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The History and Future of Espresso

Over 350 million espresso based drinks are made in the United States every day. Espresso is a drink made up of two ingredients: coffee and water. It is made using an espresso machine, which uses high pressure (usually 9 bars of pressure) to push the near boiling water (92 degrees) through finely ground coffee. History […]

Create The Market, Don’t Chase It – Coffee

As a coffee professional it’s part of my role to keep up to date with current and potential future coffee trends. Living in Ireland we tend to be slightly behind certain countries. For example, Cold Brew coffee was popular in America and Australia years before we inherited the culture. Keeping up with these trends tends […]

Instant Vs Wholebean Coffee

Instant coffee is coffee that was mass brewed then was treated with a host of chemicals to freeze dry it and stick it in your easy-to-use container. The word “chemicals” there sounds ominous however there are no real negative effects currently attributable to those chemicals. The only possible “bad chemical” in instant coffee is a […]

Coffee Bag Information – Relevant Or Just Marketing?

If you have picked up a bag of speciality coffee lately, you probably would have noticed that it’s full of coffee info. The info goes beyond who roasted the coffee and varies from coffee to coffee. What exactly is it and should you read it? The information on the bag displays the facts about the […]

Brewing ‘Not So Bad’ Coffee At Home

Brewing (Not-So-Bad) Coffee At Home I often get asked questions along the lines of “How do you brew your coffee at home?” Or “What’s the best home set-up?” Working in a coffee roastery I am spoilt from the choice of brewing equipment available on a daily basis. Which means when I brew […]

What Even is “Speciality Coffee”?

Speciality coffee has a couple of definitions that go with it. The most common probably being: “Association of America (SCAA), coffee which scores 80 points or above on a 100-point scale is graded “specialty.”[1] Specialty coffees are grown in special and ideal climates, and are distinctive because of their full cup taste and little to […]

“The coffee can be hit or miss depending on who is making it there”

Do you have a favourite barista in your go-to coffee shop? Is the coffee generally that bit better when they are working? Without trying to ruin that special person for you, it may not be them. Did you ever think it may just be the coffee? These days a lot of coffee shops […]

You probably don’t know how strong you like your coffee.

“Have you got anything stronger?” is a question I often hear working with Cloud Picker. We are a roastery set out to source, roast and serve the best coffee our resources allow us. We showcase these coffees by roasting them light. What does light roast mean? Well, it’s the equivalent of […]

Dialing in Espresso: What is it and How?

During my brief time in the coffee industry, I have come to realise – a lot of people who are introduced to dialling in espresso find the whole ordeal quite intimidating and seem to think it is far more complicated than it is. If you are completely unfamiliar with the process, keep reading, but […]