Yellow Bourbon Coffee Roasters

| ifos

Yellow Bourbon Coffee Roasters is a small, local coffee shop in my hometown – Northampton. The shop is located at 15 Angel st, Northampton, NN1 1EW. Their Instagram is @yellow_bourbon.

(c) Sofi N.
Opening hours:
Sunday – closed
Monday – Friday – 8am-4pm.

At Yellow Bourbon, they select some outstanding coffees from around the world. They roast the coffees in store, upstairs at the back. They then serve them either as drinks, or in bags for you to purchase and take home to brew at home. All of the staff are highly trained and extremely helpful, they are always more than happy to share their expertise with you – to help you chose the right coffee for you, and how to brew it at home to its best advantage. They also hold brewing classes every first Saturday of the month.

(c) Sofi N.
Pricing – There has been a slight price rise on retail drinks and snacks which was put into place on October 1st. For example, a flat white has gone from £2.50, to £2.70. The pricing of wholesale and beans has not changed – these are still from £6-£9 per 250g.

The shop has a small outside seating area – bench and a table which is perfect for the summer. Upstairs is a larger seating area, it’s also where you can find shop owner Steve’s rescue dog – patch. who hangs around occasionally, sleeping on his coffee bean bag bed (and sniffing out your sandwiches).

(c) Sofi N.
Patch taking a snooze.

At Yellow Bourbon, they sell a large variety of coffees. These are directly sourced from coffee farmers. The staff visit farms around the world. Some of the places they have visited that I know of are El Salvador and Brazil. On their latest trip to Brazil, one of the staff members visited Daterra – a farm that is working hard in order to produce sustainable coffees, from the region of Minas Gerais. Elle – who visited Daterra, which is one of the most highly regarded coffee estates in the world, even helped to plant a coffee tree there.

“Daterra is all about sustainability and care which is shown through their equipment, how they treat their workers and the family feel you get across the farm even with 600 people working during the harvest.”

– Elle, Yellow Bourbon worker.

When the staff have the opportunity to visit farms across the world, they like to keep their customers very updated on what happens there. They share photos/videos as little insights into how the coffee goes from farm, to your cup at Yellow Bourbon. For example, coffee drying patio at Fazenda Serra Das Tres Barras – part of Mantiquiera De Minas estate, where the coffee that they serve comes from.

(c) Sofi N.
The coffee roasting area upstairs.

They have a variety of dairy alternatives available to customers. Due to the fact that veg milk is more expensive than dairy, they have a 25p subcharge. Although, if you bring your own reusable cup – they give you a 25p discount, which in my eyes in a win-win! They also have freshly squeezed orange juice on their menu. The oranges are bought from the local market which is just a short walk away.

(c) Sofi N.
Coffee plants are sold in store.

The shop owner Steve has over 8 years of technical experience in coffee, from roasting and quality control, through to sourcing, brewing and training. So, if you appreciate expertly crafted coffee, friendly staff and a chilled out environment and atmosphere – and you are in/around Northampton, then Yellow Bourbon is the place to be.

3 things I’d like to learn how to do

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As a student, it’s not all that often that you get some free time to spend doing things whilst feeling guilt free. So for the free time that I do have, I’d like to spend some of it learning how to do new things.

  1. Embroidery – I love the idea of being able decorate in order to create beautiful pieces of fabric, so in my spare time, I want to be able to teach myself embroidery, and maybe even eventually start making people pieces as presents. I’d love to be able to decorate/design my own tote bags. As a beginner, I think I’d start off with hand embroidery, and maybe once I’ve taught myself that and feel as though I am good at it, invest in a machine, and make more professional looking pieces (I’m feeling very optimistic).

2. Book binding – At my university, there are many workshops that we can attend, and one of them is book binding. The moment that I saw that it was on offer to us, I was immediately interested in the process of it, and the idea of being able to do it myself. As soon as there are spaces for me to book myself in for the tutorial, I will 100% be doing so.

3. Screen printing – Screen printing is also on offer to me through workshops at my University. I would love to be able to design my very own print and then be able to transfer it onto a material of my choice and create something – the possibilities are endless.

7 things that make me happy in London

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Since moving to London in September, I have been trying to find things to do during my spare time that make me happy, whilst I’m not studying. Here are just a few things that I have discovered and enjoyed so far.

  1. Columbia Road Flower Market – I absolutely love flowers, and looking after house plants, so as you can imagine I am very much, a big fan of the Columbia Road Flower Market on a Sunday. The market is only a short walk from where I’m living, so on a Sunday I love to go for a walk, and browse what the traders have on their stalls that week. Despite how busy the market gets, I’d say it’s definitely worth it for any plant lovers.
The market is open from 8am-3pm on Sundays. If you aren’t a fan of crowds, it’s best to go just as the market is opening. Although if you are looking for a bargain, visit when the winding down at around 2-3pm – this is when the market is winding down and traders are even likely to reduce their prices.

