Only The Best
Lucy Bale meets two aficionados, who developed their passion for coffee in the US and Costa Rica, and have now brought their expertise to Lancashire
Down an unsuspecting side street off the main road in Barrowford, I met Tom and Milly of Wild Pen Coffee at their very own small batch roastery to hear all about their sustainable Arabica coffee all the way from Costa Rica. Surrounded by artwork designed by their daughter, Emily, and photographs of the farms by their son, Richard, I knew there was going to be some heart in the story behind Wild Pen.
The pair spent the best part of 30 years living and working in Boston, where their real love of coffee brewed. Tom had always been a self-confessed coffee aficionado and when the opportunity arose to roast their own coffee from their garage, they jumped at it! Although a hobby in the States, when they moved back to the UK, they decided to make a real go of it and thus, Wild Pen was born. Tom and Milly told me all about the significance of the Rainforest Alliance, bean traceability and showed me the all-important roasting room.
FROM FARM TO CUP
After some time testing different roasts and varietals with friends, Tom and Milly decided that if they were really going to take this seriously then they should visit the farms from where they were sourcing their coffee beans. In November 2023, they hopped on a plane and visited Costa Rica, as Milly recalls: “I thought, if we’re going to do this, then let’s do it properly.”
When I questioned why Costa Rica over anywhere else, I was given a brief history on coffee production in the country and soon learnt that it’s famed for some of the highest quality coffee in the world as well as high standards and fairness for the workers on the farms. Seems like a no brainer really! Tom and Milly actually stayed at the farmer, Diego’s, hacienda and toured the Aquiares farm by horseback, getting a real feel for what goes into an exceptional cup of coffee.
For Wild Pen, being Rainforest Alliance endorsed is very important, so I asked Tom to explain a little bit more about this and why it means so much to them: “With endorsement, we can show that we mainly source coffee from Rainforest Alliance Certified farms such as Aquiares – their certification means the farm is sustainable in all senses of the word, protecting the environment as well as the people.”
In Costa Rica, coffee production is incredibly labour intensive due to the landscape and it’s all picked by hand, therefore the workers are extremely important. The environment and social welfare are fundamental at Wild Pen and I truly believe this comes through in the quality of the finished product.
When the coffee cherries are ripe, the workers at Aquiares pick them ready to be washed, graded and processed, which takes approximately four to six weeks. Once processed, the now green beans are bagged up in sacks and stored, ready to be sent on their next adventure! Personally, I was amazed to see the sacks of green beans at Wild Pen, still in their natural form all the way from Costa Rica, ready for the Wild Pen magic to take place.
ALL ABOUT THE ROAST
Tom and Milly have guaranteed they are getting the highest quality product, with complete traceability. Now it’s over to them to make sure they roast the beans to perfection to ensure they carefully balance sweetness with bitterness and all the flavours of each varietal whether that be cocoa, lemon or hazelnut. Now they have it down to a tee, the roasting process at their site in Barrowford takes less than 40 minutes! After being roasted in small batches and then cooled, the coffee is bagged up and dated ready to be sent to Wild Pen’s lucky customers.
As a business, Wild Pen is passionate about all things coffee, but ultimately Tom and Milly know the taste is the most important thing for the drinker. While Tom is a fountain of knowledge, he also recognises that the best coffee is the coffee you like – no unnecessary coffee snobbery here! With six varietals, Wild Pen have made sure there is something that ticks everyone’s boxes from classic flavours to specialty fermented beans.
I was lucky enough to get treated to a coffee from the master himself (and a few biscuits of course) and was left needing to know how I could get my hands on more! For those of you who class yourselves as coffee connoisseurs, go onto their website and get stocked up. Even better – so you don’t have to worry about the fear of waking up to an empty coffee jar (we’ve all been there) Wild Pen offer a subscription service that you can pause or amend at any time. The perfect gift that keeps on giving for a caffeine-crazy loved one! The subscription not only gives you 10 per cent off the price of the coffee, but other products they sell too, such as the locally handmade coffee cups from Trawden Pottery. They also offer a wholesale opportunity for cafes and restaurants. I, for one, love to see a local or small batch option on the menu where I know some extra care and attention has gone into the process.
I have no doubt that Wild Pen will continue to grow in their success, while holding on to their small batch quality, driven by the provenance of the coffee beans and the attention to detail of the roast. No prizes for guessing where my next holiday destination plans are for – I wonder if Diego will put me up in his hacienda too?
