Bude-Stratton and District Old Cornwall Society held its latest monthly meeting at the Parkhouse Centre on Monday, October 27. The Chairman, Alan McIntosh, introduced the speaker, David Thorn, who spoke on “Thorns of Bude and other Things”. He gave a fascinating talk about the town and its characters over the years, supported by some wonderful photographic images taken by his ancestors.

David presented a wide-ranging slide show and gave a running commentary, effectively giving us a potted history of the Thorn Family and their achievements. The family is well known locally as the earliest photographers in Bude and their extensive collection of social history photographs from the mid-19th-century onwards is a valuable resource for anyone interested in our local history. Highlights included shots showing how Bude developed, local beauty spots and notable shipwrecks and the rescue attempts by the local lifeboat and coastguard crews. David himself had created an image to show how the Storm Tower was moved over time by superimposing a current photo over earlier ones.

Some of the slides were of images taken by Harry Thorn and his brother Samuel dating from the early 1860s. The brothers must have been familiar figures in the district with the bulky tools of their trade, taking photographs and developing them on the spot - they are even in some of the pictures themselves! David told us that they sold miniature Carte de Visite prints (4 x 2.5 inches) at the extraordinary price of £1 each (over £100 today) as well as postcards of local scenery and shipwrecks.

They became very successful, but the harmful chemicals involved led to their early deaths. The family carried on the business for many years afterwards. A collection of albums, postcards and stereo photographs were on display. The stereo photographs included some showing the wreck of the Bencoolen at the end of the Breakwater in 1862 which gave a three-dimensional image when seen through a special viewer. The clarity of the images was stunning, considering when the shots were taken.

The Society President, RM Heard, gave the vote of thanks. Finally, the raffle was drawn by Dennis Balsdon with help from Alan McIntosh, and Rose McIntosh kindly served refreshments. Our next major event open to non-members will be the Annual Advent Service – a celebration of the Carols of the Stratton Hundred in St Martins Church, Killerton Road, Bude at 7pm on Monday, December 1. Our season of talks will continue on Monday, January 26 at 2.30pm in The Parkhouse Centre.

Sunday, November 9 - A Two Minute Silence followed by Wreath Laying will take place at The War Memorial, St Julitta’s Church, Lanteglos by Camelford at 11am.

Organisations taking part are asked to assemble on the road outside the Church by 10.45am. After the Act of Remembrance a Service will take place in the Church.

Tuesday, November 11 - A two minute silence followed by Wreath Laying will take place at The War Memorial outside Enfield Park at 11am.

All are welcome to attend.

Who doesn’t need a cup of coffee to get them going in the morning? Our Speaker in October was Millie Gay who is the Barista Trainer for Cornico Coffee Roasters near Wadebridge and she provides free training for customers and their employees. The Cornico Coffee Company was formed by Andrew Tobin in 2009, who has over 20 years of experience in the tea and coffee industry. It is still a family owned business with members holding key roles. Millie has been with them for 5 years and “Cornico“ is the Italian for Cornish coffee.

Apparently, coffee was discovered when Ethiopian goats ate the coffee cherries which meant that just the beans passed through. Baking in the sun, these beans gave off a lovely smell – and the rest is history! The coffee belt where the plants are grown is roughly around the equator. South American beans have a chocolate and nutty flavour, African have a fruity flavour and Asian are more spicy.

The plants grow in mountainous regions. The higher the plants the slower they grow but the flavour is more intense. It has more sugar which makes it a tastier coffee, it is hand picked and, consequently, is more expensive. More commercial coffee is grown on the lower slopes where it is warmer so sometimes there are 2 harvests a year and the beans are also shaken off the trees mechanically. The 2 main varieties are Robusta which is a commercial variety and which is slightly bitter and Arabica which is used for speciality coffee. Over the years lots of varieties have been cross bred. It is a long process as the plants take 3-4 years to grow. Once picked the cherries can either be laid out on flat beds in the sun to allow them to dry naturally or the beans can have the cherries removed, beans washed and then allowed to dry in the sun. As the beans absorb sugar from the berries the former have a stronger taste whereas washed beans are not as strong.

At Cornico the coffee is small batch roasted which ensures that they can monitor and analyse every roast profile to make sure that all the sweetness, acidity and body is unlocked. They source high quality 100 per cent Arabica speciality coffee which has been curated to make sure that it has exactly what they are looking for. Green coffee is at its best when it is fresh, all the delicious berries, chocolate, citrus or other such tasting notes are most prevalent and punchy when the harvest is fresh. For this reason, the company makes sure to buy coffee when it is in season, so expect to see coffee offerings frequently adapt and evolve with the time of year.

There is an emphasis on sourcing high quality seasonal coffee whilst trying to reduce their impact on the environment. They buy from trusted green importers, in particular working with women farmers in Brazil, which ensures that the farmer receives a fair price for the coffee and creates a sustainable relationship. They also import from Burundi in East Africa where there are 800 families cultivating an average of 150-200 Arabica Bourbon coffee trees per farm and who deal directly with the processor/exporter. In addition, coffee bags are bio-degradable and the bag lining is oxo bio-degradable. The labels on the coffee bags are made from sugarcane and hemp paper which degrades far quicker than plastic labels which last a lifetime. Hemp is much more efficient than even paper as a hemp stalk can grow in 4 months whereas a tree will take between 20 and 80 years to grow. The boxes that house the coffee are bio-degradable and the tape that is used to seal the boxes is made from cellulose.

During question time we discovered that there are various ways of coffee becoming decaffeinated. Millie recommended that we buy ground coffee that has either been washed in sugar cane or Swiss water to ensure that no chemicals have been used. Also that instant coffee is not as likely to have fruit flavours. The numbers that are shown are not important in darker roasts and it is individual tastes which are more important when it comes to ground coffee.

The company has a small shop where one can taste the freshly roasted coffee and there is a viewing gallery into the roastery. Visits to the roastery can be arranged by appointment.