Milk Maids is shortlisted for for Bolton's Best Coffee Shop

Milk Maids, which is based at Dearden’s Farm in Over Hulton, has gained immense popularity with residents and has remained in the Partington family since 1955.

The multi-award winning store is currently run by Fiona Partington and her sister, Rebecca Partington, alongside a close-knit team of 10, as well as her parents Anne-Marie and Michael. 

What sets the store apart, Fiona adds, is Milk Maids’ dedication to high-quality fresh milk that can be processed from cow to coffee cup in a matter of hours.

Fiona said: “Our coffee is unique; we use our own milk from our own grass-fed cows. It’s not homogenised, just pasteurised which makes it the perfect consistency for latte milk – it’s smooth and velvety.

“We milk twice a day, in the morning and in the evening. All our milk is whole milk, and it is as fresh as being in the cow that morning and straight into coffee for the afternoon.”

Polly, who is the store’s ice cream manager, said: “We keep as much of our produce locally sourced. Our coffee is by a local brand called Oddy Knocky so the beans are roasted in Bolton.

“We have an Italian coffee machine and only use the house blend; people appreciate good coffee in a comfortable environment and that is comfortable. That’s what we offer.

(Image: Leah Collins) “We want to be consistently good with what we do, we make sure the coffee is brewed for precisely 28 – 32 seconds per cup.

“We recently revamped the store; it was originally a working barn, and we converted it into the farm, people are loving the new look!

“We bottle our milk every day – about fifty bottles – it always flies off the shelves, people love it. The milk is used in our ice cream too, which made on site through a special process.

“We’ve even had a couple of notable faces in the shop. The Wigan rugby team have been. When the Australian rugby team came here for a match, they phoned in and asked for a certain number of coffees, I’m assuming because of its specific fat content and health benefits.”

(Image: Milk Maids) The popular parlour also stocks a number of sweet treats and pastries from local bakers including Westhoughton's Hive Bakehouse, including mouth-watering crème brûlée cruffins, cinnamon buns, hazelnut croissants and stuffed buns.

(Image: Leah Collins) All hot chocolates at Milk Maids are made using melted chocolate and mile, with no hot chocolate powder in sight. Flavours include S'mores, Malteser and even hot chocolate floats, melted chocolate mixed with our fresh milk with a scoop of milky milk maids ice cream. The perfect combination! 

(Image: Milk Maids) A huge selection of ice-creams, ranging from Biscoff, birthday cake, raspberry pavlova, white chocolate caramel shortbread, kinder bueno, winter berries, red velvet and cherry Bakewell are available to customers.

(Image: Milk Maids) Some of the more festive flavours include mince pie, chocolate orange and Bailey's Irish Cream.

Polly said: “The ice cream flavours change daily; we announce them on our social media every morning.

“Among the most popular flavours is kinder bueno, Manchester tart, pistachio and milky milkmaids, which we use as our original base mix.

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“We’re renowned for our ice cream, but it would mean the world to be recognised for our coffee too. We’ve worked hard to create the perfect environment to set people up for the day.

“It’s a great and friendly space for people to chat, work or even just have a moment to yourself. The people who come here always appreciate seeing our smiling faces.

“It doesn’t have to be complicated; so we just keep the coffee simple. It really does speak for itself.

“We all have that passion for coffee and everything we do, we make sure to do it with pride. So, it’s the perfect combination.”

To vote for Milk Maids pick up a copy of today's newspaper

Got a story? Email me at Leah.Collins@newsquest.co.uk