Two independent North Wales producers have collaborated on a new product that combines Welsh rum and speciality coffee.
Llanfairpwll Distillery and Coffi Dre have launched Y Fenai, a rum-infused coffee developed through a collaboration that began with introductions made at Food & Drink Wales Cluster Network events.
The product combines the distillery’s Skerries Dark Rum with Coffi Dre's coffee expertise, with original artwork by Welsh artist Sian Angharad completing the packaging.
The result provides an example of two independent Welsh businesses combining different areas of expertise to create a product that neither would have produced in quite the same way independently.
How Y Fenai is made
The collaboration involves a specific process rather than simply combining finished rum and coffee.
Green coffee beans are first soaked in Skerries Dark Rum, which received a one-star Great Taste Award in 2026. The beans are then returned to Coffi Dre for roasting. During the roasting process, the alcohol is removed while the flavour characteristics of the rum remain in the coffee.
The resulting coffee has tasting notes including dark chocolate, roasted cocoa, caramel, molasses and vanilla, alongside toasted nuts, gentle oak spice and dried fruit. These are the tasting notes provided by the producers rather than an independent assessment of the product.
The finished product is therefore a coffee rather than an alcoholic drink.
A collaboration that began through networking
One of the more interesting aspects of Y Fenai is how the partnership came about.
The two businesses connected through Food & Drink Wales Cluster Network events, with the relationship subsequently developing into a commercial product.
The Cluster Network is funded by the Welsh Government and is intended to help food and drink businesses build relationships, share expertise and develop collaborative projects.
Y Fenai provides a concrete example of what that type of networking can produce.
Instead of simply exchanging ideas, the businesses have taken their respective skills and developed a product that is now available to consumers.
Bringing different skills together
The collaboration combines traditional distilling with speciality coffee roasting.
Llanfairpwll Distillery brings its experience in rum production, while Coffi Dre contributes its coffee sourcing and roasting expertise.
That division of skills allows each business to remain within its area of expertise while developing something outside its conventional product range.
The collaboration also provides an example of how smaller producers can use partnerships to experiment with new ideas.
For independent businesses, working with another specialist can provide access to capabilities, knowledge and audiences that would be more difficult to develop alone.
A distinctly Welsh identity
The product’s name, Y Fenai, refers to the Menai Strait, reflecting the geographical connection between the two businesses and the communities around them.
The packaging also features original artwork by Sian Angharad, giving the product another connection to Welsh creative talent.
The result is therefore not simply a rum-flavoured coffee. Its identity is built around the businesses involved, their location and the collaboration that brought the product into existence.
Another example of producer collaboration
Y Fenai is now available through Coffi Dre, giving the collaboration a route directly to consumers.
Its development demonstrates how industry networks can provide practical value for independent producers.
The initial introduction did not itself create the product. The businesses still needed to develop the concept, agree on the production process and bring it to market.
What the Cluster Network appears to have provided was the connection that allowed the two businesses to begin that process.
For Wales' independent food and drink sector, that is a useful reminder that collaboration can be a route to product development as well as a way of sharing knowledge.
Sources
Food & Drink Wales — Llanfairpwll Distillery and Coffi Dre launch Y Fenai
Business News Wales — Llanfairpwll Distillery and Coffi Dre launch rum coffee collaboration
Food & Drink Wales — News and events
