Coffee Journal

Evalynn

If you ever worked as a barista, there is no doubt you fantasised about having your own coffee shop. To design the look and feel and apply your very own philosophy is a dream that takes blood, sweat, and tears to come to fruition. Niall realised his dream! Established in early 2022, Niall Weldon chose the name ‘Evalynn’ for his café.  Evalynn, much like the name suggests, has an elegant interior influenced by Asian contemporary design. The café welcomes you with a bright, spacious, and minimalistic aesthetic, while functionality plays a pivotal role right through to the finer details. A striking feature in the shop comes in the form of beautiful works of art from local artist and Glebe Gallery Prize Winner, Jenny Campion. Entering the cafe, you are greeted by friendly staff, the sight of fresh flowers, and the aroma of just-baked goods by Grace, the in-house Baker. To top off the senses, a choice of specialty coffee that caters to all taste buds awaits your order. From your favourite milky coffee beverage to a range of filter, home-brewing options, Evalynn truly is a welcomed addition to the local community and a big step up for the coffee scene in Drogheda. An amazing team, coupled with exceptional coffee equipment shows that Niall cut no corners when it comes to offering you the best. Nicole, Abigail, Adam, Lorcan, Niall, or Rachel, will make your perfectly extracted, perfectly steamed, and perfectly presented coffee to brighten your day. While Effie, who is front-of-house will make sure your order arrives at your table Niall seems like a shy person, but he is not hiding his smile while he is talking about his team, he is very proud of them and the family-like bond they created – especially when we talked about Rachel. Rachel ‘The Boss’ (as Niall says) has been involved since the beginning, working tirelessly alongside Niall to coordinate the shop design, installation, and final touches. What makes Niall and Rachel such a perfect duo is their alignment when talking about Evalynn’s mission – to strive for perfection and make coffee that sparks smiles and creates core memories. Niall and Rachel are no strangers in our roastery. We are more than happy to see their faces and have been known to look for any ‘excuse’ to meet up and chat about coffee, work on recipes, or cup some new arrivals. Throw our head roaster Niko into the mix and we could end up spending hours immersed in coffee convos! For Niall, Specialty has influenced many new friendships and he has some great stories connecting with like-minded people from coffee-loving capitals such as Dublin, London, and Milan. Specialty is a community that loves to share passions and experiences and it is evident Niall has truly been captivated. Evalynn’s relationship with Bell Lane started as a spontaneous conversation between Niall and Bell Lane’s Head of Sales, Gail Henshall, in 2021, which kickstarted a relationship that quickly grew to new heights for both parties. Through many passionate conversations, it became clear that Niall was a man with incredible vision who had his heart set on pushing the boundaries of Evalynn’s already exceptional reputation. Paired with Bell Lane’s desire to challenge its capability as a roaster, we began to discuss the possibility of a collaboration. Fast forward through months of planning, Santa Petrona’s black honey processed coffee is now available as an exclusive roast for Evalynn. The driving force behind this collaboration was to offer something unique to Evalynn’s customers, giving them the ultimate specialty experience. And by doing so, we also set an example of what an ideal roaster/specialty coffee shop partnership looks like. It is a delicate job to keep the green beans in ideal conditions on their journey from farm to roaster. From this point on, both coffee roasters and coffee shops have a shared duty to capture and highlight the coffee aromas - justifying the hard work of the coffee farmers. The slightest error or slip of the hand can compromise quality - and we are not willing to compromise anything! If you are reading this while you are holding a cup of coffee from Evalynn you might notice the rich body of Santa Petrona with subtle Cherry and Cranberry acidity, wrapped in a dark chocolate finish. We hope you enjoy 😊

#KeepGrinding - SCA Professional Course

  It was about time to get this done, and finally, I did it (or better say WE did it!) 😊 It took three days of intensive training with Alin who owns and runs Coffee Laboratory which offers coffee training and consultancy. Coffee Lab is the only institution in Ireland to hold an SCA Premier Campus license for all modules. Let’s say that again: All modules! And I think that says a lot… but, not everything about Alin Giriada! After passing SCA Intermediate, SCA professional was the next logical step and with support from my colleagues and Bell Lane itself, that bucket lister is done! Day one was all about Coffee and Espresso: - Green and roasted beans, terroir, coffee plant, varieties, processing, fermentation, roasting, decaffeinating, etc. Day two was all about Espresso and Milk:- Espresso quality, acids, EBF, TDS, equipment, Water quality, Milk, etc. Day three was about coffee shops and of course the practical exam.- Café location, layout, staffing financials, etc. The exam was really interesting, I got coffee that I had not used before and I had to set up the recipe by taste, explain it and at the end confirm it by measuring TDS with a refractometer. Enjoyed every step of this process. What is next? – We’ll see, but I’m 100% sure that this SCA journey is not ending here, and that’s another reason why Coffee, with Coffee learning and developing is never-ending so #keepgrinding is there for a reason.

