Costa Coffee in Ireland???

Wandering around Dublin city centre on a cold, wet, windy Saturday morning is not really my idea of fun. Especially when accompanied with three under-5 children, one of whom had had a high temperature the night before. Still, a bit of fresh air and exercise never killed anyone. Probably.

However, my morning was brightened up when I noticed a Costa Coffee store on a busy corner of Dawson Street just up the road from my favourite toy shop - all 50 sq. meters of it (if that) packed form floor to ceiling with classy toys! So while the kids were peering in through the toy shop window I headed into Costa for some coffee and the low-down on their arrival in Dublin.

Costa Coffee have been brewing up a pretty decent cup in the UK for years, and as a chain store over there would have been the biggest rivals to Starbucks - with probably a couple of hundred more outlets than the mermaid. What I have always liked about Costa is their support of Fairtrade long before it started becoming trendy and certainly long before their biggest rival did. That and they do a nice selection of pastries.

I return from my recon trip with a vanilla latte for my wife and a regular latte for me, plus a chocolate mini yule log. (I can't believe I bought something so Christmasy already...but I guess we were in the process of helping out Santa).

"Get this," said I to herself. "Costa have been in Ireland for ages and I never knew it! And they have 27 cafés across the country!!"

"Let me stop you right there," says she, nipping in the bud any thoughts of an another pilgrimage....

Coffee Diagrams

A while ago someone asked me if I would explain what the differences are between the various styles of coffee. So, going on the premise that a picture is worth a thousand words I shan't bore you with intricate details......even though I might find it interesting. Instead, here's a great picture I came across:



(Designed by Lokesh Dhakar)

Why would you do that????

My mother-in-law from America has been over for the last couple of weeks. Although living in Ohio for many years her family history is from the South. Every now and then she will give me a little insight in to some of the customs of that part of the country - like what they serve for breakfast: biscuits and red-eye gravy.

The "biscuits" I can cope with. Think a lighter, fluffy/flaky bread roll, a bit like a plain scone but less dense. (Nothing like a chocolate digestive biscuit). Served with the biscuit is some bacon. Ok so far. All this is topped with red-eye gravy. Here's how that is made: after frying the bacon remove the meat from the pan, but leave the fat and juices behind. Then add to the pan......my goodness I can hardly bring myself to say it......then add to the pan............coffee!!!!! And you got yer gravy.

Please, anyone from the Southern States, can you confirm this abomination is true?

That said, I did take my m-i-l to Temple Bar market last weekend where we sampled chocolate covered bacon.

Farewell to Starbucks

I wasn't planning on going to Starbucks in Ranelagh today, I just happened to go past it. Actually to be more precise I happened to go past where it was! I wound up doing a double-take and thinking, 'Wow! Starbucks has closed.'

The door was open so I peered around inside the empty store, save for a display of coffee packets and a few bits of unsold merchandise. I found someone to explain what had happened. Apparently this wasn't the only Irish store to close. Five of them closed on Friday!

Unfortunately the grounds ran out for Starbucks cafes in Ranelagh, Dundrum, Tallaght, Swords and Dalkey. I can't help feeling the people of Dalkey may be feeling a little bit smug right now.

While I'm not really bothered about these stores closing down, I do feel sorry for the people who worked in them. I guess that even in a small country such as this the mighty Starbucks over-stretched itself. I'm glad I finished visiting them all when I did! It almost now gives my Starbucks coffee Odyssey an historical perspective.

Welcome to the 21st Century, Cosmo

I've never had my own laptop before...until today.

Now I'm sitting in a cafe, writing my blog, using wifi! I feel so free!!!!

I might even go out this week and get one of those telephone things with no wires coming out the end. Can you imagine? Phones without wires!


Oh, man. I'm more behind the times than Great Uncle Bulgaria.

My Next Door Neighbour

If I don't blog this right away I will forget,and it's too wonderful to be lost...


