Hopenhagen Farm
Miller’s Meat Market is excited to welcome another local business into our store, well… on the porch that is. Now outside our front door you can find a display of locally grown lavender, don’t walk by without smelling the beautiful and natural lavender scent, then grab a bundle for your home! This blog is going to be introducing the Hopenhagen Farm, and telling you all a little bit about their local business. We love incorporating local goods into our store, and we hope you are just as excited about our new product as we are!
Meet Mary and DeVere Rumble!
Founders and owners of Hopenhagen Farm.
Hopenhagen Farm began when Mary and DeVere Rumble were searching for something to do occupy their retirement years. In the Spring of 2014, with a collection of useful knowledge and a lot of physical labor, the Rumbles successfully planted Cascade and Newport hops. Hops are the flowers of the hop plant Hamulus lupulus, a member of the Cannabaceae family of flowering plants. They are used primarily as a bitter flavoring, and a stability agent in beer. In addition to bitterness, they also impart floral, fruity, or citrus flavors and aromas. Once they had a steady hop harvest, Hopenhagen Farm became a reality. In 2016, the decision was made to slightly expand the farm, and they began growing lavender. To date the farm has 1800 Phenomenal, Munstead, Big Blue, Edelweiss, Melissa Lilac, Provence, Super Blue, Sensational and Hidcote lavender species being grown on the farms property. In May of 2017, the farm opened a specialty store which highlights mostly hop and lavender products. The store keeps a forever evolving product line of soaps, essential oils, lotions, candles, and they have even created a line of pet supplies and a products for children. Despite this beautifully smelling herb being a go-to for healing and calming, lavender is not only used for health and wellness items. The Hopenhagen store also carries tasty products such as lavender chocolate, ice-cream, and other culinary seasonings. The Rumbles have also have lavender wine which they created in conjunction with the local Tug Hill Vineyards, and they have made coffee in partnership with Tug Hill Artisan Roasters. This couple has a passion for local business just like we do here at Miller’s Meat Market. Hopenhagen Farms have some of their products being sold in high-traffic areas, some examples being The Taste of NY Store, Burrville Cider Mill, and The State Street Market. Mary Rumble explained to me that “Every year they seem to get a little bit bigger.” In 2018, they Rumbles completed a 20-C kitchen and opened their “Tea Room”. The 20-C kitchen enables the farm to dry their own lavender as culinary. Culinary lavender needs to be dried in an inspected kitchen, so this kitchen has really allowed to Hopenhagen Farm to do even more with the lavender they grow. The “Tea Room” is a beautiful room that can be rented and reserved for events and tea parties. It has been a great addition to the business, and is utilized frequently for all sorts of gatherings. In October of 2018, Hopenhagen became a participant of New York Grown and Certified, they are also a part of Lewis County Cuisine Trail, and a member of Adirondack Harvest. This summer of 2021, they began distilling their own lavender for essential oils and hydrosol on site! The progress this business has had from the start in 2014 is incredible, and they continue to grow their local presence.
“Our long-term vision is to create a sustainable hands-on farm with quality hops and lavender offerings in a family friendly environment.”
The Hopenhagen Farm is well-known for this Lavender Festival that happens annually. At this festival the farm welcomes over 70 food and craft vendors to join them in selling local products, there is live music all day, and it is a special day of “you cut” lavender where you get to cut that lavender for yourself! The festival sounds like a super fun experience so be sure to keep a look out for it next year! The farm also hosts yoga sessions in the lavender fields, so check out their Facebook page for more information on that. Lavender is used for stress relief, calming and anxiety. So what better place to try yoga!?
I had a great time chatting with Mary and DeVere, and learning more about the hop and lavender farm so that I could share some interesting information with you all! If you read the blog regularly then you know how much I love local business, so this blog was a very fun one for me to write. I hope you have enjoyed learning a little bit about this Copenhagen business, and consider taking your business to the Hopenhagen farm! They are open Fridays and Saturdays throughout the summer and fall. You can find this local lavender farm on 10218 Washington St, in Copenhagen. Thank you all for reading the blog this week! We hope you continue to read every Tuesday when we post. Have a great week!