Music To Your Tastebuds
07722 575554
Based in the North East of England, Bass Notes Coffee started in 2022 and is a unique, owner-operated retro mobile espresso van serving small batch, single origin, ethically sourced espresso based drinks, as well as high quality single origin teas and hot chocolates.
In addition to the artisan coffee, teas and hot chocolate, there is also a spicy chai syrup, oat milk dairy alternative, a small selection of flavoured syrups and cold drinks as well as delicious, locally baked vegan and gluten free brownies.
Alongside beautifully crafted beverages, customer service is of huge importance. We want every customer to feel valued and to look back on their visit to the van as a high point in their day.
The story behind the name
For most of my life I have lived in London playing and teaching the tuba. In 2020, after many years of gentle persuasion, my Geordie wife finally came around to my way of thinking and agreed that the time was right for us to move back to Whitley Bay with our daughter and get a dog. The only remaining hurdle in our new life was what will I do? Well, this is it! Since discovering some fantastic mobile coffee enterprises and many conversations with their owners, I decided this would be the next chapter in my new life in the glorious North East.
The story behind the van
The van is a vintage 1969 Fisher Holivan lovingly converted to serve espresso based drinks by the previous owners Ed and Sarah. Complete with solar panels on the roof and batteries inside so that noise and other nasties are kept to a minimum, it even has extra solar panels for those extra sunny days! Rebranded and wrapped by local firm WSG print.
Suppliers
The Coffee
The beans I use at Bass Notes Coffee are cultivated to the very highest standards, with particular emphasis on sustainability and traceability. I source my beans from local roasteries Baristocracy, Fika and Northside Coffee Company who specialise in roasting profiles that allow more of the bean's natural flavours and sweetness to be present in the cup. As the coffee bean is a natural product, I want to be able to source the best and most exciting single origin beans throughout the year - and being supplied by these three fantastic roasteries gives me the ability to do just that. Decaffeinated drinkers are in for a treat with beans that are freshly ground on the van - sourced from Fika, decaffeinated using the sugar cane method and roasted to perfection giving a rich and well balanced drink.
The Tea and Chai
Supplied by NEMI teas who provide employment to refugees to give them local work experience and job readiness skills to enter the UK workforce and help them integrate into broader society. All of their teabags are plastic-free, with biodegradable packaging and the teas are organic and Fairtrade-certified. The Spicy Chai is a delicate tea extract giving a flavour of a wonderfully rich and tasty infusion of Assam tea leaves with exotic Indian spices.
The Chocolate
Islands Chocolate is a British family business. They make chocolate from cocoa grown on their own farms in St Vincent in the Caribbean. The only guaranteed way to ensure an entirely sustainable, thoroughly ethical and completely traceable chocolate is to control and manage the entire process right from the seed. They are offering a completely different opportunity: A better range. Better sustainability. Better traceability. Better taste.
The Brownies
Owner Debbie at Bake for the Soul attended Patisserie College with the view to create products that can be enjoyed by everyone. Her close family and friends are vegan and coeliac, which can be restricting. Seeing how difficult shopping and eating out is for them inspired her focus on creating tasty treats that suit a free-from diet. In order to keep allergens on the van to a minimum, I stock Debbie's Chocolate and Caramel brownies which, aside from being delicious, are both vegan and gluten free.
The Milk
As important as the coffee or chocolate, milk makes up so much of what is in the cup so its provenance and production is of huge importance. The Acorn Dairy are an award winning dairy that, in their own words offer "Farming that’s in harmony with the natural environment which means you get top quality organic milk with the best possible taste".
Events
Coffee is such a huge part of modern life that there are very few events and occasions that wouldn't benefit from the addition of a coffee van. Do get in touch with me and I will gladly discuss how the Bass Notes Coffee van could add welcome refreshment to your event.
Tailored services offered at prices best suited to your individual needs include:
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Craft Services for film and TV
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Weddings
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Parties
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Music and Food Festivals
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Sporting Events
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Exhibitions and Conferences
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Corporate Events
If preferred, the van is also available without the branding visible to the left hand side of the serving hatch.