London Coffee Festival

We caught up with Goran, our Sales Manager who attended the 2022 London Coffee Festival. Her Is what he had to say 😊 Overcrowded Dublin airport didn’t stop us in our goal to visit London Coffee Festival 2022. Festival itself attracts over 30 000 visitors, and it hosts around 250 coffee or coffee-related stalls. Being first time here, I have to say London is definitely place to be, at least in this part of the Europe. LCF started for first time 2011 and from then it's been a platform for many well known coffee roasters, micro-roasters, farmers, coffee enthusiasts, foodies, coffee machine manufacturers and all sorts of people from coffee industry enjoying good vibes and good coffee. It was great to see how much the coffee industry advanced towards sustainability. ‘’Compostable, recyclable, reusable, sustainable’’ were words that were spoken from every single presenter at the festival. It’s was nice to see the responsibility of everyone involved in this coffee world. In the end, we have to preserve this planet as much as possible, this is only planet where coffee is growing😊. At the festival, I spent most of my time talking with coffee roasters, such a great feeling being surrounded with all those amazing people who share the same passion. I wish the rest of Bell Lane team was there with me, but all I could do is share some pictures and bring some coffee so we can taste together and discuss. Vibrant coffee scene of London has a lot to offer and as well as going to the festival, we got to experienced few iconic coffee shops. Kaffeine was one of them and we found the secret behind their success. Secret is: there are no secrets! Amazing customer service from everyone especially Jess (manager), Simplicity in offer but everything they serve is fresh, and quality over quantity is definitely their policy. Whatever I tried, it tasted like holidays 😊 If I have to sum up my experience in one sentence it might sound like cliché but: Coffee is not just beverage, Coffee is lifestyle. Goran Gojic

Why filter coffee?

Before automation in the coffee industry and the invention of the beloved espresso machine, filter coffee was the norm. The use of a filter has been a household essential since the early 17th Century.  Home brewers used material or muslin to filter ground coffee, separating the coffee from the liquid. This was a brewing basic until the invention of the paper filter approx. 200 years later. Today we see the resurgence of filter coffee also known as pour-over or Drip coffee as the new alternative brewing method, used by millions every day. This surge in brewing can be attributed to a few basic factors. Cost of entry - Brewing equipment is cheap; you can get a basic set up for less than a Saturday night take away. Pre-ground coffee is widely available, and everyone has a kettle in the kitchen. Knowledge - This brewing method is one of the simplest, you can achieve a very tasty cup with very little experience. All you need in the process is you, coffee, water and a little imagination. Portable – brewing should be enjoyed everywhere, with the advantage that you can bring your chosen filter brewer, AeroPress or v60 with you to the park, in the car or even on holidays. You will never be stuck for a fresh brew. Flavours – The perfect filter brew can achieve very tasty results, with a bag of freshly roasted coffee, ground as required. We would always suggest that you grind fresh and purchase a small hand grinder. The results can be outstanding, proving you don’t need expensive equipment to achieve coffee excellence.  Controllable – Pourover coffee makes it simple to take full control over how strong every cup is. With limitless room for experimentation and striking the ideal balance, pouring consistently excellent cups every time becomes a walk in the park. We always recommend you start brewing with a ration of 60g coffee to 1 litre of water, once you have grasped the correct grind, you can adjust to your taste. So next time you think you need all the high-tech gadgets on the market to produce a superb cup of coffee, think again! Stephen BellCo – FounderBell lane Coffee

Saying Goodbye to the Bean & Wings

Bell Lane Coffee started in 2012, both Stephen & I were unemployed, and we had three children under the age of 5. We always shared a similar goal, to work for ourselves, it was ingrained in both our DNA’s having grown up in that space, witnessing first-hand our parents' business ventures.