Eagle Farm Markets + Black Sheep Coffee

 

Brisbane Racing Ground, 230 Lancaster Rd, Ascot
Opening hours: 7.00am – 12.30pm

I love farmers markets. So when my friend asked me to go with her to the Eagle Farm Markets today, I enthusiastically agreed to. We planned to get there at around 8am, but, perhaps due to the cloudy, cool weather, we both ended up running late (sleeping in, in my case) and got to the markets almost an hour later. There were already heaps of eager shoppers there. Unlike some other Brisbane markets, here, there is an entry fee of $2 per person. I guess you could take it as payment for using their carpark.

I had never been to this market before, so it was an interesting experience. The market stalls here sell similar things to the ones at West End - freshly baked bread, herbs, fresh produce, fashion goods - but is much bigger, with a larger variety of food vendors. I was not expecting a vendor that stocks vanilla products by Broken Nose Vanilla (a review of this line can be found in one of my previous posts: http://knittingtearoom.blogspot.com.au/#!/2012/08/regional-flavours-2012.html), so that was a nice surprise. I think they were selling at a slightly higher price than the actual company does though.

A large variety of herbs were available for purchase at the markets

One of the food vendors that we came across was Lángos Hungarian Snacks and Food. As the name suggests, they sell the Hungarian fried flat bread, or Hungarian pizza, by the same name, as well as other things, such as Pretzels, Palacsinta (Transylvanian Herb Pancake), Lepény (Transylvanian stuffed pastry), and Fánk (Hungarian Star Doughnuts).

Lángos Hungarian Snacks and Food

After sampling a piece of their Lángos, my friend and I couldn't resist buying a plain garlic one to share. It was freshly made, hot, and delicious!

Garlic Lángos

Right after receiving our order, one of the stall helpers put out another tasting plate; this time for the the Lángos option with all the possible toppings of garlic, shredded cheese, sour cream, tomato sauce, and a tomato salsa (tomato, onion, parsley, basil). I instantly regretted not ordering that one instead. It looked fantastic on the plate, with all the vibrant colours of the fresh topping ingredients, and tasted amazing for street food. As you can see from the photo, it didn't take long at all to clear the plate. Yes, it is oily, but you wouldn't expect otherwise from fried food. We're allowed to have some naughty food once in a while shhhh.....

'The Lot'

We also made a new coffee discovery at the stall of Black Sheep Coffee. This Brisbane-based business started small at a farmer's market, but it has since expanded its horizons, and its coffee beans are now distributed to various cafés and restaurants around Brisbane and the Gold Coast. Furthermore, it is the supplier of the coffee beans for Gordon Ramsay's Melbourne restaurant, Maze. Impressive.

To create its unique blend, the 'Feeling Woolly Blend', Black Sheep Coffee sources its beans from different estates around the world, including Columbia, Dominican Republic, India, Indonesia, Guatemala and Ethiopia. The green beans among us would be glad to know that the business tries to source beans that are certified organic, Fair Trade and of Rain Forest Alliance origins, although this is not 100% guaranteed. The beans are then hand-roasted locally by Black Sheep Coffee to control the flavour they want to create.
 

 
Their market stall only sells the beans, grinding on purchase as well, if so desired, but they also have a coffee machine there, to make samples for shoppers to try before they buy. The coffee that the man there made was good, although not the best coffee I've ever had; however, it was this seller who swayed me into making a purchase. He was engaging, enthusiastic about the product, and had a good sense of humour. The business was smart to employ someone who could charm people into buying their product. The logo is cute too. I would have to say that the fun description at the back of the coffee pack was the first thing that made me want to try it out.

 

I ended up buying a 250g pack ($10) and had it coarse ground for use in a French Press. As you can see from the picture above, the beans were roasted only 4 days ago.

Cute Black Sheep Coffee bag + the freshly baked pumpkin and pepita sourdough bread that I bought from another stall (sounds nice, but really wasn't that tasty).

I know that the flavour is pretty much lost and continues to be lost after the beans are ground, so I tried it out straight away after I got home to make a cappuccino. It's not as strong and full-bodied as the Yahava Romeo No. 5 blend that I bought in Perth (review of that still to come), but it is still nice. The fruity, chocolatey, Shiraz-y notes that are described at the back? Hmm.. I wouldn't say that I could taste any of that until near the end, when the liquid is much obviously sweeter. I wonder if it would make a difference if I steam-extracted the coffee?

 

Ascot is a bit far to go to on a regular basis for me, but I would definitely recommend it to others. If I get the chance to go again, I'm definitely going to get one of the giant lamingtons that were sold out by the time we decided to head off!