We went to the launch of a coffee shop out in the heart of North Yorkshire. Find out what we thought of the brownies at The Joiners Shop and what happened when we tried our hand at latte art.
Ugh - November is such a cold, miserable month. Not only have you got the panic of running around before Christmas trying to get as organised as possible, but there's loads of cold and flu bugs in the air. We've just got over bad colds in the Afternoon Tees household which has meant the blog has been quiet for a few weeks.
Anyway we have now fully recovered (yay!) and ready to tell you about a fantastic coffee shop launch we went to in October at The Joiners Shop in Ingleby Cross (very close to Northallerton and the Cleveland Tontine.)
The Joiners Shop opened in the summer and is owned by the company behind Rountons coffee.
I was advised that the shop didn't have any parking, so I parked around the corner, just out of the way of the houses.
The venue itself was lovely, an old brick house which used to be an old joiners, hence the name of course! Although it was very traditional outside, it was lovely and airy inside, with lots of seating and an upstairs area.
I was greeted at the door by Dave, the owner, who had glasses of fizz and orange juice for all of the visitors.
"It's a lovely place, but it's a bit far out in the middle of nowhere isn't it?" I asked.
It turned out The Joiners Shop was in the middle of the Coast to Coast walk, a 192-mile walk through the North of England, undertaken by thousands of people each year. The Joiners Shop was in a perfect position and they had already seen lots of ramblers, cyclists and dog walkers visit for for a coffee, slice of cake, and a well-deserved rest.
The launch was really busy and the coffee shop was full to the brim with locals, coffee aficionados and bloggers, taking photos and sampling the food and drink. At the back of the shop you could sample lots of different blends of coffee and tea and there were experts on hand to tell you more about where they came from and the different flavours.
There were different types of food available to try, from slices of cake, breakfast granola pots, scones and brownies. The brownies were yummy, especially the Toblerone one!
They do afternoon tea here too, so if the food is anything to go by, the afternoon teas will be awesome!
The invite to the launch said you could try your hand at some latte art, so when I was asked if I wanted to give it a go, I jumped at the chance! I went back to the kitchen area, where Danni the barista put an expresso together on the fancy coffee machine, heated up some milk, and showed me how to do a heart in the foam. The trick is to pour the milk from up high to begin with, and then drop down and cut through to make the heart shape.
Sounds easy right? I'm sure from the photo above you can tell which attempt was Danni's and which was mine! It was fun though and it's nice to learn new skills, plus I got to drink my 'artwork'!
Last but not least, it wouldn't be a launch without a goody bag! I got a lovely Rounton canvas bag that I've been taking my lunch to work in, as well as some posh chai teabags and a bag of Rounton coffee (which is delicious).
Yes, the Joiners Shop is a little far out, but if the food and drink is good, you won't mind travelling, and I'd definitely take friends and family here for cake and a latte. Not one I'd made though!
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By Kate at 9 Nov 2017, 20:19 PM