This past Friday, we had the pleasure of visiting one of our first suppliers in Dublin. And where best to start? COFFEE, of course!
The team headed out on a brisk sunny Friday morning to visit our friends at Full Circle Roasters at their roastery on Grantham Place, and what a (caffeine-filled) trip we had. Dave and the team first showed us around their roastery and gave us a little snippet of how Full Circle Roasters came to be.
*Feature photo: Julien and Tamás participating in a cupping session at Full Circle Roasters in Dublin
Let the coffee tasting begin
Before too long, we got into the (delicious) business of tasting coffee.
Dave, Nat and Catriona set up a cupping session for us, which involves tasting multiple coffees for quality control. It was immediate. We were HOOKED!
The team laid out 3 uniquely delicious coffees on the cupping table: a Brazilian, Guatemalan, and Kenyan. Nat explained the process behind cupping and why they do it, and after waiting the allotted time, we started to slurp!
When you’re cupping coffee for QC purposes, the idea is to slurp as loudly as you can. Slurping the coffee allows the taster to get a better sense of flavour. This is because you take in air with a sip of coffee, giving it a chance to aerate. It also better distributes the coffee more evenly across the tongue and palate. This technique means you can register the taste sensations in more detail. Now you know!
Please note: It’s impossible to look cool the first time you use the ‘slurp’ tasting technique. So relax, have fun, and whatever you do – don’t be so serious about it. Just lean into it.
Question time for the Full Circle Roasters
After the tasting, the Fooditude team were brimming with questions, and we got the answers.
Their roasting machine? That’s a Probat Protatone L12 Roaster, we’d have you know. It can roast 10KG of beans at a time.
How is the coffee roasted? Their speciality roast takes roughly 11-12 minutes from start to finish. Every single roast is profiled with tech called Cropster. Every roast is tracked.
What does ‘first crack’ mean? This is an industry term that describes the chemical process where moisture is taken out of the beans – and it sounds just like making popcorn.
What happens after the roasting? The coffee is dropped into a cooling tray beneath the roaster to rest in containers for seven to ten days, then shipped to the lucky customers.
Are the beans sourced ethically? Yes! Full Circle Roasters sources their beans through direct trade. This means better prices for the coffee farmer, higher quality beans for the roaster and a more transparent supply chain without the nasty bits.
A photo of the Probat Protatone L12 Roaster at Full Circle Coffee Roasters in Dublin
It’s a wrap!
We loved our outing to Full Circle. Now we know the amount of work that goes into proper coffee a.k.a speciality grade coffee. The Full Circle Roasters taught us a lot about what it takes to make exceptional coffee. We can’t wait to work more closely with Full Circle Roasters to give busy Dublin workers their morning hit of caffeine. Interested? Check out how we can fill your office with killer coffee and tasty snacks.
Fancy giving the Full Coffee Roasters a follow?
Stay in the loop with the Full Circle Roasters on Twitter or Facebook, or if you’re feeling frivolous – follow them on Insta too!
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