The £272 flat white: UK's 'most expensive coffee' goes on sale to fund farm's future

A Scottish farm has launched what it says is the UK's most expensive coffee - a £272 flat white - as part of a fundraising drive to transform the business into a zero-waste dairy facility.

Those that splurge out on the drink - consisting of espresso and steamed milk from Mossgiel Farm - will be given 34 shares in the firm.

Previously, SHOT London offered coffee lovers a £265 brew made from typica beans shipped from Japan's Okinawa Island.

Mossgiel Farm, in Mauchline in East Ayrshire, supplies milk to speciality coffee shops across the country and is aiming to turn customers into investors to help boost sustainable dairy farming.

Owner Bryce Cunningham accepted the £272 drink "sounds crazy", but explained: "Sometimes it takes a little shock factor to make people think differently.

"This coffee costs nearly 80 times the price of an average flat white in the UK, but it's much more than just a lovely drink.

"You're investing in a sustainable future for farming and joining a movement that's changing the dairy industry."

Mossgiel Farm, where Robert Burns himself used to plough the fields and wrote many of his most famous verses, said it is on a mission to "challenge the dominance of big dairy".

Mr Cunningham, who returned to the family farm in 2016 following the loss of his father and grandfather, has spent years attempting to transform the business into a "leader in sustainable agriculture".

The farm is believed to have been the first UK dairy to eliminate single-use plastics, and its trademarked Cow with Calf programme allows cows to raise their calves naturally, rejecting industry practices that separate calves from their mothers at birth.

More than £118,000 of a £272,000 crowdfunding goal has been raised so far to fund a new facility which will allow the farm to double production and expand into new markets, like London.

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The fundraiser offers a number of investment opportunities, starting from just £8 a share.

Rewards for investors include farm tours, milk delivery discounts and camping experiences to a special Burns Supper and personal barn dance for top-tier investors.

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Mr Cunningham added: "We are so grateful to the 290 people who have backed us so far and want more people to join our herd."

The flat white will be available in 13 cafes across Scotland from this Saturday:

• Edinburgh: William & Johnson; The Lady and the Bear; The Dean; and Disposition Coffee.
• Ayrshire: Gilmartin's.
• Glasgow: Hinba in Great Western Road, Sauchiehall Street and Dumbarton Road; The Good Coffee Cartel; Ottoman Coffee; Spitfire Espresso; and Thomson's Gallowgate.
• East Renfrewshire: Thomson's Giffnock.