Northumberland Coffee, a micro-coffee roastery and a hospitality business featuring a renovated Defender turned mobile coffee van, is proving popular at events in some of the most remote locations in the North East.

The vision of local entrepreneur, Amy Cook, Northumberland Coffee was inspired by her love of coffee and a love of exploring Northumberland and the outdoors. Amy’s converted Defender is self-contained. It requires no generators and does not disturb Northumberland with any noise or fumes.  

She is able to access some of the wildest parts of Northumberland that generated food vans may not be able to access, bringing fresh coffee to the most picturesque locations in the region. Using LPG gas, rechargeable leisure batteries and a 90 litre tank of water, Amy can make coffee anywhere.

Amy uses a single origin Colombian coffee that she roasts herself before using it to make delicious coffees in the Defender. She also sells her coffee as beans for customers to brew at home at events and at stockists such as Local in Jesmond. Her aim is to celebrate the local food scene and support the economy whilst bringing freshly roasted coffee to customers.

Amy, founder of Northumberland Coffee, said: “I try and use all local products. My milk comes from an organic, grass-fed farm called Bays Leap at Heddon-on-the-Wall and we have Marlish Water from Morpeth on board as our soft drinks supplier.

“All of our packaging is recyclable and compostable and we always stick to the Leave No Trace policy in the countryside. It’s important that when we go to beautiful places across the region we don’t leave anything behind. Because we don’t require a generator, there are no noises or smells that would ruin the tranquillity. Our coffee has full traceability back to the farmers.”

Since setting up in November of 2022, Amy has found great success at events such as Christmas markets, Wild Deer trail running events and recently joined Surfers Against Sewage volunteers on their beach cleans to provide free coffee to those helping to keep Northumberland’s beautiful beaches clean and plastic-free.

Amy enjoys the social aspect of her business: “Setting up Northumberland coffee and getting out to events in the Defender has allowed me to meet Northumberland producers, customers and people who are passionate about coffee and I am keen to meet more people who are involved in projects that inspire discovery of the county and its expansion of the coffee trade in the North East.

“We are in a unique position where we can access really remote and rugged places and really enjoy going to outdoor active events where a coffee can help fuel a run, surf or cycle.”

Looking to the future, Amy is preparing for a busy summer season as sporting events and weddings get underway.

“I have lots of events lined up for this year in some idyllic locations and can’t wait to serve coffee to lots of new customers.

“Due to the nature of the coffee seasons, our coffee offering will continue to change in accordance with them but the coffee will always be sourced responsibly, with full traceability and be of specialty grade.

“I’m always experimenting with new green coffees and am so excited to bring out a wider range of coffees once I can expand my roasting capacity and improve my skills as a roaster.

“I am really looking forward to working with more Northumberland-based producers and continue to showcase the producers we have in the county”.