A look inside Dublin Coffee & Tea Festival 2015
Wow, what a great few days! The Dublin Coffee & Tea Festival flew by last weekend in a haze of coffee fueled excitement. So many great things happened & I’ve tried to put down my top 5 below:
1. Our Stand
From the minute the doors opened on Friday right up until closing time on Sunday we were busy, busy, busy! Our 3 Star Great Taste Award winning Rwandan coffee went down a storm as our barista team of Gerry, Mariusz, Renata & Keith were flat out creating perfect coffees. Our brew bar, where we were not only brewing a beautiful Kenyan Makena coffee but were also educating people on how to brew great coffee at home, was always lively and full of people asking questions. It was great showcasing everything good that we are doing in Java Republic & showing both the industry and the visiting public that we are truly at the leading edge of the coffee community.
2. Competitions
Congratulations to Seivijus Matiejunas (Irish Latte Art Champion) and to Daniel Horbat (Irish Cupping Champion) both worthy winners. Having been involved with WCE (World Coffee Events) judging certification in Belgium last month it is obvious that the standard of both competitions was really world class & shows that Ireland’s level of baristas, education & coffee professionals is really outstanding. We were also really proud of Maja, Marcin, Katarzyna who took part in their first ever Latte Art competition having been mentored by our trainer Mariusz.
3. People’s Stage
From our own David McKernan to Patrik Rolf from 5 Elephants Coffee to the Bartenders Association of Ireland Coffee Cocktails competition on the People’s Stage the line up over the weekend was a great opportunity for people to learn about the coffee industry. On both Friday & Saturday I was on the stage challenging people to taste the difference between instant coffee & freshly brewed coffee.
4.SCAE Brew School
As coordinator of education for SCAE (Speciality Coffee Association of Europe) Ireland I was looking after running the Brew School alongside Damian Marshall, the SCAE Ireland events coordinator, and Edgars Kazlausks. This was a dedicated area where volunteers were teaching visitors on different brew methods. From cafetiere to Aeropress & from Chemex to Siphon we showed that how using the same coffee can produce different flavour profiles depending on the brew method used. We were constantly busy and I got a real sense that people are hungry to learn more about how to make really good coffee at home.
5. The Roasters Village
For me, it’s always great to meet up with other coffee roasters & chat about what is going on in the industry. From Deer Green Coffee in Scotland, Climpson & Sons in London as well as many local Irish roasters such as Bell Lane, Cloud Picker & Silverskin it was really great to taste so many interesting coffees & see how each roaster has tried to achieve the best with their green beans. It was obvious from the coffees being served that both Kenyan & Ethopian coffees are the most popular at the moment.
Overall, the Dublin Coffee & Tea Festival was something great to be involved in & it serves as a really good reminder of how much fun the coffee industry is to be a part of. The atmosphere was really relaxed and it feels like the Irish coffee industry is really coming together at the perfect time as we get ready to host World of Coffee and the World Barista Championships in Dublin in June 2016.
Until next time,
