When Bar Buoy first began it was around the kitchen sink. We got our house licensed and carefully crafted cocktails using a 1L stainless steel jug before bottling them and shipping them out to customers who had ordered online.
At the time, when we made our Espresso Martini we used a sage barista coffee machine and tampered each shot so that the cocktail was exactly as it should be.But then the business began to grow. And the orders were coming in thick and fast. So we quickly moved away from the kitchen sink and into a small commercial unit in order to start scaling up production. Our first bottling machine could make up to 10L of the same cocktail in one go, which meant that when it came to espresso shots, we needed 100 for just one batch! A time consuming and inconsistent process.
We began sourcing cold brew from a national supplier in 1L packs, but the quality was sub par and our packaging waste increased ten fold. And then we started entering our cocktails into awards. They all scored highly EXCEPT for the Espresso Martini which kept coming back with constructive remarks from the judges that pointed to the coffee element not being up to scratch. “It just lacked that freshly made feeling” one said. And we knew ourselves that the product wasn’t of the usual Bar Buoy quality, or made with the usual ethos. So it became a hot topic and one that needed to be resolved quickly.
Around the same time, we joined Food Drink Devon, an amazing organisation that champions exceptional food and drink from all across our region. We soon met chairman Greg Parsons at a networking event along with marketing champ Liz Orgill from Owens Coffee. It didn’t take long for the conversation to turn to our Espresso Martini and Greg, with his gregarious smile and energetic enthusiasm, set us all the challenge of working together to create an award winning version of our Espresso Martini that we’d both be proud of. We jumped at the challenge and it was game on.
For those that don’t know Owens Coffee, they’re an organic and fairtrade roastery based in South Devon. They roast amazing fresh coffee and not only do they care about using the finest, most delicious beans, but they also care deeply about sourcing them in a responsible way. A perfect fit for Bar Buoy and one that ticked all our preferred supplier wishlist boxes based on quality, ethicality and locality.
We got straight to work and first up was an r&d session with head barista Jenny McDonough. We brewed, we mixed, we shook and we tasted. We soon worked out that the Owens Coffee Baya bean was the one. It’s an espresso blend from the Batak region of Sumatra and it’s Roasted dark, but not too dark, to bring out notes of spicy dark chocolate with a sweet brightness. A perfect profile for an Espresso Martini cocktail.
Version one tasted amazing, but when it was shaken over ice and strained into a glass it didn’t quite produce enough foam. Jenny suggested this was due to the coarseness of the grind which she swiftly adjusted. We also carefully considered the colour - it has to look the part in a glass too - and interestingly the cold brew we had been using was pale and insipid. So more batches of Owens Baya blend cold brew were produced until we eventually reached a version that was practically perfect in every way.
But to really ensure we were bottling the coffee as fresh as can be, we needed to produce the cold brew in-house at Bar Buoy HQ. So we got ourselves a commercial Toddy - a cold brew system for large volume brewing. It added a new dimension to our production processes and we had to spend even more time fine tuning and researching the precise brewing method / timings required to produce the same product that Owens had done at their own roastery. A special mention has to go to our Production Supervisor Toby Smith for his dedication to this part of the project. It was all worth it, especially as we moved, yet again, into even bigger premises and production was scaled up again from a 10L mixing machine to a 100L tank.
In order to really ensure we’d got things right, it was time to obtain some external feedback. And what better place to start than by reaching out to fellow Food Drink Devon members. We offered samples at a monthly networking event and handed out feedback forms with each one. We wanted to hear all thoughts on taste, strength and texture. It was a hit and the feedback was unanimously good (even when we really prodded to make sure people weren’t just being nice).
So we launched the new version. We proudly displayed the Owens Coffee logo on our bottle label under the heading ‘crewed with’ and we started to shout about it to our customers at events and tastings. Everyone loved it and the hours of research and fine tuning had definitely been worth it.
Of course the final test was when we re-entered our Espresso Martini into the Taste of the West product awards. There are several weeks in between dropping off products for judging and finding out the results. We waited patiently. And then boom! We heard the news we’d all been hoping for - we had struck Gold! Taa daaaa!
So not only are we, and the Taste of the West Judges, happy that we’ve done our very best to create the most amazing, award winning Espresso Martini out there, but you, our lovely customers, can also enjoy each sip safe in the knowledge that this cocktail has been expertly crafted to ensure your palate has a true voyage of Espresso Martini flavours. It’s the perfect tipple for anyone seeking a sophisticated, yet invigorating cocktail experience from Devon.
If you’re keen to try for yourself, don’t forget we can deliver you a single bottle or more direct to your door via our Next Day Tracked service when you order via our online store. Or you’ll find our 100ml bottles on the shelf at Owens Roastery in Ivybridge.
