A west Wales coffee company is celebrating after receiving a top accolade in the Great Taste Golden Fork awards 2022.
From the seven Welsh products that received the top honour of 3 gold stars in the Great Taste awards 2022, the Golden Fork from Wales was awarded to Bay Coffee Roasters for their Indonesian Sumatran Fairtrade Organic coffee.
Bay Coffee Roasters coffee is roasted at their roastery in Tanygroes, overlooking the Cardigan Bay. Their range of coffees are unique in that all of their roasting is done using electricity sourced from a 100% renewable energy such as solar and wind, avoiding the use of gas unlike many other coffee roasters.
Duncan Gray, owner of Bay Coffee Roasters said:
“We’re absolutely delighted to win the Great Taste Golden Fork from Wales award for our Indonesian Sumatran coffee. It was great to have won a 3-star award but this is fantastic. This is the 5th year we have won a Great Taste award and we feel it’s the continued sign of our desire to keep doing better.
“Our coffee is imported using companies that have strong sustainability policies. We are currently trying to bring more Fairtrade and Organic certified products to market, as well as increased quality. We feel this is the best way of ensuring that the workers at a farm level are treated fairly. Without the traceability of a scheme such as Fairtrade you’re just taking peoples word for it.
“We’ve received tremendous support from our customers, and appreciate how the Welsh Government has encouraged us through a variety of different schemes. It has given us the opportunity to promote our products through events and local markets.”
Their Indonesian Sumatran Fairtrade Organic coffee is grown on the lofty, volcanic slopes of Mount Leuser, near the port of Padang in west-central Sumatra. The name doesn’t reference a place, though, but rather honours the Mandailing people, an ethnic group in the Batak area who go by this second spelling.
The taste of the coffee as an espresso has a dark, rich deep crema. The aromas are redolent of the cedar veneer found in quality cigar tubes. Gentle, sweet, spicy flavours dance around the mouth and them come together in a balanced harmony that finishes with a sweet, slightly fermented linger. This is an extraordinary coffee, complex but wholly approachable.
Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales, and Trefnydd Lesley Griffiths said,
“I would like to congratulate Bay Coffee Roasters on their achievements in this year’s Great Taste Awards. It is great to see Welsh businesses recognised for their high quality products.
“The judges from the Guild of Fine Foods have identified produce of the utmost quality from every part of Wales, reflecting the hard work and creativity which is characteristic of our world class food industry.
“I would encourage people in Wales as well as visitors to support our Welsh food and drink businesses and try some of their fantastic products.
“Everyone at Bay Coffee Roasters should be very proud of their accomplishments and I wish them all the very best for the future.”
Great Taste, organised by the Guild of Fine Food, is the world’s largest and most trusted food and drink accreditation scheme that tests both food and drink. The awards have been running since 1994 and the products are blind-tasted by selected chefs, cooks, buyers, retailers, restaurateurs, food critics and writers.
A remarkable 182 Welsh products, ranging from small independent artisan producers to large scale distributors, have been successful at the 2022 awards, with 129 products achieving 1-star, 46 receiving 2-stars and 7 earning the gold stamp of approval with 3-stars.
