Maybe the sort of people who frequent farmers’ markets are a different breed to the rest of
the general population when it comes to their coffee, those challenging customers in café
queues demanding ludicrously elaborate concoctions like half-strength decaf latte on oat,
piping hot please.
I’d asked Michelle Clarke of Bangalow Coffee if she encountered much of the preciousness
which permeates our coffee culture. Ever the diplomat, she agrees that ‘certainly people are
more discerning regarding their coffee’ – although does concede that ‘sometimes all the
milk options can be challenging on a busy part of the morning, but we work our way
through it!’
And indeed they do, Michelle an unfailingly patient and warm presence at farmers markets
for well over a decade now. ‘Even though some are mainly looking for a caffeine hit’, she
continues, ‘most just want a good brew.’
A good brew is definitely what you’ll get when you visit Michelle’s stall. She and husband
Andy established their Nashua plantation in 1998 and started harvesting several years later.
They planted one variety of coffee only, K7 (Arabia), which had been recommended by the
NSW Department of Agriculture. ‘It was the most suitable for the Northern Rivers at the
time’, Michelle tells me. The flavour doesn’t vary much from year to year, and the Clarkes
allow their raw dry beans to mature over 4 – 6 months, for a richer flavour.
They’re that rare thing up here, coffee-growers whose own beans they harvest then sell –
no blending, as that would involve an overseas bean. ‘Our coffee’, says Michelle, ‘is hand-
picked over many months and only the ripest cherries are harvested. This allows the end
product to be very sweet and mellow.’
That some regular customers have been frequenting their stall for over ten years is surely
testament to that!
Bangalow Coffee are at Mullumbimby every Friday from 7 – 11am
Victoria Cosford
