Forest Farm Organic Dairy — Local services in Great Britain

The serving setup is a mess. I had to wait ages in the large queue of people (it was heaving) waiting for ice cream to find out whether they sold butter, cream, yoghurt or their own cheese - they don't.

I went out to buy milk and the bottle only filled half way. I put the bottle in against the back - there was nothing to indicate where to place the bottle exactly, nor did it have a guard, so it caught the lip of the bottle and half the milk ended up down the drain. It was soaking on the outside with milk that had run over and my hands stunk of it. I then had to go back into the shop and wade through the queue to tell the staff, then go back out and wait for someone to come out to fill the bottle up. It took about 20 minutes to go through the process of getting milk. Worst of all, it's a large dairy that doesn't even deliver.

They don't sell their own butter, cheese or cream, which is astonishing for a dairy farm, but they sell pizza. ¯(ツ)/¯ They also sell their own cakes inside, so I asked if they were organic. I was told they didn't know/think so. I asked if the flour was organic and was told it was flour from the supermarket and it wasn't organic. Very mixed signals. ¯(ツ)/¯

I was quite disappointed. I don't think the place really knows what it should be doing. I would expect a dairy to sell dairy produce and their own stuff at that. They buy in an extremely limited range and number of organic cheeses - the Highland cheese is lovely though.

As for the product, I also found the milk to be incredibly strong and tasting a lot like animals. I tried it in coffee and I made chia pudding, but it was incredibly overpowering. I will continue to buy the milk as it's a local, organic dairy and use it for making my own butter/yoghurt/cheese instead, which I think it will be excellent for! It's just too strong to drink or put over cereal.

All-in-all, a bit disappointing. The ice-cream queue really needs to be separated from those not buying ice-cream. There's also nothing wrong with diversifying your range, but it would be great if they also focused on what dairies do best - cheese, butter, cream, yoghurt, etc., along with selling the milk a...

I am rating only the milk vending, as we didn't have the opportunity to frequent the coffee shop/gelato. The milk vending is not only fun (for adults, anyway), but also easy and intuitive. You can view the adorable (and massive!) cows being milked through a glass window, before entering the vending area. No: the milk is NOT warm when it is vended. 😁

At the bottle vending machine, tap to pay for a glass bottle (choice of 1l or 2l). I'm not entirely sure if you have to pay for the plastic bottles, but given that they are freely available on a shelf, I assume not. These are also available in 1l or 2l. With the plastic bottle, be sure to NOT tighten the lid until it is filled, as it seals the bottle.

At the milk vending machine, tap to pay, then select 1l or 2l. Position your bottle underneath the spout and expect the milk! If you wish to add a flavour, DO NOT TIGHTEN THE CAP! Step over to the flavour bar, tap your card again, position your milk bottle at your desired flavour spout, and press the corresponding button. Some sputter, some pour, but regardless of which, once sealed, just give it a good shake to take it from garish yellow/pink/whatever to a more familiar shade. 😉

We chose a 1l of each of strawberry and banana, as well as a 2l plain milk.

In summary: 1l and 2l GLASS bottles 1l and 2l PLASTIC bottles 5 flavours (dark cherry, chocolate mint, popcorn, strawberry, banana)

Thanks to the friendliest Facebook Marketplace seller in Aberdeen who directed us to this...

Adorable, 'kitschy' dairy farm that offers in house made gelato, dairy/cow milk & wood fired pizzas.

Appreciate their 'cream top' milk which is very close to regular milk offered in Ireland (which is ideal! Would love if they offered carton/box for their milk instead of the plastic containers). Reusable glass bottles are also an option at £2.50 a bottle. A litre of milk is cheaper here compared to a litre of Graham's gold smooth.

Bit out of the way from Aberdeen city but is worth driving to. Limited 'indoor/hive' seating so isn't great during winter or when it's cold/breezy but they seem to be growing.

Their pizzas are delightful & would benefit if they offer an 'order & pickup' as waiting times can be long. The drinks they offer are too 'alternative' for our liking, something to bear in mind if you're having a picnic lunch over.

Sometimes, you can definitely smell 'silage' as you're eating gelato which isn't bad as you are on a farm but something to be mindful of if you're sensitive to smells 😅 Not a fan of their chocolate sauce, very similar to cooking chocolate.

Gelato flavours are repetitive, however they also offer a good selection with their prepacked tubs. They also offer a variety during seasonal holidays ie Easter/Christmas.

Overall it's a place...