Specialty coffee in Ireland

Specialty coffee in Ireland dates from 2009, when Colin Harmon opened 3fe in a Dublin nightclub lobby; Dublin hosted the 2016 World Barista Championship. 3fe sold 16 coffees on its first day and moved to Grand Canal Street in 2011. In 2013 Tom Stafford took over the original site as Vice Coffee and introduced a multi-roaster model. Roasters such as Roasted Brown, and cafés including Love Supreme, Proper Order and Brother Hubbard, built out the Dublin scene in the following decade, while Coffee Werk & Press in Galway, Soma in Cork and Rift in Limerick carried it west and south.

Dublin holds nearly half of the country's specialty cafés and most of its roasters. Cork, Galway and Limerick form the next tier, and smaller towns such as Carlow, Bray, Clonakilty, Drogheda, Kilkenny, Letterkenny and Sligo each have a specialty café or two. Some roasters work from rural bases, such as the one in Birdhill.

Roasters that shape Irish taste include 3fe, Cloud Picker Coffee Roasters, Full Circle Roasters, Imbibe Coffee Roasters, Silverskin Coffee Roasters and Roasted Brown. Expect flat whites and batch brew, filter at most independents, and a close link between cafés and bakeries or brunch kitchens.