A whole latte love for coffee

The Milton Park team loves coffee. UK Coffee Week (16-22 October) is the perfect opportunity to explore the health benefits and sustainable way that coffee is made locally.

Mixing science with coffee

Full of caffeine and antioxidants, coffee has many benefits aside from just tasting good.

According to BBC Radio 4’s ‘Just One Thing’ show with Michael Mosley, it’s a powerful stimulant and anti-inflammatory meaning it can give you a mental as well as physical boost, improving your mood, workout and health.

Studies show that a recommended level of three to four cups of coffee a day can result in better brain and heart health, improving attention and alertness whilst reducing the risk of stroke, heart disease and dementia.

Additionally, drinking coffee an hour before exercise can improve your performance, helping to raise your heart rate and the body’s ability to burn calories.

However, drinking too much coffee can lead to dehydration, sleep disruption and high blood pressure so experts recommend drinking only one cup every four hours.

Coffee at the Park

Horsebox Coffee 

Horsebox Coffee Co. is an independent, South Oxfordshire-based roastery, producing ethical and sustainable speciality coffee. Its horse box is located at Milton Park and opens four days a week, serving an array of signature blends from 7am to 2pm Monday to Thursday, based behind the Park’s security hut.

People, planet and flavour are at the core of its ethos all the way through from sourcing to serving, with its founder Emily Stewart, a strong believer in connecting communities and creating positive change.

Horsebox Coffee directly trades with individual farms and cooperatives to sustainably source its coffee, which is then roasted locally on a small working farm in South Oxfordshire at its Dark Horse Roastery.

Whittard of Chelsea

Founded in 1886 by Walter Whittard, Milton Park-headquartered Whittard of Chelsea has been selling some of the UK’s finest hot drinks, creating unique blends and distinctive tastes for over 135 years.

Despite tradition being heavily synonymous with Whittard’s brand, this hasn’t stopped the company’s ambition to explore new frontiers, especially in terms of sustainability. Working with the Ethical Tea Partnership, it aims to improve the lives of farmers, industry workers and their environments, and over the years has transitioned to using plastic-free, compostable or recyclable packaging wherever possible.

Having relocated to the Park in 2022, Whittard’s Park Drive premises are designed to encourage staff and visitors to fully immerse themselves in the brand and showcase the company’s heritage. Earlier this year, students from Didcot Girls’ School were invited on-site through the Park’s school engagement programme, Explore, to discover more about the company and carry out some taste-testing.