Celebrating Welsh food and drink

42 @specialityfood HiveMind KIT AND MATT NEWELL HiveMindMead is a small- batch, family-runmeadery based in SouthWales, founded in 2018 by brothers Kit andMatt with a lifelong love of bees, honey and the countryside around them. Theymake their meads authentically using only 100%honey (often from their own hives) rather than sugar or wine bases, to ensure a genuinely natural, minimally processed drink. Their mission is to revive authenticmead as a contemporary, quality alternative to beer, cider or wine while supporting UK beekeepers, promoting pollinator welfare and championing sustainable, low-intervention production. HiveMind’s range of drinks now includes classic wine- stylemeads, bright and refreshingmodern sparklingmeads, honey spirits and even honey based soft drinks, giving both existingmead lovers and curious newcomers something to enjoy. Being based inWales and being surrounded by a nation of food and drink lovers is fantastic. The support they have for what they do is incredible and they are proud to put Welsh produce on the world stage. The teamworks closely with local beekeepers, supports pollinator welfare and champions carbon-conscious production. In amarket full of mass-produced drinks, HiveMind aims to offer something genuinely natural and carefully crafted, helping to reintroducemead as a relevant, exciting and distinctlymodern drink that is natural, sustainable and innovative, that also benefits the rural economy and is genuinely delicious too! hivemindmead.com INNOVATIVE DRINKS Blighty Booch MARK AND ALANA PAVEY Blighty Booch Kombucha is a range of delicious, fermented tea bottled drinks made in Conwy, NorthWales. Kombucha is rapidly gaining popularity with consumers eager to embrace the trend for probiotic and fermented foods. Not all kombucha is created equal; Blighty Booch brews their Kombucha traditionally, in small batches. It is a high-end artisan product; unpasteurised, full of living probiotics and cleansing acids, and is vegan and organic. It is an amazing alcohol-free, refreshing soft drink. There are currently five flavours in the range: Original, Ginger, Nettle & Rosehip, Bramley Elderflower and Cherry. What really sets Blighty Booch Kombucha apart? Taste! Blighty Booch’s Organic Ginger Kombucha was awarded the highest accolade of 3 stars at the Great Taste Awards. Fans includeMark Diacono, Alan Titchmarsh, Cerys Matthews and BBC Good Food. Blighty Booch stands out as an amazing artisan drink, proudlymade inWales. blightybooch.com