Not so much stuck between extremes as offering the best of both, Milk Wood was not only the first blend we roasted but the concept around which Dark Woods was built. A medium roast delivers familiar caramel sweetness but adventurous sourcing takes it beyond the perceived limits of this style. Validation of our approach arrived in 2016 when Milk Wood won a prestigious Golden Fork for best Northern Product in the Great Taste Awards.

Blend details:

Farm: Fazenda Passeio, Monte Belo, Sul de Minas, Brazil
Process: Natural
Variety: Bourbon, Catuai & Icatu arabica. “Dark Woods Woodman recipe” overseen by Adolfo Vieira

Farm: Kalledevarapura Estate, Chikmagalur, Karnataka, India
Process: washed
Variety: S795 & SN9 arabica
DM Purnesh & DM Shankar

Farm: Ethiopia Aricha, Idido, Yirgacheffe
Process: washed
Variety: Mixed heirloom arabica
Smallholder producers of the Aricha washing station.

Under Milk Wood

Nestling in the West Yorkshire Pennines, we are surrounded by dramatic moorland, dry-stone walls and ancient woods. We see reminders of the area's heritage, shaped by the Industrial Revolution; from the 18th Century canal locks to the remnants of old mills and weirs. It was this that gave birth to our river-side Victorian textile mill, where we roast our coffee on a vintage Probat drum roaster.

Dark Woods use specialty grade coffees, which have cleaner more distinctive flavours than cheaper commercial coffees and are traceable to skilled farmers and their farms across the world. Carefully roasted to produce an array of flavours to suit a wide range of styles and tastes - which may be why Dark Woods gained another 13 awards in 2020's Great Taste Awards.

Darkwoods Coffee

Our Lamplight Decaf is gently decaffeinated using the Swiss Water method. This process not only removes the caffeine without resorting to harsh chemicals but also imparts a breaded sweetness that resembles rich fruit cake. Delicious brewed in every method Lamplight is coffee without caffeine or compromise.

Farm: Las Capucas, Copan, Honduras
Producers of the COCAFCAL co-op (“Capucas”)

Lamplight Decaf

Arboretum is a multi-award winning coffee (two-stars in the Great Taste Awards 2017, and one star in 2018). Taking the best of current crops, this espresso is designed to highlight the fruitier side of coffee, left lighter roast to retain those citrus flavours. The latest version of Arboretum is super juicy with flavours of red berries and lemonade

Arboretum Espresso

A Dark Woods take on a more traditional style of filter coffee, Good Morning Sunshine is bursting with toasty and nutty flavours. Good high altitude washed Central American coffees are taken on a little in the roast to develop body and to add depth and sweetness to this robust and tasty blend. Less fruit-driven than our house Colombian coffee, El Jordan, Good Morning Sunshine is a familiar coffee treated with uncommon love and respect. Because sometimes you just want a coffee that tastes, well, like coffee.

Good Morning Sunshine

Dark yet bright, Crow Tree is a rarity amongst speciality coffees. Top quality, high altitude Arabicas are more commonly left light but we felt that this only tells half their story. By using the cleanest available green coffee we are able to roast darker to develop bold yet defined flavours that match those found in the very best single estate chocolate.

Crow Tree utilises coffees sourced from farms closely involved with the Café Femenino Project. This ground-breaking organisation supports women farmers and producers in what can be a challenging and male-dominated industry.

Blend details:

Farm: Asproagro Community, Kanaris, Lambayeque, Peru
Variety: Various arabicas
Altitude: 1400m +
Café Femenino. Women producers of Asproagro. CECANOR co-op.

Finca La Guadalupe, La Labor, Ocotepeque, Honduras
Variety: Bourbon & Catuai arabicas
Altitude: 1500-1700m    
Produced by Selin Recinos Jr. A member of COCAFELOL.

El Jordan, Planadas, Tolima, Colombia
Variety: Catura, Colombia & Castillo arabicas
Altitude: 1500-1900m  
Producers of the MAZICO association.

CrowTree

Snow Stone, our winter blend, evokes all the flavours of the season. Two natural processed coffee, one from Brazil and one from Ethiopia, that combine to give you a dried cherry sweetness and a smooth chestnut flavour. Added to this is a little washed processed coffee from Colombia. The fuller roast style adds dark chocolate overtones and a full body.

The coffee takes its name from one of the Stanza Stones, a series of poems carved into the rocks in the Pennine Hills. The Snow Stone itself sits in a long disused quarry at Pule Hill above the village of Marsden, etched with a verse from acclaimed poet Simon Armitage.

To be enjoyed in front of the fire when there’s crisp white snow outside.

Blend details:

Farm: Fazenda Passeio, Monte Belo, Sul de Minas, Brazil
Process: Natural
Variety: Bourbon, Catuai & Icatu Arabica “Dark Woods Woodman recipe”
Altitude:1100-1200m
Produced by Adolfo Vieira

Farm: Gedeb & Dumerso, Yirgacheffe, Ethiopia
Process: Natural
Variety: Mixed heirloom arabica
Altitude: 1900-2100m
Smallholder producers

Farm: El Ata, Colombia
Process: Washed
Variety: Caturra, Colombia & Castillo arabica
Altitude: 1650-1950m

Snow Stone

We were getting requests for a traditional Italian style espresso. This made us nervous as cheap Italian espresso blends can be bitter from over roasting and cheap robusta.

