Java Bean Café, Glynneath Training Centre, Glynneath

Full of beans…
and full of customers

The Java Bean Cafe is a community cafe associated to the Glynneath Training Centre. Smoke-free since the day it opened three and half years ago, the café prides itself on its emphasis on promoting a healthy lifestyle - it even grows its own organic produce in a local allotment. The café also has a Cyber Corner with six state of the art computers, with free Internet access.

Open 9-5 Monday to Saturday, the café is the trading arm of the charity View Glynneath Ltd, which employs 20 people and was established to further education and training opportunities for the local population of Glynneath following the decline of traditional heavy industry in the area. The former school building not only houses the cyber café but also an art gallery, a number of training rooms and a nursery. The centre is also used by various local service providers such as the local citizen advice bureau.

The charity has also worked closely with local health boards over the years to encourage local people to think about their health, from what they are eating to the impact on health of smoking and second-hand smoke.

Pauline Morgan, Joint Manager of the Glynneath Training Centre said, “There was no café locally before we opened Java Bean and we wanted to offer a healthier alternative to the local population be it from nutritious healthy meals to a smoke-free environment.

“The café provides the charity with an important income stream and one thing is sure, being smoke-free has only worked to our advantage as more and more people look for a smoke free environment to sit, chat and enjoy a cuppa.“