I just put the kettle on and made a cup of tea - the lazy way: just a tea bag in a cup. On going to the fridge for milk I discovered that we had none! Not one drop! So I went, with hot cup in hand, and knocked on my elderly neighbours door. She answered, still in a dressing gown and curlers in her hair. She's great craic. A real, old Irish woman who always has a story to tell and a quirky saying for every occasion. If chatting at the front door were an olympic sport she would win a gold medal.

Anyway, I explained my predicament and she was only too willing to oblige...and tell a story: Apparently she doesn't drink tea and always drank coffee, even as a young child. She was out the other day with her nephew and stopped for a coffee in "one of those Starbucks places", to which she added:

"Call that coffee?! My granny! It was bilge."

I literally LOL. And I don't even know what bilge is!

Square Mile Coffee - Autumn Espresso

I deliberated for a couple of weeks deciding whether or not to order a couple of bags of beans from Square Mile Coffee Roasters. This is not because I was unsure of what the quality would be. They are the people who roast for Flat White cafe. No, my hesitation was purely based on what it would cost to have the coffee sent to Ireland. But last week I decided to go ahead and order some beans, mainly for three reason plus and obvious fourth:

1) I had just run out of my stash of Flat White beans.
2) It would be cheaper than me flying to London.
3) They come in 350g bags as appose to the regular retail standard of 250g.
and 4) I was just curious!

Despite there being a postal strike in the UK my coffee arrived today - a seasonal short-run blend: Autumn Espresso - with a roasting date stamp of 28th September. One week for the beans to settle. Perfect.

I wasn't in a position to try them out straight away, but for the next couple of hours my mind was distracted from productive work just at the thought of running them through my machine. (Good grief! I really am starting to think I might have a problem.)

Eventually I got my chance! Cutting open the top of the bag I gave it a gentle shake and then stuck my nose in for a good sniff. Ahhhh, a wonderful nutty smell combined with the sweet aroma of warm buttered toast.

I was amazed at my first shot of espresso that I pulled. The pour was a delight to watch and the crema was incredibly thick - about half the volume of the shot itself. I was amazed that my little machine could get such a result. It proved to me what you achieve with fresh roasted, high quality beans and a grind seconds before pulling the shot.

And the taste? After sipping through that crema the flavour was warm and fairly sweet, kind of like dark chocolate. Then, a second or two after tasting, a fruity sharpness comes back and pokes you in the throat. Coffee is so multi-sensory. I love it!

I followed up my espresso with a double shot latte. The added milk made it caramely and really quite rich. Perhaps even too rich for my taste. I'll see what tomorrow brings.

Alas, I had to pull myself away and get on with the rest of the day; so maybe I don't have such a problem after all. That said, I have been thinking about the coffee a fair bit this evening...

Tir na nÓg Caife - St Anne's Park

I once came across a shocking statistic that there are more golf courses in greater Dublin then there are children's playgrounds! If I may take that further, I have come to discover over the last few years that there are no playgrounds that I know of that are located next to a cafe!!! I'm not sure why this is as I am sure they would do a cracking trade in take-away coffee. At the very least, as someone suggested to me last week, one of those travelling coffee wagons could do worse than to hang out around playground gates - especially as autumn draws in. (Coffee Angel, if you are listening, there is a market to be exploited).

Today, despite forecasts of possible rain, we ventured across to the other side of the city to collect conkers and go bike riding in St Anne's Park, Clontarf. Oh what a picturesque family scene, you're thinking. Yes it was......but we did get wet. I don't like being wet.

Anyway, there are two other features I like about the park. One is the Saturday farmers market at the Red Stables and the other is the playground which, although not right next to each other aren't too far apart. Within the market is the usual mix of organic fruit and veg, bread and baked goods, olives, flowers, crepe van, wool stall, cheeses, and a coffee stall. But I didn't get coffee from there.

Also located in the Red Stables is a cafe which is open everyday and recently under new management. It is Tir na nÓg Caife. But I didn't go there for coffee either. And here's why:

While having fun with the kids in the playground my mind wandered to the thought of enjoying the slab of M&M cookie bar that my wife had made and packed in her bag. Naturally it would be best enjoyed with a coffee so I began thinking of reasons why I should be the one to leave the three kids in the playground to fetch a couple of lattes. And then something wonderful happened...

