The passionate coffee couple
Travelling over four thousand miles to open a coffee roastery in Yorkshire is quite a commitment you might think, but for Chris and Tash Brett, an entrepreneurial couple originally from Gloucestershire (Chris) and his wife Tash from Slaithwaite in West Yorkshire it was a challenge they were ready to meet.
‘We were living and working in Arkansas but wanted to ‘come home’ so our young son Arnold could get to know his cousins and grandparents. We’d been very much enjoying the café scene in the US but couldn’t find a good cuppa locally – so decided to do it ourselves!’ says Chris. They quickly established a roastery in a shed in the garden of their old stone house on the edge of the Forge Valley and in the lee of derelict but atmospheric Ayton Castle.
Chris is chief brewer and has many years of experience in retail and hospitality under his belt, while Tash oversees the design and marketing aspect of the business, as well as being a Speciality Coffee Association certified barista. They started off selling small batches of coffee at local events and online, with 80% of their business within 6 miles of the roastery.
Now the pair have a couple of coffee shops in the local area: The Kitchen at The Hillyard, Wykeham and Brew Bar, an independent coffee shop on Huntriss Row, Scarborough. Tash heads up the enthusiastic team - both experienced and some baristas in the making.
The pair have a strong community presence with limited edition coffee that proudly donates 10% of proceeds to support two local organisations. The Mountain Blend directly contributes to the safety and wellbeing of the local community through the Scarborough and Ryedale Mountain Rescue. The Moors Blend helps the North York Moors Trust deliver projects that support the health of both people and nature in the National Park and surrounding communities.
Chris gained his accreditation with Dark Woods Coffee roasters on the Pennines, and his approach to the work is very much based on his time there – ‘I learned so much from the guys there. Roasting beans is a meticulous, time-consuming and exacting process, but I like it that way. We source our beans responsibly from some of the world’s best producers, including Brazil, Columbia, Honduras and Rwanda.’
‘We miss America, we had really fallen in love with it, but it’s good to be back in the UK, particularly now there’s good coffee to be had!’
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