If you’re trying out some of Neven’s recipes for a decadent holiday brunch, the classic drink which comes to mind is a mimosa, made with cava, prosecco or champagne and orange juice. This kind of cocktail works really well with the richness you’ll find in most egg dishes, including the ones featured today.
However, we don’t always want to get boozy with breakfast. And if you’re keeping things Irish with locally sourced eggs, smoked salmon or ham and cream, you should consider going Irish with your drink selections, too. And while we could never claim coffee is a native ingredient to Ireland, we can boast having some of the best small-scale coffee roasteries in Europe (with many located in rural areas).
Irish-roasted coffee is really exciting to learn about. Single-origin beans can come from many different parts of the world and – just like wine – they will have a distinctive flavour depending on where in the world they are grown. For example, Ethiopian beans often have distinctive fruity, tart and floral notes, while coffee beans from Guatemala might have more nuttiness and spice.
At this time of year, when we start feeling festive, I love a good Christmas coffee. These coffees are usually made of a blend – different beans from different areas. This provides roasters a great opportunity to create a flavour profile all of their own, one which they feel best evokes the holiday season. This usually means making a coffee which provides a cosy, comfortable feel, a good balance and – often – a flavour profile including nuttiness, chocolate and just a touch of spice or fruit.
To me, these coffees are perfect for drinking on Christmas morning while you watch the kids tear into their presents, or for enjoying with friends and family over a holiday-themed breakfast or brunch.
Here are two Irish coffee roasteries that are providing beautiful Christmas coffees in 2022.
Cloud Picker’s El Coyegual Christmas Coffee
Most Christmas coffees are blends, but Dublin-based Cloud Picker Coffee say that when they tried this single-origin Guatemalan bean, they knew right away that this would be their Christmas offering.
Cloud Picker is owned and operated by couple Frank Kavanagh and Peter Sztal and was established in 2013 as Dublin’s first micro-roastery. They roast weekly, in small batches, to order which ensures the freshness and quality control they look for.
Their beans are ethically sourced and supportive of coffee farmers’ rights and livelihoods.
This Christmas Coffee features deliciously spicy notes of chai, roasted chestnut and fruitcake. It comes in 250g or 1kg portions and you can purchase either in whole bean or ground to your specifications. Starts at €14.
Badger and Dodo Coffee Roasters Christmas Blend
Badger and Dodo are based in Co Cork. They were established in 2008 when Australian-born Brock Lewin moved to with his wife to her native Fermoy and began roasting beans with his father-in-law on their family farm. They roast in small batches which, among many other things, helps ensure the roast quality is as high as it can possibly be. It also enables them to work with more exclusive coffee beans which often come in smaller quantities.
I have never had a cup of Badger and Dodo coffee I haven’t loved, and I think this is in part because of the care they put into every roast, but equally from their rigorous selection and tasting processes.
Their 2022 Christmas blend is a crowd-pleasing brew comprised of 80% South American beans (Peruvian and Brazilian) with a sprinkling of 40% Ethiopian beans for good measure. As a result, the flavour profile gives off hints of roasted chestnuts, chocolate and red berries (more specifically, Badger and Dodo highlight a Black Forest Gateau as one of the main flavour profiles – fun!).
You can purchase this coffee from 250g to 2.5kg portions, with prices starting at €13.01.
It's getting cold ... let's ditch the wine and indulge in some Irish beer
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