enter the competition.
Naturally, the two of them decided to try their luck. The rest is history.
Co-owner of Blue Crane and the Butterfly, Chrisna Jones, with raffle winner Lorren Kuhn outside the cosy restaurant. PHOTO: Wilhelm Schumann
Kuhn does not usually consider herself a lucky person when it comes to this type of competition, and says it is her first time winning anything like it.
She received the news via a phone call from a friend who had seen Blue Crane announce the winner on their Facebook page.
According to Kuhn she is a big fan of Blue Crane’s coffee, but admits that before the competition she would visit the restaurant about once a month, typically ordering a café latte.
“Of course now, I’m coming here a lot more,” she says, laughing.
The Blue Crane and the Butterfly is owned and run by the dynamic husband-wife duo, Michael and Chrisna Jones.
According to Chrisna, the competition was her and her husband’s brainchild back in 2016, with the first winner being former Stellenbosch University (SU) student, James Eve.
Chrisna says Eve is now well-known and liked by the entire Blue Crane team and pops in on a very regular basis.
In 2013, Blue Crane was voted the best coffee shop in Stellenbosch. If you’re not a coffee person, their cakes and sandwiches are also hugely famous. PHOTO: Wilhelm Schumann
“The competition is just our way of saying thank you to our customers and to welcome everyone back with an exciting start to the second half of the year,” explains Chrisna.
The restaurant has just reached its five year mark and Chrisna says business has not been bad at all, although admittedly, 2018 has been a bit slower than previous years.
She lightheartedly admits that their lifelong free coffee winners Lorren and James really aren’t financial burdens at all and that, in the greater scheme of things, the restaurant can easily afford it.
In the background Chrisna prepares a cup of coffee for a customer. Her husband and co-owner, Michael, is in charge of roasting their famous coffee beans. PHOTO: Wilhelm Schumann
Anna-Michelle Roux (22), a philosophy honours student at SU and regular customer at Blue Crane, couldn’t help but get excited at the idea of possibly winning.
“I don’t ever win with these kinds of competitions, so I tried not to get my hopes up. But it was hard not to, you know? Blue Crane is my favourite coffee shop in Stellenbosch. I really enjoy eating breakfast and lunch there with a lovely coffee.”
Below we have taken the liberty to do a few very hypothetical, but fun, calculations regarding the total value of Lorren’s prize!
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