Coming from out of the mists, somewhere from way beyond the west, two youthful figures strode into the chaos of the grounds, smartly dressed and donning green aprons. Did her name badge say Niamh? And I felt sure he was refered to as Oisin, but my caffeine withdrawal may have been playing tricks with my mind. Regardless, they came with wonderful greetings from Tir na nÓg and asked if I'd like to order anything from their menu. Within minutes they returned with two very good lattes.....and then they were gone.

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By the way, the Tir na nÓg is the mythical celtic Land of Eternal Youth. Find out a bit more about it here.

After Hours

Too many cafes in Dublin close too early in the evening. That includes my latest favourite. However, the thing about having a cafe on the premises of an international hostel is that just because the coffee stops flowing doesn't mean the whole place closes down. Quite often people still stick around to chat or browse online. Sometimes someone decides to provide a little entertainment.

Usually the entertainment is some international traveller pulling out a guitar and singing a few songs...if you're lucky. If you're unlucky you might be there when the Bulgarian guy comes in, pushes the tables and chairs back, and starts performing Riverdance with the hope that spectators will join in.

But this evening was a bit different. A young American girl had just arrived in Ireland this morning and immediately jumped at the chance to perform an impromptu concert of her own songs.....on the ukulele! I couldn't help but stick around because I kind of like the sound of the ukulele - once you get past the comic value of the way the instrument looks. I find that there is something about its sound that even if playing a sad song in a minor key you still can't help smiling and tapping your feet.

The artists name was Milly Geronimo. You can check out her myspace page here. Have a listen to 'Heat me up' which is the first track on her wonderfully homemade EP that I bought.



Oh, and as it's the last day of September (ally-ally-o) that brings me to the end of my blogging challenge of posting everyday this month...except most weekends....and a couple of missed days. However those minor under-achievements meant that serendipitously - a word which is used in the song above - this is my 200th post on my blog. A cracking average of one post every 6 and a bit days. Hmmm, that's at least once a week I guess....

Here's to 200 more! But maybe not tomorrow as I tend to always wind up blogging way after hours.

Coffee at any price

Yesterday I managed to get in to watch the Irish Latte Art competition. I say 'managed to' because, a) it was part of a trade show only for people in the catering business, and b) I didn't have a ticket. However, the words "I think there is meant to be a ticket left at the desk here for me to get into the coffee competition" plus a nice smile seemed to do the trick.

After getting past a crowd of exhibitors offering me free samples of ice cream, pizza, chocolate, olives, bread and information about a start of the art walk-in refrigerator unit I found the show stage of SCAE - Speciality Coffee Association of Europe (Ireland Chapter). They were hosting the coffee competition.

After waiting around for a while longer than expected the competition got under way to see who could pour the best looking latte art - those little designs on the top of your drink. It was interesting for a while, but to be honest the views of the final creations were not great and I got a bit bored so I left before it was over. However, the bonus was that there was free coffee to be had. After the judges had viewed and tasted the drinks they were offered to the audience. For some reason I couldn't help thinking of this experience of passing around a special cup as similar to a common chalice used in Holy Communion! Imagine that: coffee and a danish instead of bread and wine.

I was the recipient of a great looking cappuccino created by Bela Zudor of Avoca Cafe in Kilmacanogue, Co. Wicklow (a lovely, if a bit expensive, place to go for lunch). He went on to win the competition!

Leaving the competition I wondered around the trade show again and bumped into Buzz who was demonstrating machines for Milano Coffee Systems - the people he just bought a machine from. Buzz didn't seem to be into the coffee competitions scene. All tricks and no substance, I wondered?? I chatted with one of the guys from Milano about their cheapest fully automatic machine - press one button and it does everything for you. We have a ministry project set for Rathmines and I'd like to be able to offer quality coffee to people who are part of what we will do. The price for the machine? €10,000.

I gave a nice smile, but it didn't seem to do the trick.