“I’m really passionate about coffee, its flavour, its community, and its ability to bring people together. I just find the whole process so intriguing!”
From a career point-of-view, Isla Tulloch is clearly in the right place. She’s the creative force behind Orkney’s latest coffee company, Lochside Roasters, which she launched last autumn.
It has been a whirlwind few months for Isla, including trips to coffee expos, trial and error on the roaster, and welcoming a customer base keen to explore coffee with her as she builds her business.
“The idea for the roastery came from my love of coffee. I’ve been drinking and brewing it since I was about 14, but I didn’t know much about the process behind the cup,” said Isla. “A few years ago, I started to get really curious about where the coffee I was enjoying came from and the science of roasting it, so I signed up to some roasting and brewing courses and I was completely hooked.”
It was the experience of these courses that sparked the idea for Lochside Roasters, with Isla returning home to Orkney fully inspired by the coffee world. With the help of her family and friends, an old potting shed at her home on the banks of the Boardhouse Loch was transformed into a modern, clean, welcoming roastery, and then she was quite literally in business. Before her coffees could hit the shelves though, Isla openly admits there was still a lot of learning to do.
“When I first started roasting, I was just getting a feel for the machine, getting up to speed with the settings like temperature, pressure, drum speed, that kind of thing,” she said. “Once I was comfortable with it, I started cupping coffees I’d roasted and experimenting with filter and espresso brews.
“There was definitely a lot of trial and error before I settled on final roasts. It was really important to me that people would enjoy their coffees – first impressions are everything!”
Those impressions seem to be very positive, with local coffee lovers raving about Isla’s range. It currently includes Birsay, Holm, and St Ola – all named after Orkney parishes. Birsay is a medium roast Brazilian coffee with notes of milk chocolate, nuts, cherry, apple, and raisin. Holm is a medium roast Ugandan washed coffee, and St Ola is the dark roast version, with the coffees coming with notes of chocolate, blackberry, orange, and plum.
Isla has made a point of searching for coffee farms that work with nature and involve smaller, local, businesses. The Brazilian coffee comes from Fazenda Paraiso, where native trees and plants grow alongside the coffee. The Ugandan coffee is processed on an eco-friendly farm but grown elsewhere in the country, keeping small businesses in the loop on the way.
“Before I started this journey, I didn’t know anything about the story behind coffee,” said Isla. “It really makes me appreciate it, just knowing how much time and effort has gone into each cup from people all over the world.”
Now Isla is part of that chain and she already has plans for the future. A brand-new coffee cart has been purchased and has been spotted at events across Orkney this summer, giving more and more customers the chance to taste test her coffees. The plan is to open it more regularly across the islands in the future.
“I’m also being asked if I have a decaf coffee,” said Isla. “That’s definitely on the list in terms of new products. But the main focus is still on expanding my knowledge and getting more training under my belt.
“Since I began the roastery I’ve seen such a huge difference in my skills and personal knowledge. I think I’ll always be learning – there’s so much to know, which I absolutely love!”
Find out more about Lochside Roasters via the official website. You can also follow the business on Instagram and Facebook.