
Great food and drink is an integral part of the Treseren experience – Emma and Paul used to run a 5 star Bed and Breakfast in Padstow, and we all agree on how important it is to start the day with a great cup of coffee! During lockdown, we discovered the most brilliant artisan coffee company on our doorstep. Andrew and Bianca set up Quay Coffee with a clear mission statement – to bring to local markets speciality grade coffee, that supports small farms, and the workers involved. We sat down (with a coffee!), to ask them a little bit more about their story.
What inspired you to start Quay Coffee?
I have always loved coffee, and have such vivid memories from childhood trips to Carwardines in Cathedral Lane in Truro with my parents. I loved seeing and smelling the fresh coffee beans on display, the smell would always hit you as soon you walked through the door. Getting to now try all types of new coffees, and bring them to market has been really interesting, and we love the exploration of produce as the seasons change.
We feel very lucky to be able to source such fabulous, speciality coffee right on our doorstep. Can you tell us a bit about your roasting process and the creation of flavour?
Thank you! We love supplying Treseren. We have both completed a couple of roasting courses in the last two years, so we could understand the process around what it takes to not just roast great coffee but also an understanding of the sensory side, and what to expect from coffees from different coffee producing countries. We took the decision early on in 2020 to not roast our own coffee at this stage, and with Covid this was exactly the right decision. We have instead worked with various roasters, so that we can ensure consistency of product, and its freshness.
One of the things we love about Quay is that you responsibly source your coffee beans to support smaller farmers. Can you tell us a bit about the journey of finding your supply chain and an example of those you support?
Our eldest daughter had a school project on some of the initiatives that encourage fairly traded produce. We chatted over with her how there are various fantastic programmes to support farmers overseas, however, not all farms produce enough green coffee to warrant paying to join some of the initiatives. After working for years as a buyer, particularly in the food and drink categories, it got us thinking whether we could put together a company that brings to market coffees from small farms from around the world. A key element of our vision is to make giving central. We are proud to not just donate from every bag of coffee sold to Final Straw Cornwall, but for every kilo of Rwandan coffee we buy in generates a One Tree Planted donation, that plants a tree in Rwanda.
We also love the artwork on your packaging. What was the inspiration for the design?
The concept was pretty simple. We wanted a monochrome, lino print design, that would offer a little piece of artwork to a kitchen, but could also sit on other products, and be easily recognised. We have lived in and around Newquay pretty much all our lives, and we are seeing Newquay developing a great range of food and drink venues. We were therefore keen to link our branding to the town and pull in some of the intrinsic elements such as the harbour, and camping scene in and around the local countryside. We have been fortunate enough to work with Becky Thorns, a local illustrator, and good friend of ours. Becky understood the brief perfectly and delivered the images with the slightest of adjustments.
Can you give some tips on how to create the perfect cup of coffee?
Absolutely! We love talking about coffee! Coffee is such a subjective subject, and people have their own take on what makes a great coffee. At markets we often find people have purchased equipment, with the grinder being last. As soon as a coffee bean is ground, it will start to deteriorate, so we would always recommend grinding coffee at home, and as fresh as you can. A burr grinder, will normally allow you to adjust the coarseness, which will allow you to adapt to your favourite brewing method. Personally, we are huge fans of the Aeropress, which with a finely ground coffee makes a fantastic drink. If you are using a cafetiere, don’t be afraid to play around with it, you can always try pouring a bit of hot water in for 10 seconds discarding, and then adding the coffee and hot water, and if you have time, stir, and leave for the coffee to settle at the bottom. This can be particularly effective to drawing out different flavour notes. Finally, don’t be afraid to play around with the coffee grind, the length of brew, or types of equipment. We speak to people who enjoy the process, so have fun with it, and see how your favourite cup alters!
A big thank you to Andrew from Quay Coffee for taking the time to answer our questions – we love working with local independent businesses and Andrew and Bianca’s sustainable and Fairtrade approach is extremely important to us. If you’ve visited Treseren and enjoyed your morning coffee, then you can order online directly from Quay Coffee here. We currently use the wonderful Brazil Inhame, which is produced on a small family farm in Brazil with a strong environmental focus.