It is located in the stunning West Yorkshire Pennines on the edge of a small village called Marsden.

The 1950’s Probat that they use to roast all of their delicious coffee is set in a refurbished Victorian textile mill beside a canal. They attribute the inspiration behind the mood and flavours of their coffee to the dramatic windswept valley.

Opening its doors in 2013, the three founding partners came together with a wealth of experience in the industry. Their collective knowledge and expertise allowed them to rapidly establish themselves amongst others in the space and quickly grow a loyal customer base.

Their unique location is reflected in their eye-catching branding which jumps off the shelf. The range of coffees and care that is taken with each roast is testament to the expertise behind Dark Woods.

The Barel aged coffee from dark woods was an exciting prospect. I had only ever tasted barrel-aged coffee once before and was something that I had seen quite a lot, especially over in the USA where they love to experiment with much darker and richer flavours.

This particular coffee is actually non-other than an Ethiopian Yirgacheffe (this really intrigued me as I would have expected it to be a lower quality coffee). Dark woods have partnered with Magic Rock Brewery and use their Bourbon barrels to soak and age the green beans for two weeks before roasting.

The process is surrounded by many opinions in the speciality coffee world but seems to always produce interesting flavours in the coffee, likened to cask Whiskey each barrel has a slightly different effect on the coffee.

Opening the bag of the barrel-aged coffee was a different experience to most speciality coffees, it immediately released boozy notes of rum and rich dried fruit flavours an aroma you would normally associate with food or drinks a little later in the day.

The ground coffee suggested more boozy notes which continued into the brewing. Although it was a different experience to the aromas that usually spring out of a speciality coffee brew it was still wonderful, it’s always a pleasure to start the coffee with such definite flavour profiles.

The coffee starts quite surprisingly as a tangy juicy coffee, which is attributed to the Yirgacheffe, however as quickly as it starts it finishes and is replaced by rich velvety rum notes which flood your palate. The deep flavours reminded me of Christmas pudding and rich winter flavours.

The syrupy mouthfeel was enjoyable and lingered for a long-lasting aftertaste. These sort of bold flavours are something that I don’t always opt for when picking coffee but the complexities that are layered with this coffee make it a unique drinking experience. 

This is a special coffee, although a purist may argue that you are adding something to the coffee rather than preserving the quality of processing at the origin, I think that by experimenting with new techniques it will only help grow the speciality coffee industry.

Definitely, a coffee to take back to your parents or a great coffee gift box for a coffee/whiskey lover. Prepared in various methods. It worked really well as an espresso mixed with milk while also releasing its full flavours brewed as a pour-over.