Tous Mag

Have you ever wondered how your local London coffee shop gets their coffee to taste so luxurious, besides using the finest coffee roast, of course? The answer, put simply, is: milk. With the right full-fat milk you’ll get a sumptuously sweet and creamy taste with that all important velvety smooth texture. Enter The Estate Dairy, supplying to some of London’s leading food halls, cafes, restaurants and hotels - such as Fortnum and Mason, Crosstown Doughnuts and Selfridges Food Hall - since 2015.

Steering clear from supermarket milk - which often sells in high quantities at low prices - The Estate Dairy dedicated their efforts to churning produce that offered a sense of luxury: with formulating the perfect milk for baristas a huge priority. Their herd of pedigree Jersey and Guernsey cows are sustainably farmed on over 500 aches of Chew Valley pastures with unique farming systems yielding high protein milk, which is processed as little as possible, and - to preserve the goodness of the produce - their milk and creams are un-homogenised while pasteurised at the lowest temperatures.

Not only are their farms working toward a sustainable model of farming, since launching they’ve dropped all plastic lines from their retail offering and, together with their WeWork partnership, the supply of the UK’s only 2 litre glass bottles has saved over 12 tonnes of plastic waste.

With unprecedented times currently affecting the lives and accessibility of essentials for many across London, The Estate Dairy have launched a direct to door delivery service throughout London offering sustainable dairy in both returnable and single use options from now onwards.

For more on The Estate Dairy read the interview, below!

Tous Mag: Could you give us an introduction to The Estate Dairy, for those who may not be familiar?

Shaun Young: We’re a team of passionate individuals dedicated to sourcing and producing the best possible dairy produce. We’re based in the Chew Valley, Somerset, and are proud to be working with 4 family run dairy farms whose milk we supply to homes and London’s leading cafes, restaurants and hotels.

Tous Mag: Are there any distinct positives of being located in Chew Valley?

Shaun Young: Beautiful scenery and the best grass and soil in the UK.

Tous Mag: How important is it to maintain a good diet for the cows, does this affect the quality of the produce?

Shaun Young: Absolutely, our farms are using bespoke feeds which give us more control over Fat and Protein. In the summer we’re on a heavily grass based system.

Tous Mag: We love the simplicity of your bottling, was this a conscious decision to produce quite a stripped back, elegant product? Are the glass bottles an eco choice?

Shaun Young: The branding has been so key for us. It was critical that we got the balance of traditional dairy farming along with a clean, elegant feel that would sit in line with the customers that we wanted to serve. The glass was most definitely a sustainable move. It’s been a huge success for us since launching.

Tous Mag: Is sustainability and ensuring you're as environmentally friendly as possible an overall message at The Estate Dairy - are there measures you take to facilitate this as much as you can?

Shaun Young: Of course, we’ve dropped all plastic lines from our retail offering and our partnership with WeWork - along with the supply of the UK’s only 2 litre glass bottles - has saved over 12 tones of plastic since the launch. Our farms are working on sustainable systems it’s only right that we follow suit with our packaging and approach to sustainability.

Tous Mag: Is there anything you'd like to see change in the dairy industry or the consumers approach?

Shaun Young: I think more consumers working with local/small dairies. There’s been a definite shift towards glass bottles and it would be great to see the larger side of the industry move towards this.

Tous Mag: How important is it for you to still be operating in the current climate when people are relying so heavily on essentials?

Shaun Young: Crucial. We’ve always wanted to launch home deliveries and COVID 19 had fast tracked this. We’ve supplied to over 12,000 homes since the initial lockdown and this has kept us moving and our farms in business. The dairy industry is in a tragic state at this time with milk being dumped and farmers on the brink of losing everything. We can’t thank the customers, who’ve supported us throughout this time, enough.

Tous Mag: Could you tell us a little about your collaboration with Pump Street Chocolate?

Shaun Young: In Summer 2018 we launched our Chocolate milk with Pump Street. We ran this across the whole summer. We used our Jersey milk and paired this with Ecuadorian naturally processed cocoa powder. It’s an absolute treat and will be coming back this summer.

Tous Mag: Would you say that supporting other local independent businesses is a priority for you?

Shaun Young: Most definitely, we’re now working on 2 new collaborations which will be ready to launch in the coming weeks. It’s all about finding and working with like minded brands.

Tous Mag: Would you describe the process of making dairy products as a craft in itself?

Shaun Young: I think it’s very dependent on the whole supply chain. It serves little purpose taking really high quality raw milk and the over processing it... it’s like taking a beautiful sirloin and and having it well done.