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.