Prov on Tour
The team have had a busy month of coffee celebrations, enjoying the best of what our industry has to offer, from coffee beans to community. Kicking off back in October with a team training day, all the way through to the launch of the Indy Coffee Guide Wales and the yearly pilgrimage to the Manchester Coffee Festival. This is what it looked like…
TEAM TRAINING DAT AT HEARTLAND COFFEE ROASTERS -
THU 12TH OF OCT
It’s a right of passage. Newer team members Ioshan, Ollie, Richard and Glen headed down Mostyn Street for a day of tasting and training with the team at Heartland Coffee Roasters.
Starting the day savouring a coffee made fresh from the bar at the Roastery, the team then settled in for some coffee cupping, learning to identify the tasting notes of different roasts. After sipping the range of roasts, the team then ventured into the heart of the roastery, getting familiar with the equipment and processes that go into roasting the delicious bags of coffee that then end up at Prov.
The aim of the day being to understand what truly makes a delicious, fair cup of coffee - from the plantation to the barista behind the bar. These days at the roastery are invaluable to the team here and we’re always grateful to the team at Heartland for taking the time to share their passion and knowledge with us!
THE INDY COFFEE GUIDE WALES LAUNCH, CARDIFF -
FRI 13TH OF OCT
This was an eagerly awaited weekend! We’ve long since been a proud feature in the Indy Coffee Guide, a celebration of some of the amazing coffeehouses and roasters that are at the forefront of the industry. This year was even more special with the launch of the FIRST EVER Wales guide.
Jake and Kiani made the trans-Wales trip down to the capital for the official launch party, hosted at iconic Hard Lines Coffee Roasters in Cardiff. The room was packed from front to back, the guys spent the evening connecting with new and old friends from across Wales and Jake even dusted off his competitive skills and made shapes in the latte art throw down.
It was a fantastic evening and mega to hear that the number of Welsh businesses in the guide since their debut has over tripled!
The guide is definitely worth having for all of your caffeine fuelled trips (we always have it to hand) and can be picked up at both Little ad Big Prov for £9.99.
THE (UNOFFICIAL) INDY COFFEE GUIDE WALES LAUNCH, WREXHAM -
THU 2ND OF NOV
A number of the team made the journey up the coast to join ex-Prov team member Bethan and Rob at their Wrexham coffeehouse for a North Wales celebration of the Indy Coffee Guide Wales launch, co-hosted by the wonderful Bank Street Social.
The guys put on the tastiest spread (many cookies were devoured) which was enjoyed while we signed up everyone from Team Prov for the latte art throw down. Then, between some coffee cupping of Wrexham Bean Co. roasts, the team practiced their pours ready for the head to heads.
Everyone gave their best (there were some seriously shaky hands) with Ryan making it to the final rounds and taking home 3rd place.
The evening was spent in great company and everyone had a good laugh trying to get in touch with their competitive side. We had a blast catching up with some of our North Wales friends.
THE MANCHESTER COFFEE FESTIVAL -
SAT & SUN THE 18TH & 19TH OF NOV
The yearly pilgrimage from Llandudno to the Manchester Coffee Festival is a must for the Team.
This year brought another immersive programme filled with everything and anything coffee related - from workshops and talks from industry experts to endless cups of delicious coffee and opportunities to get stuck in with a even more competition.
Walking through the door, the festival was charged with a (caffeinated) buzz - the smells of fresh food, baked goods, brewing coffee and the sound of coffee enthusiasts as far as the eye could see.
Stalls were so diverse and there was so much to see (and so many people to speak too). We caught up with friends, ex-Prov team members and tasted cup after cup of unbelievable coffee.
We spoke with so many knowledgeable folks, asking questions and sharing conversations that covered the length and breadth of what we do.
On top of that, we enjoyed sweet treats and glorious food from a number of vendors, including a matcha soft serve, we repeat, a MATCHA SOFT SERVE
We listened to speakers talking on roasting, growing and equality in the industry (among many other topics) and we took part in some fun challenges - grinding and brewing coffee on a timer is always a recipe for shaky hands and coffee grinds everywhere.
All in all we had a packed weekend, equal parts fun and informative. We’re already looking forward to next year…
It’s been a busy month for us, we had a ball and now we’re bringing everything we learnt over the last month back to our coffeehouses to see how we can be even better at what we love doing; sharing and pouring high quality, tasty coffee.
The team would love to share their experiences so feel free to chat with us next time you stop by and ask us about what we’ve been up to!
Want to read more? Head into the Prov Blog archives for meet the teams, event roundups, a rundown on our house coffee roasters and more! Don’t forget to keep your eyes peeled next month for December’s Prov Blog too!