This Spring, Yallah Coffee threw open its barn doors and welcomed friends, both old and new for two days of delicious food, sublime coffee and wonderful workshops; all featuring local Cornish businesses.
For all the coffee connoisseurs (and there are a growing number of us), Yallah is your go-to bean. Created by an industrious and entrepreneurial team from the Falmouth area, founder Richard Blake and co-producer Phil Gevaux put community and sustainability at the heart of their business and never comprise on quality; theirs is a true Cornish success story.
Yallah Coffee is sourced from a variety of locations across the globe, such as Ethiopia, Rwanda, Brazil and Columbia. On their website you will find a fascinating description of the heritage of the bean, touching on everything from the micro climate to the socioeconomics of the region, and the depth of detail shows that the team go to great lengths to source ethically and sustainably.
I’m always interested to see where products are made, and the authenticity of their business model certainly begins at home. Yallah is situated at Argyll Farm, a burgeoning cooperative of creative and sustainable business’s in a gloriously rural location, yet only a few miles from the bustling hub of Falmouth.
During the coffee-making workshop, we learnt the fundamentals of what makes a great cup of coffee; from terroir/ soil and weather conditions, even how the politics of the region can have an impact on the coffee bean. We made our drinks on a top of the range coffee machine, and touched on the subject of home brewing using percolators, stove top pots and Aeropress’s. The Yallah guys are an inventive crew, often out in the elements and so see no reason why the quality of coffee should suffer just because they are outside. Being surfers, they will often brew a coffee on the beach after catching some waves, so their primary concern is the quality of the bean – not the type of machine that it is made in. It’s no accident that they say their coffee is made for everyday adventurers!
We were guided through the roasting and serving process, and the dos and don’ts of coffee brewing. (Don’t let it stand for too long, unless you like the taste of bitter, acrid coffee). Then it was onto heating the milk and the fun stuff – latte art! The others were pretty impressed with my latte art, but truthfully, Rich was guiding my hand and making it move and ‘jolt’ at just the right time.
I was among like-minded coffee lovers who could happily talk shop all day long, but really, this kind of knowledge would be helpful for anyone who has had a great tasting coffee whilst out and about and would like to replicate it at home. I’ll leave the art to the experienced baristas though! The result was smooth, strong without being bitter, sweet without being cloying… Just the perfect cup of coffee.
Food was provided by Thyme and Tide, a St Agnes based cooking team, known for serving up fresh, flavourful food with a focus on fish and seafood.
Our first course was grilled sardines on a grated fennel and slaw mix. There is something about the smell of sardines sizzling on the grill that instantly transports you to a sun drenched Mediterranean port, and had all of our taste buds fired up in an instant.
To follow was my favourite new dish, Shakshouka. For the uninitiated, it’s a combination of slow roasted tomato based sauce, and baked eggs, and for this version, roasted red peppers were added to give a wonderful depth of flavour and warmth, without being overly spicy. This filling dish went down a treat with the guests. I was going to canvas opinion, but the stripped bare plates were testament to its popularity!
Once our tummies were full, and we were suitably caffeinated, a series of creative workshops were laid on. I loved this premise, especially because there are so many exciting new things to learn, but sometimes you can never know where, or how to start. These workshops were fun and informative, and gave us a taste of what we could achieve with a bit of perseverance. We learnt the fundamentals of screen printing, singing, pinch pottery, and even making your own phone case out of whatever is to hand… from leather to even old wellies. All the workshops were led by local companies, so there is simply no excuse to not get creative!
The day was so successful and enjoyed by all that there are definite plans afoot for further events. For those who didn’t get to attend Brunch On The Farm, there are plenty of ways to try out a Yallah coffee, or dig into one of Thyme and Tide’s dishes. Yallah coffee can be purchased online and is also served in many cafes and establishments within Cornwall, including Espressini in Falmouth, Potager on the Helford and The Gurnards Head in Zennor. Thyme and Tide have plenty of events coming up, including the Porthleven Food and Music Festival (April 21-23rd) and the St Ives Food Festival (May 08-14th). Check out both companies social media feeds for more details.
Singing class was led by Claire Ingleheart,
Pinch Pottery was with Hannah Lawrence
Make Your Own Phone Case was with Francli Craftwear
Screen Printing was with Kiwi Print Studios.
Cari Steel is a freelance creative, specialising in marketing, P.R and production in the arts and cultural sector. Having moved from London to Cornwall two years ago, she has been happily exploring the county ever since, and loves to share her discoveries. Find her on Instagram @CariSteel or email caristeel@icloud.com
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