Mission #2: Two Beans and a Farm

My latest blog event for my outdoors mission relied heavily on Melbourne’s fluctuating weather. Luckily, Hayley, owner of Two Beans and a Farm was very flexible with me, even leaving it up until midday of the event to let me decide where we could sit.

Despite her caution, I had faith in the 5% chance of rain in the hourly forecast, because in Melbourne terms I believe that usually translates to ‘no rain’.

Thus we braved the sometimes cloudy, sometimes sunny weather and thought the outdoors mission called for taking our furry friend out, Amicus the golden retriever.

The farm was very cute, located at the back of an everyday residential area. Who knew such a unique spot would be hidden there? And only about a 10-15 minute drive from my area.
The seating areas are not that plentiful compared to the vast amount of land that is there to explore. But the outdoor seating is creative, barrel tables under the verandah and round, wooden tables out on the grass.

Our table especially looked bright and lovely with a simple layout and hills as our backdrop.

Whilst waiting for others to arrive we were able to explore and see the chicken coop, the community garden and the farm’s dogs, who were fenced off, but still had a massive amount of space to run in and escaped occasionally. We even saw kangaroos in the distance.
We ordered some drinks first, including a pineapple iced tea, an iced coffee and hot chocolate, which all looked to die for. Meanwhile my friend told me her coffee was great and wished it was closer to work for us to get on our morning coffee runs.

And then came what we’d all been waiting for – rustic boards of dessert goodness. They were aimed to be shared between two and provided a selection of sweets. Their package did not describe a specific menu of what would be served, just that it would all be made on premises, so it was all a surprise.

There were profiteroles, macarons, rocky road chunks, chocolate soil/mousse, lemon curd tarts and even a passionfruit mango cheesecake dish.

I always enjoy a tangy lemon dessert so loved the tart and the chocolate soil had caramel at the bottom, a welcome surprise. Even the profiteroles, which were just chocolate, tasted so good as it oozed with cream that I ate it extremely slowly to savour it.

Each dessert showed thought and precision and tasted great. But to classify this as high tea was difficult. For $35 per person there didn’t seem to be much food and there were no savouries such as sandwiches or quiches. Luckily the company and location still ensured a good day out.

Not to mention Hayley’s flexibility, her staff’s jokes and hospitality made us feel really welcome. I wouldn’t mind coming back to try brunch or their European flavoured dinner menu, but am just afraid prices vs servings won’t be great value.

It’s a great location and Hayley mentioned that the council has ideas to grow and develop the farm into something bigger and better, so keep an eye on this spot, especially if you live in the north because it’s not that far!

Two Beans and a Farm is located at 10 Hathfelde Boulevard, Mernda and is open Mon-Thurs and Sun 9am-4pm and Fri-Sat, 9am-10pm. Check out their menu here.