ld june july 22

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….Entirely plastic-free, Robyn uses compostable
cups and lids as well as packaging and offers
reuse tubs to her customers. Only sourcing
coffee from growers with a social and ecological
ethos is vital too – examples include Rwandan
coffee grown by female workers with no other
income source and Brazilian farmer who has
reduced water consumption with irrigation
projects. Obviously, selling online does involve
import and postal charges, but Robyn tries to
offset this by using carbon neutral companies
and contributing to Ecologi, which plants trees
every month.
Forest Edge Roasting has a subscription service
and “three bag bundle” – blends are Forest
Edge Roast, Muddy Paws, Hedgerow, Drifters
and North Ridge – if you are at the top of
Lyndhurst High Street pop in and try some out.
Robyn can be reached on 07931 362307 , on
facebook , twitter or email on
robyn@forestedgeroasting.co.uk.
Global adventures in good taste –
Coffee Mongers
Sourcing the world’s finest beans and then
roasting them to achieve perfection is the
achieved aim and ethos of Lymington based
Coffee Mongers, which is run by a team of
coffee lovers based at Unit 13, Ampress Park.
This ethical and sustainable coffee company
was set up some years ago by Brooke and
Tarek, who were later joined by Gareth and
Jake, to name two of the other team members.
Providing a warm welcome at the coffee bar
open 10am to 4pm weekdays (and now 10am
to 2pm Saturdays) is Doola the Coffee Mongers
friendly dog. Prior to the Covid lockdown they
concentrated on roasting for the wholesale
market across the New Forest and beyond but
have now developed a busy online sales
business for individual consumers – subscribers
and call in customers – many of whom will
come out of their way for a sublime cup of
ethically sourced and specially roasted coffee.
Talking about coffee is pretty important to the
team too – Jake explained to me so much about
coffee and how they identify the ones they will
roast and blend. The dark-roasted coffee that
gained popularity from the Italian market is
often poor quality and high in caffeine. Coffee
Mongers offer a variety of high-grade
flavoursome coffees with 30% less caffeine and
subtle flavours to suit all palates. They roast
small amounts and can buy a harvest from
growers across the world that they know and
have built a relationship with. Arabica coffee is
the most popular type of bean used for a
sweeter, less harsh taste while Robusta is
cheaper to produce and higher in caffeine, with
a more bitter flavour. Buying direct from
growers means they can purchase a whole
harvest and create their own blends – this are
then introduced to their keen coffee customers
and is offered as single origin coffee. Once
tasted many find that they can never go back to
the mass produced coffees offered by the big
brands.
During lockdown they developed the mail order
and subscription services and are now also
welcoming customers into the coffee bar at
Ampress Park. Regularly supplying local eateries
and businesses such as garden centres, Coffee
Mongers start by agreeing a “go to” blend and
enable customers to try some more unusual
coffees and to be very flexible about amounts
and re-ordering. They are in frequent touch
with their regulars and operate an impressive
delivery system , which is able to respond
quickly to demand and new orders while
keeping travel miles to a minimum. They too
use plastic-free packaging and reusable tubs for
business supplies. The Arabica coffee beans
come in as green beans and will have been
defined already by a Coffee Q Grader, but the
team at Coffee Mongers can then taste and
discuss before deciding how to blend and roast
for their business – this sounded like a very
enjoyable part of their job! After some sample
roasting in the probat mini roaster the beans
are roasted for about 15 minutes in their 20kg
Buhler roaster.
Globe-trotting has been the shared background
in this team and their commitment to
environmental
issues is clear –
previously the local
HQ for Surfers
Against Sewage,
Coffee Mongers are
really looking
forward to their
next venture – they
have taken on the
adjacent unit and
are dividing the
space to production
and the customer
area. Now that
lockdown is over,
they plan to restart coffee clubs, music events
and to have a great space for people to pop in
for a coffee, pastries and to chill out. Courses
will be on offer to show people just how to get
the best from their coffee and coffee machines.
With Gareth having been a DJ and Jake ...
Continued
To advertise email: info@lymingtondirectory.co.uk, or call 01590 643969 / 07801 562358