It’s the start of another week, the third-ish of the year, and this week it turns out I’ve a few coffee-related posts coming your way, beginning with the first in a new series for the blog, Coffee of the Month. Pair that with my book of the month suggestion and we’ll have right craic.
One of Ireland’s first speciality micro coffee roasting companies, Ariosa was set up in 2003 by Michael Kelly.
One of the OGs when it comes to Irish roasteries, the 20 years since have seen the Meath outfit open two cafés – one on Drogheda’s Lawrence St., along with Ariosa by the Sea in Laytown, Co. Meath. If you’re chasing a single-origin coffee, they’ve got you covered with offerings from Colombia, Ethiopia, El Salvador, Rwanda, Nicaragua and more. Such is one of their core values – to bring the very best single-origin speciality coffees from around the world to you.
Pay a visit to their website, hit the mailing list and you’ll get 10% off your first coffee order. There, you’ll also find details of their coffee subscription service, options on brew gear, brewing guides for a variety of coffee setups, details on wholesale operations including cafe consultancy and barista training and more.
Coffee of the Month, January 2024
In an entirely new feature for Ken On Food, as I get to grips with the Sage Barista Pro that I splashed out on in the post-Christmas sales, I’ve gone and picked Ariosa’s Perfect Everyday, a blend, as the first Coffee of the Month for 2024.
Pitched as ‘a medium roast coffee that’s smooth, balanced and delicious’, it’s hitting the spot for me this weather as a morning brew. It’s a blend of beans from Brazil and Honduras (I opted for whole beans so I can grind it at home) and pours with notes of chocolate with a hint of caramel, which could be that slight sweetness coming in on the tail end. Sure, it’s taken me two or three attempts to get it pouring the way I would like, or at least the way it’s recommended but there will be no hesitation in picking up more from their range. Their own brew guide for espresso machines would have you grinding 19-21g coffee per cup.
I’ve stretched the bag just over a week (meaning herself probably hasn’t been hitting the 6am coffee before work) and at the time of purchase, it had been roasted under a month previous, sold into The Gourmet Store on High Street in Kilkenny. If you’re dropping in there, you’ll find plenty of coffee options but for the love of all things food, do yourself a favour and nab a Kilkenny with ketchup (old-school panini) while you’re there.
Available in the standard 250g and 1kg bags from whole bean through coarse, medium, fine and AeroPress-friendly grinds. Price locally and online €9 (250g).
