Recently, at Chez Graham, we seemed to be devouring far too much coffee, and were almost swinging from the lights with the ‘hit’ of it all. So ordered decaff beans, chemical free, from a nearby  small coffee roasters, Rounton Coffee. The beans arrived quickly, and have an  extraordinarily good flavour. We now mix the beans with our existing full frontal beans and grind them up together. Calm has descended.

I was intrigued to see that the sparkling water decaf beans, with a hint of chocolate, nuts and toffee, were made the clean way, with no chemicals. It made me want to know more about Rounton Coffee, and to thank them for their delivery service.

I found more than I bargained for when poking and prying to find out more for Frost Magazine. Not only is Rounton Coffee an ethical and forward thinking  Roastery, the two guys who created the firm, found a practical way to show their appreciation  of the NHS at this fraught time, above and beyond clapping.

With my mind very much on VE Day and all that our parents and grand-parents did all those  years ago we are witnessing the herculean effort  of our  beloved and heroic NHS as they strive to save lives, 24/7.  Conscious of this Dave Beattie and David Burton, the two doyens who run the business gave thought to how they could help. Well, for goodness sake, CAFFEINE of course. What better way to restore some well being.

Dave and David therefore pledged back in March, before lock down to give free coffee to NHS staff from their two shops in Middlesbrough.

They set to work, with the support of Drew Rowley of React Nutrition, providing free coffee to NHS staff, from their shops. But then, lock down was upon us all. So a re-think was required. But what ..?

Ah ha: got it. What about giving the NHS  staff at Middlesbrough’s James Cook University Hospital a bit of a perk up. So the guys donated a grinder, a brewer and a selection of coffees which would help to provide  a brew.

The next step was to decide what else they could do. Before long another care package made its way to the Friary Community Hospital in Richmond.

Now on a roll, Rounton  Coffee reached out to Falcon Coffees, who are responsible for the sourcing and importing of the majority of the coffees that  Rounton Coffee roasts. Falcon’s Mike Riley, a long-time friend of Rounton Coffee, suggested that they could put together a blend for the NHS, comprised of green coffee donated by Falcon.

The components of the blend were familiar to Rounton: 2 bags from Pedro Gabarra Teixiera (the man behind their Brazilian coffees and who has, with his family gone on to win the title of Brazil’s most sustainable farm, awarded as part of the ‘Fazenda Sustentável’ awards.

And 2 bags from Mustefa Abakeno (whose Ethiopian beans Rounton Coffee think the best they have experienced from that region). Falcon’s generous donation meant that they could  now roast enough to make around 20,000 cups of coffee, right on the NHS front line. There was only one choice for the name – Nightingale Coffee.

Now the guys are busy roasting, grinding and distributing as much Nightingale Coffee out as they possibly can.  They’ll be sending it out to local NHS sites like Northallerton’s Friarage Hospital, as well as places like Harrogate’s Nightingale Hospital.

They are currently deciding how to tackle the logistics of their mission. If you can think of any NHS sites that would appreciate some Nightingale Coffee, they’d love to hear from you. Likewise, if you think you might be able to help provide some insight or help in further supporting the NHS, let them know.

As David and Dave said, ‘We are a relatively small team, who will always try to do more than we can physically manage, but that won’t stop us from trying.’  I bet it won’t.

Frost Magazine will be returning to Rounton Coffee in a week or so to explore just how they came to set up in the first place,  and  taking a look at their products, which include some interesting teas.

All in all Rounton Coffee is a place of delights, run and supported by heroes.

Contact them at: info@rountoncoffee.co.uk

Or learn more here.   Details of: React Nutrition   Details of Falcon Coffees

Images courtesy of Rounton Coffee