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"A smoke, a book, a cup of coffee. These are the little things that get us through this sometimes weary world and all the rainy days." -R. M. Engelhardt
"Then when we come down a level, my personal interest with driving the education agenda has been there for the last 8 years and developing that. Seeing that continuing to thrive, seeing more and more Baristas are being both made aware of the existence of these education possibilities, but also can easily avail of them, which means coffee will inevitably become better on the High St. cup by cup, which is a good thing!"
"I’m still mad today - really love that mix of people trying to do very progressive, interesting things with espresso, but with a blend, sometimes, I find better suits my own palette. Maybe, conceptually, a single origin is interesting to me, and we’ve certainly written many stories about interesting single origin espressos, but as a consumer it tends to be those iconic house blends that I always want to go back to order."
"The fact that we as a company are selling around 90% of everything we roast outside of Sweden kind of speaks for itself. The coffee tradition over here is very old but the coffee is of low quality, dark roasted and brewed very strong. Even people you would expect to be progressive and lead the gastronomic realm would say, 'Well, people want strong bitter coffee..' To constantly have that discussion, and always having to defend your own product can be very tiring."
The Irish Barista Championships. Nov. 7-8. Are you ready?
"The following is a hefty (though by no means complete!) list of single-origin retail coffees currently available in Dublin, listed in order by country. We aim to update this every few weeks as exciting new coffees arrive!"
"I would say spend a lot of time separating signal and noise. Like, there’s a lot of stuff that’s unnecessary, that doesn’t really need to happen..that you don’t really need to know or understand - or you might, someday, but now just focus on these things.
You can progress very quickly in coffee if you just focus."
"And then, just generally, what I’d like to see across the world is just more transparency, like, what we’re doing, and why we’re doing the things we do, and a look at the sustainability of our industry - a lot of people have been talking about it, and some people are moving somewhere towards it, but I feel like we’re still very disjointed. And how we can make it sustainable from the farmer, all the way up to the shop in a way that allows for growth across all of the different scales - not just the coffee industry growing in and of itself, but also the consumer interest growing, and how do we do it in a way that is good for everybody, and also good for the planet?"
"Be very clear about what you want, and pursue it as hard as you can. Like, be happy, and find the place that is going to give you all the things that you want, and then stay there and learn as much as you can from there, and do as much as you can when you do the job. Like, the best growth I’ve had while I’ve been in coffee has been when I’m working really hard in a place where I felt that I was learning all the time."
"As long as there was coffee in the world, how bad could things be?" -Cassandra Clare
"I would like to see more roasters talking to each other! They’re working very much on their own - and I’m coming from a roaster’s perspective as well, where you have to protect your own business and your own path - but really, I want to see roasters talking and uniting the way baristas have. Baristas are very much more open, there’s a lovely community, a lovely culture, and everybody is learning fast."
"I think one of the important things is not only that we produce very good quality coffee, but [...] the traditions that our grandfather taught us, and our mother - and that’s honesty, doing a job correctly, and respect for the individual. That means for everyone, from the coffee picker all the way to the general manager - we respect people. And lastly, respect nature."
"Taste, taste, taste! Just, every time you’re pulling a shot, just split it into beginning, middle, and end..recognise what’s going on with the shot.. Really, just don’t do it half-arsed."
The following is a hefty (though by no means complete!) list of single-origin retail coffees currently available in Dublin, listed in order by country. We aim to update this every few weeks as exciting new coffees arrive!
Want to taste some coffees from one of the best roasters in Sweden? Followed by a discussion panel and Q&A session about all things coffee and their competitions? Defo! Head over to Vice on Sunday for an afternoon of tasty talks.
"Look around you, go to all the coffee places that you can go to, be open; be always up for networking, but don’t be pushy. To have a network is super important, that’s how you’ll learn a lot more. "
“I believe in the competitions as a way to improve skills, get involved with your community, and to also provide very practical learning experiences, with a direct correlation to improved bar service . . . Also, with standards rising every year, it’s great to have someone to bounce your ideas off of, to taste with, to get frustrated with, and, indeed, to shine your glassware. That’s where we come in.”
“I would rather suffer with coffee than be senseless.” -Napoleon Bonaparte
"I would like to see more cafes of standard open their doors and do great things with coffee and service. As a small country, we have been stuck in the dark ages for too long. It's my dream to see N.I. be placed on the speciality coffee map."
“The powers of a man’s mind are directly proportioned to the quantity of coffee he drinks.”
"We need more people who are smart on a business level as well as about coffee - so that’s where I would challenge everyone who wants to start in coffee - 'Do you have a plan? How much money do you want to earn in 5 years?'"
"So we know variety [in apples] is important in terms of knowing what the taste is going to be like - it's the same deal with coffee. Coffee, just like apples, has different varieties. They may all be the same species of coffee, but it has different varieties which have different properties in terms of flavour, and the way it grows.."
"I want to always be a part of the pioneers, but I want the mainstream to become today’s speciality. I would like us to do away with speciality, because every coffee would be great in Dublin. I shouldn’t have to go into the city to get good coffee."
“Over second and third cups flow matters of high finance, high state, common gossip, & low comedy. [Coffee] is a social binder, a warmer of tongues, a soberer of minds, a stimulant of wit; a foiler of sleep if you want it so. From roadside mugs to the classic demitasse, it is the perfect Democrat.”
“So much of my sense of self worth was based around intellectual, academic glory, and finding that I have this great passion and love for coffee was scary to admit to myself.”
The following is a hefty (though by no means complete!) list of single-origin retail coffees currently available in Dublin, listed in order by country.
"You know when you give a blessing. . . 'May you flourish like coffee,' 'May you fill the air with good smell like coffee,' - that's how we bless."
"Everyone has something to teach you, so keep learning and never discount anyone else’s experiences. However, never imitate blindly, always inquire. I think if everyone did this, we wouldn’t still be seeing baristas worldwide bashing the sides of portafilters with their tampers."
Because of the its popularity (and because we're hosting this year's Irish Aeropress Championship), we've compiled a handy, comprehensive list on all things Aeropress!