So we set about making a much higher quality version, an elegant modern interpretation in the Dark Woods style.

The blend starts with specialty arabicas from South America and India. Finally, we add in the very best quality robusta from the award-winning Harley Estate in India. It’s just mid roast resulting in a smooth rich bodied espresso that will make people reassess this style.

Blend details:

Farm: Fazenda Passeio,Monte Belo, Sul de Minas, Brazil
Process: Natural
Variety: Bourbon, Catuai & Icatu arabica “Dark Woods Woodman recipe”
Altitude: 1100-1200m
Adolfo Vieira

Farm: Kalledevarapura Estate, Chikmagalur, Karnataka, India
Process: Washed
Variety: S795 & SN9 arabica
Altitude: 1150-1280m
DM Purnesh & DM Shankar.

Farm: Harley Estate, Manjarabad, Karnataka, India
Process: Washed
Variety: Kaapi Royale robusta
Altitude: 945-1035m
DM Purnesh & DM Shankar

Farm: El Jordan, Planadas, Tolima, Colombia
Process: Washed
Variety: Caturra, Colombia & Castillo arabica
Altitude: 1500-1900m
Producers of the MAZICO association.

Deer Hill

An exclusive micro-lot produced by Jairo Humberto Lopez on his 16 hectare Finca Villa Norena coffee farm in the Tolima region, one of our favourite sources of Colombian coffee. Located near to the Nevado del Tolima volcano in Ibague, the towering peak is a direct influence on the diverse micro-climates on the farm and combined with the favourable altitude these help shape the complex flavours of this coffee. 

Pink Bourbon is a rare hybrid of Yellow and Red Bourbon and is very hard to reproduce and isolate with consistency as the genes that express it's colour are recessive. The reward is a cup with enhanced sweetness and complexity as well as additional resistance to coffee leaf rust, so it is becoming more popular with progressive and quality-focused producers. 

Super-bright and juicy as an espresso but especially good with flat whites where the jammy fruit and sweet, biscuity character pairs wonderfully with milk.

Colombia Jario Humberto Lopez Pink Bourbon

Круто, очень видно по регионам что зашло и что нет.

NEW CROP LA HUELLA IS NOW BACK IN THE ROASTERY!

We are delighted that our partnership with Cafe de Panama has resulted in winning the "Golden Fork" for the Best Northern Product in the 2019 Great Taste Awards, and another 2 Star Award in 2020.

This amazing natural process coffee, exclusive to Dark Woods, wowed the GTA judges, who commented, “This is a warm, medium bodied coffee that delivers a thick smokey chocolate note. There’s a slight fermented funk to this a coffee, which judges like. A rich, cherry finish. There is a fruity nose here and the palate is rich with fruit. There is a pleasant finish with some chocolate notes. 3 star.”

The Catuai cherries were produced by Don Manelia and then micro milled by La Huella. This is one of our relationship coffees, exclusive to Dark Woods.

Panama La Huella Natural - 2019 GTA Golden Fork Winner

Farm & Region:Gui Ben Lan Hua, Yiwu Washing Station, Xishuangbanna, Yunnan
Variety:Catimor

This is a beautiful Dark Woods exclsuive micro-lot from producers Tang Xiang, Tian Cai and Guiben Xishuangbanna, sourced from deep within Yunnan. Located just East of Pu-er city in the Shigaoqing and Guiben areas, this an internationally famous tea growing region that is now enjoying similar success with its specialty coffees.

Moderate acidity and an enjoyably soft and creamy body make for an easy-to-brew and rewarding introduction to Chinese coffee. We have featured more fruit-forward naturally processed coffees from this region before, but this honey processed coffee should appeal to consumers seeking more familiar flavours. Fundamentally this is an easy drinking and balanced brew with caramel/burnt sugar sweetness and just a hint of juicy pineapple to keep things interesting.

China Yunnan, Gui Ben Lan Hua Honey

Farm & Region:Canas Verde, Boquete
Process:Red Honey
Variety:Catuai Arabica

An exceptional direct trade micro-lot exclusive to Dark Woods, produced by Canas Verdes and processed by La Huella, Cafe de Panama.

Our colleague Pedro Moss from La Huella, has been perfecting the processing of the already superb beans from the region, to produce an array of different varieties and styles. Its been a tough year bringing in the 2020 harvest throughout the pandemic but the final results have been stunning. Four of his coffees have won Great Taste Awards this year (and so there are more to come), with this one taking the top 3 stars.

The green coffee is honey processed with a period spent in anaerobic (without oxygen) conditions. This pioneering method borrowed from the wine industry creates different microbial activity to standard honey or natural processing and the end results can be spectacular and surprising. Here Pedro has delivered a winning combination of extreme sweetness and fruity complexity without any hint of excessive boozy or funky notes. It's a classy and elegant coffee that is best brewed long to appreciate it's delicate charms.

4.0