World of Coffee 2016 and Dublin Coffee Tour

Last month I travelled to Dublin on a photography assignment with Caffè Nero and spent one and a half days visiting coffee shops and attending my first ever World of Coffee. Although my trip was too short to write a comprehensive review of the Dublin’s coffee scene, I’d like to share the best coffee shops I went to as well as a few which are on my to-do list for next time.

I arrived in Dublin at lunchtime and headed straight to the World of Coffee where I spent the rest of the afternoon tasting coffee, geeking about coffee equipment, chatting to roasters and watching the world’s top baristas compete for the title of Barista Champion.

Compared to the London Coffee Festival, I thought that World of Coffee was relatively small with less exciting stands and a not so great food court. But it was also less overwhelming and easier to navigate around, so I felt like I had more time to taste and appreciate the different coffees.

Aside from the Barista Championship and Brewers Cup stages, the majority of the stands were for wholesale trades and B2B. I was hoping to buy lots of speciality coffee from foreign roaster, but I struggled to find anyone doing retail. To me that is such a missed opportunity, as it would have been amazing to meet and chat with coffee roasters from America, Australia, Asia and the rest of the world. I did find a few of my favourite European roasters though, such as Da Matteo, The Barn, Small Batch Coffee and Ditta Artigianale. Sadly the Yirgacheffe from The Barn sold out before I could buy it (they only had a couple of bags on sale).

While at World of Coffee, I met with Caffè Nero baristas at the Faema stand where they presented the new limited edition Nicaragua single origin espresso ’71’.

Caffè Nero is the largest independent coffee retailer in Europe, with more than 650 stores, operating across 7 countries. The company is currently undertaking a three year project in Nicaragua working with 71 small coffee farmers in the community of La Esmeralda.

This project, called Nero Origins Project, is aimed at improving the quality and productivity of their farm performances in a sustainable way. The goal for these farmers is to obtain the Rainforest Alliance certification which will allow them to sell their coffee at premium prices.

The first limited edition coffee launched as part of Nero Origins Project is ’71’ from Nicaragua, which is available to buy for a limited time only at Caffè Nero stored in Ireland.

From World of Coffee to Caffè Nero on King Street where I attended a coffee tasting event hosted by the company’s Master of Coffee Giacomo Celi and Head of Coffee Development David Cormack.

Caffè Nero – King Street

Giacomo and Dave launched the ’71’ single origin to an audience of journalists and bloggers, presenting the unique flavour profile and tasting notes of this coffee with the help of hand-illustrated cards.

The ’71’ Nicaraguan espresso starts with a sweet bright acidity, dominated by tasting notes of almond and caramel, with hints of blood orange. The coffee evolves into darker notes of dark chocolate and baked cereals with a sweet and balanced aftertaste and hints of biscotti.

All guests at the event received custom made coffee bags, created by Belfast-based illustrator and Caffè Nero barista, Fruzsina Czech.

A coffee shop tour of Dublin

My second day in Dublin was spent exploring the city, alas under torrential rain. I couldn’t take many photos around Dublin, but at least the rain gave me a good excuse to stop for many coffee breaks along the way!

I was in the company of Sally (The Cafe Cat) and together we visited two of the prettiest Caffè Nero stores I’ve ever been to: Hatch Street and Camden Place. I was genuinely impressed with the coffee and fell in love with the cosy, quiet, welcoming interiors. I also loved the giant, delicious freshly-baked scones (only available in the Irish Caffè Nero shops).

Caffè Nero, Hatch Street

Caffè Nero, Camden Place

Network Coffee, Aungier Street

Walking from Camden Street to Dublin’s city centre, we stumbled across a new speciality coffee shop I had just read about online: Network. We decided to stop by to taste their espresso made with a 3FE house blend.

3fe, Grand Canal Street Lower

My tour of Dublin couldn’t of course be complete without a visit to 3fe‘s coffee shop on Grand Canal Street Lower. I have already blogged about 3fe and you can read more about it here.

Kaph, Drury Street

I didn’t have the time to return to Kaph last month, but when I was in Dublin in 2014 this was one of my favourite coffee shops.

Coffeeangel, Anne Street South

Coffeeangel is a local coffee roaster with four shops in Dublin. I was also there in 2014 but the chain has grown a lot since then. They offer house blends and single origins for both espresso and pour overs.

My visit to Dublin was short and sweet, but I am sure it won’t be too long before I visit again. The coffee scene in the Irish capital is booming, so here’s a few more names worth writing down if you are planning a trip to this city:

• Clement & Pekoe on South William Street
• Brother Hubbard on Capel Street
• Vice Coffee Inc. on Abbey Street Middle
• Fumbally on Fumbally Lane
• Roasted Brown on Curved Street
• 3fe on Sussex Mews

Disclaimer: I was in Dublin on a photography assignment with Caffè Nero. All opinions are my own.