Coffee to a Tea

Dublin’s Coffee and Tea Festival, running for its second year in the RDS earlier this September, can only be described as a caffeine lover’s Mecca. The aroma hits you before entering the strikingly decorated Industry Hall, a thousand mornings culminating in a single inhalation.

My first espresso was a Kenyan that tasted simultaneously sweet and rich. The Java Republic barista coached me as I sipped, advising me to “Take a moment to appreciate the flavours. We rarely think about what we’re eating and drinking, this is your opportunity to do so”. Not since my infancy had my swallowing been so carefully scrutinised; I could only hope that my facial expression reflected my efforts to savour the taste.

The festival exhibitors vary from coffee, tea and snack distributors to smaller, family-run Irish businesses and the names that occupy our streets countrywide. Interestingly, the larger Irish coffee chains, such as Bewley’s and Insomnia, seemed unconcerned when questioned about the increasing presence of international competitors, namely Starbucks and Costa. Both were confident that they had earned the loyalty of their customers by serving a reliably good product and were altogether unthreatened by their rivals. Deirdre, from Bewley’s, explained over the grinding of the lightly roasted beans that would go into my Americano that she felt that all cafés have their place in the industry. Her point was that places like Starbucks can actually assist them by introducing a younger generation to coffee through their high sugar, low-caffeine drinks. The hope then is that as the customer matures so too will their taste for coffee, which is when they will graduate to those who provide the finest product.

Whether the subject was Matcha tea, Aloe Vera based energy drinks, or ethically harvested Rwandan coffee beans, the one constant vein that pulsed through this festival was passion. Perhaps this is what made attending it such an enjoyable experience. Even those unable to differentiate their Arabica from their Robusta could find themselves quickly falling into the barista mindset. Not only were the majority of the people working on stands enthusiastic and happy to engage on a one-to-one level, but there were also a selection of talks taking place as well as competitions in latté art and even the opportunity to sign up to roasting workshops with the Trinity-based Cloud Picker.

Coffee 2

Provided you’re willing to overlook the decidedly obvious poster featuring a model complete with “hipster” hat, glasses and takeaway coffee cup, there was, for the most part, very little pretension served alongside the steaming samples of Fairtrade’s finest. That’s not to say that there wasn’t a degree of coffee snobbery present. In fact, the likes of Vini Arruda, a coffee development manager and member of the SCAE, were arguing on behalf of the importance of this snobbery because it demands a genuine superior quality for the consumer and, most importantly, a just deal for coffee farmers.  For students this unfortunately means digging deeper into their pockets and forgoing the convenience of an instant caffeine fix (I have yet to reach for the instant variety since) for what is ultimately a more rewarding cup.

Thanks to the efforts of Fairtrade and the SCAE (Speciality Coffee Association of Europe), it was simple to focus on the taste of the products available, safe in the knowledge that the ingredients had been ethically sourced. Over at the Oxfam table they were promoting their new campaign that began on 1st of October, based on the Italian tradition of the Caffé Sospeso (pending coffee) in which someone who has received good fortune might pay for an extra coffee as a random act of kindness for someone less fortunate or, in this case, to those in coffee growing communities.

Other positive initiatives included the “KeepCup”, a reusable mug that has already begun to take Australia by storm. Similarly to how the reusable bag has essentially replaced its plastic equivalent for the food shop, this company hopes to reduce energy waste by getting more people to have their coffee to-go served straight into their own mug. Meanwhile, over at the Marley Coffee stand, an excited Guy Wilmot informed me about the new bio-degradable Nespresso capsules that their company has manufactured, claiming that it could be a game-changer for both the environment and at-home coffee drinking.

A trend that appears to be sweeping our impressionable nation is the “free-from” diet. Gluten-free, sugar-free or dairy-free alternatives are growing in status, as was made apparent by the presence of an Alpro stand. I sipped a surprisingly delicious coconut coffee concoction as they explained that only a small percentage of their consumers are using their product because of a medically diagnosed lactose intolerance and that they have been targeting  a younger and much more food-conscious demographic as a result. Some homegrown companies that are profiting from the growing demand in dietary alternatives include The Foods of Athenry and Honest who are blazing their way in the “free-from” markets and collecting Great Taste Awards along the way.

For just €10 upon entry, the Coffee and Tea festival did not disappoint, it was easy to get lost for hours among the stalls in a buzz that was only partially caffeine-induced. As well as being an opportunity to purchase products at discounted prices, it was also a pleasant way to pass an afternoon and to become more aware of what to look out for as a consumer.

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