Berry fruitful

From internationally sourced teas to locally produced food items, Australia’s small-sized town Berry has a lot to offer, writes Anila Kurian

It’s definitely not a good time for Australia with the bushfires getting worse by the day. People around the world are worrying about residents, wildlife and forest being destroyed. It feels like everyone is losing hope.

Perhaps that’s why it’s a good reason to highlight how beautiful the lovely towns of New South Wales truly are. When I visited Sydney in mid-December, the effects of the bushfire weren’t as bad as they are now. The sky wasn’t as blue as I had imagined it to be. The smoke did take over the beautiful blue skies and I could sense the worry in the residents there. However, the Christmas spirit kept them and the streets alive.

The highlight of the trip, organised by Tourism Australia, was my visit to Berry, a small village in the region of New South Wales South Coast, a two-hour peaceful drive from Sydney.

A merry experience

The town is absolutely adorable. Residents who live there are mostly people who’ve had enough of the city and decided to start a business of their own and help out the community with the local produce. They all shut shop by 5 pm and head home to their families. If you need anything after that, well, too bad. You’ll have to wait till the next day. Since it was Christmas when I visited, it was so nice to see corners of the town decked up with lights and trees. The random carol songs you heard when you pass by a store, added to the merry experience.

I was told to visit Berry Donut Van and try their cinnamon doughnuts. Unfortunately, I reached there before 10 am and they were just getting ready to set up. So I settled for a cup of coffee and set off for my tour. The Berry Tea Shop was my first stop. Owned by couples Paulina and Cliff, it felt like I was walking to a Mad Hatter’s tea party. The store had all sorts of tea and accessories that I wanted to take home. Mind you, I’m a true coffee lover but I fell in love with this place. There was a long table dedicated to different types of tea cakes too.

Chocolate tasting at The Berry Chocolatier

Tea stories

The couple source their teas from producers all over the world who still use age-old traditions and techniques. They learnt the tricks of the trade from an Indonesian tea master. Paulina was a delight and patiently explained the history behind each tea. It was a nice addition to see our very own Assam tea being sold there, too. To make it sweet, I headed over to The Berry Chocolatier, my personal favourite. The cute little cafe screamed of hot chocolate and more chocolate varieties. Everything here is handmade from Sydney and the bar chocolates are from the South coast. I’ve had plenty of strawberry dipped in chocolate but it was the first time I tried air-dried strawberry dipped in chocolate. The aerated strawberry breaks in your mouth and amalgamates with the chocolate — there aren’t enough words to describe how much I recommend it.

Berry is the town where country meets the sea. So it only made sense that the next store on the list was Flavours Shoalhaven, a place for all gourmet lovers. Owners John and Linley opened the store in 2015 after they had enough of city life too. They made it their mission to help the local farmers sell their artisan products. This includes everything from teas, spices, honey, meats and award-winning cheese. The couple travel in and around NSW and use their stop as a one-stop-shop for the products. One of the products include seaweed. It’s from a female scientist living in Sydney who uses a tank to grow seaweed. There are also pickles sold that’s made by two best friends. They make these pickles every day and go surfing at 3 pm.

The Treat Factory has over 200 items — both sweet and
savoury — to choose from. PHOTOS BY AUTHOR

Sweet as honey

The honey sold here is excellent and it takes about 12 to 18 months for them to get it. However, because of the bushfire, the honey business is in jeopardy. Oh, and there’s another seller decided to make marmalades just because she has too many fruit trees at home. While everything at Flavours Shoalhaven has a demand, the one thing they can’t seem to sell is honey powder. It’s probably because the real honey is a better deal. About a ten-minute drive from there, The Treat Factory and The Dairy Bar came as a welcome surprise. Both located in a warehouse that was converted into their own business, it’s a company that’s four generations old. The fifth generation is running the place now. In fact, the building is 105 years old. Back in the day, the milk was brought to the factory via the river that flowed through while the steam train used to take the butter to Sydney. The only time you’ll get caught in traffic here is when the cows are passing through with horses and a three-legged-dog taking them. Because this place is so well-taken care of, gelato and ice cream also resulted in that. I was told that they use sugar made with corn to use in the gelato. It’s perfect and guilt-free for those watching their diet. The Treat Factory had more than 200 varieties of jams, sauces, chutneys and tons of sweet and savoury items. These are recipes passed on from generations, stretching to 50 years. It was finally time for a late lunch at Mountain Ridge Wines and oh, what a lovely finish. The 75-acre working farm produces its own beef and macadamia nuts. The view overlooked the beautiful Mount Coolangatta. The in-house pet is a beautiful pooch who loves to play ball with anyone who will play with her. The food, on the other hand, was fresh, juicy and a perfect way to fall in love with Berry.