Issue 4 – Wednesday 2 August
Cafe Culture at Global Village
Nick Edwards and Lawrence Mille
It's the question everyone's been asking: where can one get the best cup of coffee on camp? Which of the two camp cafes takes the top spot? Your two intrepid reporters set out to answer this burning question.
First up was the Fairytrade Cafe. Situated in the Kent Pavilion, Fairytrade serve a range of fairtrade and organic snacks and drinks.
As we entered via the rear end of the pavilion, we were greeted a delicious aroma of freshly baked cake and popcorn. The cafe is decorated with colourful cut out butterflies and circles on the walls and windows, and the staff are all kitted out in fairy gear. The plastic tables and chairs do look slightly out of place, however the cafe have made efforts to eliviate this with bright table cloths. As we sat drinking our coffee, a constant stream of people passed by, which gave the cafe a busy metropolitan feel. Fairytrade also has a stage, which works on an open-mic basis during the daytime, and features a variety performers in the evening.
Unfortunately only instant coffee was on offer, but it was the ever popular Fairtrade 5065 which is good as far as instant coffee goes, and was served at a reasonable strength. At 60p a cup however, we did feel it was slightly steep. A 10p discount is offered if you bring your own mug, but we did not receive this, presumably as we were using Tillyards mugs.
The cafe stocks a wide variety of snacks, including freshly baked two-tone cake, popcorn, candyfloss, sweets and chocolate. Although being made from cake mix, the cake was flavoursome and lightly textured, although perhaps a little dry. At 60p for a generous slice, with chocolate icing on top, we thought it was pretty reasonable.
We spoke to Ellie and Laurie (DFs from Hebden Bridge) who helped out organising the cafe. Ellie thought the cafe's central location and vibrant atmosphere made it the ideal place to meet people. She told us that Fairytrade is a workers co-op, so all the staff have an equal role in running the cafe.
After a pleasant cup of coffee with some fellow DFs in Fairytrade, we headed on down to Tillyards to see what they had to offer. Tillyards focus much more on providing a quality range of freshly ground coffees and speciality teas. Four varieties of coffee are on offer permanently, and when we popped in they also had a guest Peruvian Mocha blend on. All the coffees are served as Cappuccino, Latte, Espresso, Americano etc. The coffee that we had was amazing, the best cup of coffee we've had in days! Tillyards also sell panninis and pizza which is baked in a wood fired oven, which are roumered to be delicious.
The Tillyards staff have obviously put a lot of effort into creating a quirky space to chill out. The atmosphere very relaxed, and the cafe is decorated with salvaged objects such as bikes, craved staffs and old record sleeves. During the daytime a eclectic mix of music is played over the cafes PA system, and there are live performers in the evening. Over the next week look out for Indigo Moon - a street theatre group, singer-storyteller extraordinaire Eric Maddern.
Tillyards operate as a consumer co-op, which you can join for the princely sum of three pounds. This gets you a rather snazzy mug along with a vote as to which charity the profits will go and discounts of up to 33%. Joining is a must if you intend to be a regular customer!
We originally set out to discover which of the the camp cafes is the best. However we've realised that each of the cafes have their own unique charm. Fairytrade is the place to go to meet people, listen to live acts and generally feel that you have the finger on Global Village's pulse. However, if you want to relax and drink quality tea and coffee in a calming atmosphere, Tillyards is the place to go.
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