Really good coffee, close to home

Mornings at Brook Cottage Shepherd Huts typically begin the same way: kettle on, hut quiet, that first cup of coffee in your hands before the day has properly started. It's such a small ritual that it's easy to take for granted where the coffee actually comes from. This week, I had a reminder.

We buy the coffee we leave in each of our shepherd huts, complimentary for guests to enjoy, from Dwyfor Coffee, a roastery just up the road in Nefyn, here on the Llŷn Peninsula. It's their Colombian blend, and it's so good that guests often ask us where it's from.

We've been calling in for a fresh bag every few weeks for a while now, but today the owner - Michael - asked if I'd like to see how it's roasted. I said yes almost before he'd finished the question.

From bean to brew

What struck me first was how far the beans travel before they even reach the roaster. They arrive green and largely flavourless, nothing like the coffee you know, and Michael explained the difference between arabica and robusta beans before they go anywhere near the drum. He talked me through how the roasting level changes everything from there: how long the beans stay in, how dark they get, and how that shapes both the flavour in the cup and the amount of caffeine in it. A few minutes either way, and you have a completely different coffee.

Dwyfor's coffee is Fairtrade and organic, and sustainability runs through everything they do, from the farms they work with, chosen for their focus on biodiversity and soil health, to the blends they create. Their Mama Dolce blend, for instance, was created for the SheUltra, the world's largest all-female ultra marathon, which takes place on the Llŷn Peninsula every April. The blend celebrates strength, community and resilience, drawing on the women who lead both on the running trails and on the coffee farms.

Where it actually comes from

I loved hearing about the farms Dwyfor sources its coffee from. Michael knows the farmers by name. One farm provides work for women who are survivors of domestic violence, giving them a stable income and a place to rebuild their lives. Another employs women with disabilities who may be overlooked by other employers.

Sustainable growing practices and fair treatment of workers are not an afterthought for Michael's suppliers, they are the whole point, and he is rightly proud of the people behind every bag.

It would be easy enough for us to order coffee for our shepherd huts from a large online retailer. It would probably be a little cheaper too. But a few clicks and a few pence saved would tell us nothing about who grew it, how it was processed, or who it supported along the way. Buying from Dwyfor means we know exactly where our coffee comes from, and so, by extension, do you.

See it for yourself

Dwyfor Coffee's roastery in Nefyn is open for tastings and a look behind the scenes, much like the one I had today. Give them a call at least 24 hours ahead and Michael will be happy to show you the process, from green bean to finished roast, with plenty to taste along the way.

Why this matters to us

This is really what our approach to local sourcing comes down to, and part of what makes staying at our glamping site in North Wales different from a hotel with everything shipped in from elsewhere. It's not a line on a website, it's a series of small, deliberate choices: the butcher in Chwilog we have used since we opened, the water that comes from our own well, and the coffee roasted a few miles from where you will drink it.

None of it is complicated. It just takes choosing the local option, again and again, over the easier one.

So the next time you make coffee in your shepherd hut, know that it was roasted in Nefyn by people who care where it came from and who it supported to get there. And if your stay on the Llŷn Peninsula inspires you to see the process for yourself, Michael will be glad to show you around.

It's a small thing, a good cup of coffee, but it says something about how we do things here. If that's the kind of place you're looking for, book a stay at Brook Cottage Shepherd Huts and see what else we've found close to home.