COFFEE REVOLUTION: TONY CLAYTON-LEAmeets a couple who combine their film production business with running a coffee shop in Drogheda
IN DROGHEDA’S Laurence Street, a middle-aged woman recently exclaimed with a mixture of shock and frustration that she had waited more than 30 years for someone in the town to provide an authentic cup of coffee. As she walked out of Traders, a coffee house in Drogheda, she ended her mild rant on a note of palpable relief, with one emphatic word: “Finally.”
Eoin Holmes, who owns and runs the cafe with his wife, Niamh Fagan, relates this anecdote with a combination of glint-in-the-eye and a vindication of his aims for his modest business.
Holmes, on the face of it, might not seem like your average coffee-loving kind of guy. A background in the music business provides many an amusing story about rock stars, while in their guise as film makers/producers, he and Fagan’s Ifta-winning TG4 series Rásaí na Gaillimhe provides further evidence of a couple who view commercial success as a pleasant if transient entity. Anyone who works in the high-pressured area of film producing, says Holmes with slight irony, “knows that one of the exciting things about the business is the erratic nature of the income”.
Factor in, also, a house move from Dublin to rural Co Meath and four children under the age of seven, and you have good reasons to view your income stream in a different light, as well as giving in to the temptation to follow your dreams.
“We wanted to do something that might provide a more steady income, less dramatic hours that would give us time to spend with the kids, and more of a straightforward lifestyle. Opening a coffee shop had also been something we had wanted to do, or at least had been thinking about, fantasising about, for years.”
It all started, more or less, in the mid-1990s, when Holmes visited Wilmington, North Carolina, where Fagan was working on editing The Jackal, which co-starred Bruce Willis and Richard Gere.
“There was an amazing coffee shop there,” he recalls, “and for someone who lived in Ireland it was a surprise to find coffee that could look and smell and taste that good, and also for it to be served so well.”
It’s a thought that has surely struck so many lovers of good coffee: why can’t we get it on our doorstep? Such reasoning gradually evolved into what the couple perceived to be a gap in the market, particularly for what has become known as an artisanal foodstuff rather than a commodity. “We couldn’t be the only people who liked really good coffee, could we?” Holmes asks.
Traders Coffee House is a compact space at 1, Laurence Street. The coffee machine is a high-end La Marzocco, while produce is as local as the couple can source it. The coffee is roasted and supplied by Ariosa Coffee Roasting (ariosacoffee.com) from Borronstown, Co Meath.
“We chose Ariosa for taste, quality, ethos, passion and consistency,” Holmes says. “We tried many coffees and roasters, but Ariosa won on all counts every time. The espresso-based coffee we sell is derived from the principle of more coffee, less milk. We need the coffee to be strong, flavorsome and slightly sweet, and Ariosa’s espresso does all this for us.
“A woman came into our shop recently and said she had a cup of coffee here the previous day that she’d actually dreamed about. That’s what we’re after for our customers.”
Coffee Angel, various locations (including Custom House, North Wall and Sir John Rogerson’s Quay, Dublin; and a unit at Dublin Docklands)
These are mobile coffee units operated by champion barista Karl Purdy. The coffee is roasted by Bailie’s Coffee Company, Belfast (bailiescoffee.com). “Russell Bailie has very little media profile, but I have been working with him for several years. Without Russell’s skills in the roastery, very little of what we serve every day could be achieved with any degree of credibility. He has also been great at allowing us to develop our own espresso blends as the harvest seasons change.”
coffeeangel.com
Third Floor Espresso (3FE), 54 Middle Abbey Street, Dublin 1
Irish barista champion 2009/2010 Colin Harmon operates a no-nonsense space that makes, for many, the best coffee in the capital. “Our coffees change by the week, really, as our emphasis is on seasonality,” Harmon says. “Our coffee is roasted by Birmingham-based Steve Leighton (hasbean.co.uk), who is one of the best coffee roasters in the world”.
thirdfloorespresso.com; dublinbarista.com
The Stuffed Olive, Bantry, Co Cork
This gourmet/artisan store is more of a deli, but locals and beyond (including Bridgestone Guide writers John and Sally McKenna) testify to the quality of its food and coffee. “John Gowan, Cork Coffee Roasters is our roaster and supplier,” says owner Trish Messom. “We chose John because he is a small gourmet roaster who is very passionate about his coffee. He roasts the coffee beans for us in small batches, delivers, and comes down regularly to train the staff. For me the coffee is smooth, strong, not bitter.”
Bondiola Argentina, 53 Haddington Road, Dublin 4
Excellent coffee, sold alongside food such as choripan, empanadas and empanadas. The coffee is roasted and supplied by Ariosa Coffee Roasters. “We chose them because the coffee is very good and because they are always there in case we need them, ” says cafe co-owner Gabriela Ramírez Sousa. “The coffee is roasted and blended every week, which is what makes it really fresh and different from others.”
bondiolaargentina.com
Ground Espresso Bar, 52 Main Street, Portrush, Co Antrim
This is a franchise with branches in Portrush, Coleraine, Ballymena, Ballymoney and Belfast (in Waterstones, Next and DV8). It was recently voted one of the top 50 coffee bars in the UK. “We use a Glasgow-based company called Matthew Algie,” says Portrush cafe manager William Nicholl. “They take great pride in their coffee and their passion for perfection is constant. This passion for the perfect blend keeps them well ahead of the game and keeps us way ahead of our competitors.”
groundcoffee.net
