For Ed Towers, there’s something almost sacred about a coffee break. As a dairy farmer, it's his opportunity to take refuge from the elements, to pair a warming drink with a sweet treat and local gossip. We wanted to treat him to an extra festive coffee break, serving our Holiday Filter with slices of our succulent, light and airy Sourdough Panettone.
“It looks like a table ornament,” says Ed – whose father runs Brades Farm, Lancaster – as he unwraps his first panettone box. We’re sitting around his parents’ kitchen table, surrounded by views of the countryside. Dotted with sheep and framed by the windows, the idyllic scenes could be paintings.
We start with the Pistachio & Lemon Panettone, where those majestic Italian flavours are combined with a generous helping of white chocolate. “You're not going to take that to a coffee date and not talk about it,” he says. “My friends would be like, ‘what on earth is that?’ Then, ‘wow’.”
Kim Howard, who also works at the farm, isn’t quite as surprised at the spectacle. “My mum used to get panettoni [the plural spelling, in case you are wondering]. I think she thought it was exotic and unusual at Christmas. They were always very dry and quite heavy. But this one,” she says, tucking into a slice, “is lighter than air. Full of fruit and really tender. It melts in your mouth.”
Ours are made by the artisanal bakers at Boogie Lab in Zagreb, Croatia, who use only natural ingredients to create a long fermentation sourdough. It is truly a rare thing in the world of panettone: one made without commercial yeast, the old-fashioned and proper way. Kim adds: “It’d be perfect to enjoy late morning, after a few presents and with coffee, as you wait for Christmas lunch.” 
Adrijana Petkeviciute, our coffee expert, is busy brewing our Holiday Filter in the background. We eagerly await our caffeine hit – it’s been a busy morning. Arriving before sunrise, we got to see Brades’ 500-odd cows begin their milking. In doing so, we saw just a handful of the many ways the team go above and beyond to make their sole product, Barista Milk, as perfect for coffee as possible.
“Brades’ Barista Milk is something really special,” says Adrijana. “It has the perfect balance of richness and freshness, with just the right fat content for barista-made drinks.”
The farm’s herd is a mix of Holstein-Friesians, Jerseys and a cross breed which they nickname "ho-jos". Holstein-Friesians are the classic black and white dairy cow, known for producing huge quantities of milk. Jerseys, meanwhile, produce smaller amounts that are higher in protein and fat. Mixing these liquids helps to give Brades’ Barista Milk its creaminess.
The cows are currently taking shelter in a barn lined with beds of soft sand. While the sand can cause various plumbing problems, it’s more comfortable and hygienic for the cows. We notice some of them slinking happily under large, rotating brushes, which help them to stay clean and relax with a massage. The gentle animals appear to take turns, and, we’re told that when a brush is removed for servicing, they’ll often wait expectantly under the empty spot.
The team at Brades care deeply about their cows, but keeping them happy also makes business sense. Just like humans who are breastfeeding, a cow’s milk can be affected by emotional factors like stress. “Ed always says that number one is what’s best for the cows, as that will be best for the milk,” says Kim.
To optimise their diets, Brades work with a nutritionist who checks the cow’s food on a weekly basis. “Producing milk is a big energy pull, so it’s really important that they’re getting the right amount of protein and nutrients,” says Ed. “It’s one of the best things we can do to produce good quality milk, but also to keep the cows healthy.”
Of course, cows consume a huge amount of grass. That’s why it’s just as important for the team to look after their soil. “We need to nurture the microbes at every stage,” says Ed. “When we have healthy plants growing in the fields, we’ll get healthy cows and milk. So making our milk the best it can be is also about caring for the environment."
To better monitor their environment, they're developing a project that will place microphones around the farm to record birdsong. Using AI, they can then identify and count the different species. Birds come and go according to whether they can find the food they need. “So it’s a really good indicator of how balanced and healthy your farm is,” says Ed. “We want to do it here and on other farms to measure the habitat. There’s no point in only us doing it.”
By now, Adrijana’s coffees have gone down a treat. “It's so important for us to know where our milk comes from, and to support farmers who are this committed to animals and the land,” she says. As we share memories of our time working together, we decide it’s time for another round of coffee. We’ve got a few more panettoni to get through, after all.
We hope you’ll stop by and try a hot drink with Brades’ Barista Milk soon – and pick up a panettone while you're at it (you can also try it by the slice). It’s perfect as a festive centrepiece for a coffee date with friends, as a Christmas Day pick-me-up, to turn into bread and butter pudding, or simply to savour slowly over long days at home.
To help you choose between the flavours in our range, we’ll leave you with Adrijana’s expert pairing suggestions. Enjoy.
Love, GAIL’s
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Panettone Pairings
Pistachio & Lemon Sourdough Panettone & Holiday Filter Coffee
“Our Holiday Filter’s gentle sweetness and clean profile sit perfectly alongside the bright citrus and soft nutty richness of the panettone, without competing for attention,” says Adrijana. “The milk adds a little extra roundness that links everything together – the creamy coffee, the delicate lemon, the warm pistachio. It becomes this really elegant, effortless pairing where every sip and every bite lift each other, making the whole experience feel even more festive and indulgent.”
Classic Sourdough Panettone & Assam Breakfast Tea
“Paired with our Classic Sourdough Panettone, Assam Breakfast Tea becomes a beautiful morning treat,” says Adrijana. “The soft sweetness and buttery lightness of the panettone meet the tea’s calm, milky warmth, creating this airy, elegant harmony. Each sip refreshes the palate, each bite melts away gently – it’s a pairing that feels timeless and simple.”
Mandarin & White Chocolate Sourdough Panettone & Holiday Filter Coffee
Light and fragrant, this panettone is flavoured with sun-dried mandarin and the subtle, rounded sweetness of white chocolate. "Our Holiday Filter coffee has notes of mandarin, making this a very harmonious pairing,” says Adrijana. “It also has a sweetness with notes of almond and maple, which are rounded out beautifully with milk.”
Chocolate Sourdough Panettone & Flat White
“Our chocolate panettone is already soft, buttery and beautifully rich, and when you dip it into a flat white the whole experience becomes even more luxurious,” says Adrijana. The pairing would be perfect for an indulgent afternoon treat, or even served as a dessert.
“The creamy, balanced coffee wraps around the chocolate and makes it taste deeper and smoother, while the panettone soaks up just enough of the warm milk to turn every bite into this melt-in-the-mouth moment,” adds Adrijana. “It’s comforting, indulgent and one of those pairings where both elements really elevate each other. The coffee becomes silkier, the chocolate tastes richer, and the whole thing just feels quietly special.”
