From 182 Welsh products submitted to this year’s Great Taste Awards, 129 achieved one star and 46 won two stars. Just seven received three gold stars. But the ultimate prize, the ‘Best In Region’ Golden Fork? That went to Bay Coffee Roasters of Tan-y-groes, Cardigan.

Any recognition from the Guild Of Fine Food is something to celebrate. Since 1994 it has been the UK’s most trusted food and drink accreditation scheme, involving an exhaustive process of judging by chefs, retailers, restaurateurs, food critics and more. Bay’s success is hugely prestigious, then.

They took the award for their Indonesian Sumatran Fairtrade Organic coffee, though it’s a long way from Mount Leuser, near the port of Padang, to Tan-y-groes, overlooking Cardigan Bay. Though it’s the fifth year they have won a Great Taste award, they’ve never before won the top prize until now. “It gives our customers confidence that we produce a good quality coffee – as good as we think it is,” says owner Duncan Gray.

It’s a significant validation for the way Bay Coffee does things day to day: all their roasting is done exclusively using renewable energy. Where many other coffee roasters – up to 95% – use gas-powered machines, Bay’s use of wind and solar power to generate electricity makes them unique in Wales. 

That’s a significant commitment to a distinctive ethos. It has meant investing in custom-built equipment; whereas many use automated machines, which are more about monitoring graphs on a screen than being involved minute-by-minute, Bay’s have hands-on involvement with the roasting process, too.

“This award helps us get our message across – how different we are from other Welsh roasters, how we are trying to focus on real environmental goals”, explains Duncan. “We focus on the least amount of damage that we can currently do, and always trying to do better”. With customers all over the UK, especially in London and the North of England, word has already spread, but this is coffee, and a business, with a difference.

Info: baycoffeeroasters.com

words JONATHAN SWAIN