2. Trying out different local cafés – During my free time in London, I like to explore my local area and try out different cafés. Recently I’ve tried the Curious Yellow Kafe which is located on Pitfield Street. They have an outside seated area, at the front of the cafe which I can imagine would be lovely to sit at during the summer. Curious Yellow Kafe’s aim is to bring quality and goodness to the people of N1 with a flavour of Sweden.

3. The Finnish Church – As I am half Finnish, I love to visit the Finnish church, to go to the cafeteria, or the shop. The cafeteria is a communal meeting space for Finns that live in the UK, and it’s also a good way to find out about Finnish events and activities. The cafeteria sells cinnamon buns and Karelian pies, which you can have alongside your Finnish coffee (which in my opinion, is much nicer than English coffee). The Finnish shop is my favorite place to visit when I feel I need a touch of Finland to take home. They have the biggest selection on Finnish foods.

The Finnish church also have a traditional Finnish market each year – which I am looking forward to. This year the market will be held from 20th – 24th November.

4. Spitalfields Market – I enjoy a browse around the stalls in the market, especially if I have friends from outside of London visiting me, as it’s always a crowd pleaser. I personally don’t often buy anything from the markets, but they do have some very good food and coffee options.

5. Seven seasons – seven seasons is a family run bottle shop which is located in Hackney, Hoxton. They sell craft beers and ales. They have a lovely indoor seating area, and a large selection of beers. The staff are incredibly helpful – if you don’t know much about beers. I enjoy going to seven seasons to wind down and socialise with my friends as often as possible.

(c) Sofi N.
They have two tables just outside of the shop, which I enjoyed sitting at during the summer.

6. Vintage shops – London has a massive selection of vintage shops, and I love to visit stores and see what kinds of things they have on sale, which may take my fancy over my usual purchases. Although as a student living on a budget, with Christmas just around the corner, it’s quite difficult to actually bite the bullet and make that purchase.

7. Sofar sounds – sofar sounds organise secret intimate gigs around London. These gigs can either be hosted in somebody’s house, or in a proper venue. To get tickets you need to apply for tickets in your selected area, and if you win – they email you! I attended my first sofar sounds gig in September 2016, and it’s been one of the best gigs I’ve attended.

(c) Sofi N.
I also had the opportunity to meet and talk to the artist – as the venue was so intimate.

What are some things that you enjoy doing in London, that make you happy?

Introduction

| ifos

Hello – I’m Sofi, and I’m a 21 year old student at University of the Arts London (UAL). I am doing a blog to share my student life experience, and to be able to talk about what it’s like living in London.

I am Finnish/British, and have been living in Northampton. I moved to London in the beginning of September, and I am currently living in Hoxton.

Things that interest me

There are many things that I enjoy doing but to name a few;

  1. I enjoy going to gigs, and try to attend as many as possible. Now that I am living in London, I hope to be able to go to a few more.
  2. I enjoy cooking and trying new recipes. Living in Halls with other students makes my love for this quite difficult, as my flat mates are very messy, and I like to keep a kitchen tidy.
  3. I like to go on drives. One thing that I miss about home, is my car, and not having to commute whilst extremely squashed and hot.
  4. I love walking my dog, and being able to drive her to new places to explore together.
  5. I also enjoy meeting up with the friends that I have made through my course and doing things together outside of uni.
What is it about Contemporary Media Cultures that made me want to study at LCC?

Contemporary Media Cultures peaked my interest as it’s such a broad subject, which means that through doing this course I can explore things that I personally enjoy working with the most. I can use this course to discover what kind of a job I would like to pursue in the future, thanks to all the opportunities and workshops we have access to. I get to study both media, and culture in a contemporary context, and think about things with a critical perspective in mind. Contemporary Media Cultures will allow me to explore the role and impact that media, cultural and creative processes have on shaping today’s world. Media is such a huge part of more or less everybody’s lives, and it changes the way our identities develop over time.

This course allows me to develop my critical thinking, and then be able to put my own ideas into practice. By the end of my time studying at LCC, I will have developed a critical understanding of several media industries. Contemporary Media Cultures allows us to pick an optional unit, from another course in the Media and Communications programme that we have here at LCC. I think that this is a great way for us to all be able to personalise our learning to suit our own interests. This course will help me to develop and build upon my transferable skills. It will help me to be more confident in my own ideas, and it gives me the opportunity to be able to present those ideas in a creative way.