Shrewsbury-based speciality coffee roaster secures further recognition

Shrewsbury-based speciality coffee roaster, Iron & Fire has added to its ever-expanding list of awards and accolades having secured a further six one-star awards at the globally recognised Great Taste Awards.

The awards are widely recognised for their rigorous judging processes in which all products submitted are meticulously blind tasted by a panel of experts. Globally, over 13,000 products are submitted for review, over 8,000 of which come from the UK market. All products entered receive detailed feedback to ensure producers can continuously improve the taste of their products.

Iron & Fire’s coffees have successfully received Great Taste star ratings on numerous occasions since 2017 with the accolade proving invaluable in reinforcing the quality of its coffee blends and allowing the company to reach new customers.

Joanna De Rycke, director at Iron & Fire, comments:

“It’s great to be recognised once again at The Great Taste Awards and have our passion and expertise so positively received by an esteemed panel of food and drink experts.

“Great Taste is all about exactly what it says: ‘great taste’! Whether its consumer customers who purchase from us on subscription, or our commercial partners who need to consider the quality of the coffee that they’re serving to their customers, this recognition reassures them that they really are getting the best coffee out there. We often find that once they realise our other blends have also received stars, they’re tempted to try a new coffee so this supports their coffee exploration as well.”

Iron & Fire’s three flagship blends, Colombian Jazz, Brazilian Samba and the House Blend, were amongst those to receive Great Taste stars. Recognised for their ability to appeal to all tastes and work across a range of drinks, these are undoubtedly Iron & Fire’s most popular coffees. Colombian Jazz is a previous award winner and judges noted that when served with milk it has ‘chocolatey flavours that are a delight’. Brazilian Samba, meanwhile, works perfectly as a flat white and judges particularly noted it as a ‘harmonious coffee’ with ‘a light caramel sweetness’.

Iron & Fire’s ‘On the Rocks’ whiskey infused coffee really captured the imagination of the judges who commented on its ability to offer a ‘boozy hit’ whilst remaining both ‘comforting’ and ‘tasty’. The ‘Dark Side’ blend which was recently launched to appeal to those preferring a darker roast was also commended for both its smoky and roasted notes, combined with cacao and sweetness.

Significantly, Iron & Fire’s Decaf speciality blend was also awarded a Great Taste star and Joanna concludes:

“It’s great that our decaf blend has again been recognised in these awards which focus primarily on taste. So often within the coffee world, decaf is treated as an afterthought but with a wide range of taste requirements amongst our customers, we know just how much it matters to provide a great caffeine-free option. The rich, smooth, and full-bodied flavour that this blend provides proves that decaf doesn’t have to be a second-rate option.”