With warm days arriving early this year, there’s a lot of delicious produce to go around. Recently, we traveled to Bainbridge Island to visit Heyday Farm and collect the delicious rhubarb to be featured in the first of our upcoming Farm Fresh summer ice creams!

We caught the ferry and ventured out of the city to the rural beauty of the southern part of the island. After winding through warmly lit tree-lined roads, we pulled into Heyday Farm, a locally-owned sustainable and historic farm. We were greeted by lush gardens and a beautifully restored 1890s farmhouse. Our guide for the day, Sebastian, led us through the greenhouses, fields and raised bed garden, teaching us about the tomatoes, broccoli, rhubarb, blueberries and other culinary delights growing there. Since rhubarb brought us to the farm, we had many questions about it! We learned that the redder the stalk, the sweeter the taste, which seems intuitive enough. But did you know that rhubarb leaves are poisonous?! Only the stalk is for eating.

The farm is comprised of 25 acres spread across a few different locations. After touring the fruits and veggies, we drove a bit further up the road to visit the calves, piglets, chicks, sheep and rabbits before returning to collect our big box of bright red rhubarb.

We’re kicking off our Farm Fresh summer ice creams with two delicious rhubarb flavors: Rhubarb Rose Sorbet and Ginger Rhubarb Crumble. Available by the scoop in our Capitol Hill, Ballard, 108 Pine and Queen Anne cafes, and by the pint at all locations including our West Seattle and Madrona cafes. Stay tuned to our social media (find us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter) to be the first to know when our rhubarb ice creams are available in stores!