Instant coffee is not coffee at all. For me, it’s the slug in the salad, as enjoyable as a cup of instant mud, and bearing no relation to the wholly superior whole bean. In today’s Irish Independent, journalist Tina Leonard talks to barista champions about the horrors of Carte Noire, Kenco, and the most grevious [...]

I last flew out of Ireland in January, so these coffee prices from Dublin airport may have changed since then. But although prices may have gone up or down slightly, this should still be a reasonable guide to the best value coffees in the Food Hall. For research purposes, myself and my travelling companion drank [...]

The great consumer watchdog blog Value Ireland has posted today about looking for the cheapest coffee in Ireland.  Quite the coincidence, as I’ve been working on a bit of a rant.  I was in the IFSC yesterday for work and saw that the branch of O’Brien’s Sandwich Bar there had a sign outside saying ‘All [...]

A very good deal in Dunnes Stores cafes – all teas and coffees are just one cent with any purchase made after 2pm. It’s been many years since I ate in a Dunnes cafe, but I’ve heard they’re not too bad. The offer is valid until April 24.

The big feature in today’s Pricewatch column is about making your own lunch, and the effect of the recession on sandwich shops.  The founder of O’Brien’s sandwich shops makes the reasonable point that cafes are still required to pay high rents even when their business is drastically falling off. However, it’s difficult to feel too [...]

After running a post a couple of weeks back on offers from the coffee chains, we got some more tips on good places to get cheap coffee and lunchtime deals: Dee says her local Cafe To Go (in Sandyford Industrial estate) have 2 for the price of 1 coffees between 9:30 and 10:30 and again [...]

The always entertaining Nordie food blog Food and Drink has a great new feature – the Coffee Phantom advises us about how to get good value for coffee: £2 is the most you should pay in a coffee shop for any type of coffee (approx €2.25 exchange rate fans). If you want to accessorise it [...]

We covered fast food offers here last week,  but for those of you who like a bit more dignity with your lunchtime (you’re kidding yourselves!) there are also these offers currently available from the chain cafes: Insomnia: Any sandwich + any tea/coffee €5 Cafe Sol: Value sandwich + hot tea/coffee €4.50 Cafe Sol: Pastry + [...]

Peter wrote a while back about saving money on takeaway coffee, which does seem to have reached ridiculous costs in Ireland at the moment.  I decided last week to get an espresso maker for my office, so I could cut back on expensive takeaway coffee and sugary powdered cappuccinos (or ‘crappuccinos’). I was a bit [...]

This story in The Irish Times made me sit up and think about the amount of money I waste on take-away coffee. I’ve dug out my old flask, so next time I’m working in town (I go into the office about once a week), I’m going to fill it up with a Palombini blend – [...]