Java Republic Above and Beyond the Bean!

The Java Republic café in Ballycoolin stands out like a sore thumb – in a good way – from all of the faceless grey warehouses and factories that inhabit this place.

The tinted plate glass exterior allows you just enough of a view of the busy interior to make you want to enter. External seating is made from upcycled distressed old coffee pallets and crates and are adorned with cushions made from the hessian sacks that the raw coffee beans are delivered in. This first encounter with the Java Republic organisation is a hint of what you might meet once you enter the building; this is an innovative company that looks at things in a totally different way to achieve practical and exciting outcomes.

Once inside, the senses are assaulted from all angles – the hum of the grinders and soft whirr of the milk steamers punctuated by the thud of the spent grinds being deposited into the knock out box all throwing the essence of fresh coffee into the air with a heady, warming aroma.

Your eyes are immediately drawn to the huge glass wall at the far-end of the café which you then realise is not a wall at all…but a window that allows you to look into the roastery where your coffee beans are being prepared. Industrious staff who have become accustomed to the curious gaze of newcomers to the café go about their business in the spotlessly clean roast house. You can watch the staff blending and pouring the dull green beans into the roaster and then the resulting alchemy as the roasted brown beans full of flavour pop in the air as they are cooled.

If this experience doesn’t make you want a coffee then nothing will. As you stand in line you are struck by the dance of the baristas in front of you. Moving rapidly between the grinder, coffee head and steamer in practiced motions, never bumping their colleague beside them and never spilling a drop. The ritual of making the coffee is part of the whole experience for me.

Java Republic produces a large range of coffees, my personal favourite is naturally their Organic Blue Earth Coffee that is a blend of Organic Mexican and Peruvian Beans. It produces a bold, big bodied coffee that combines notes of roasted hazelnuts, sweet raspberry with a dark chocolate finish.

But coffee is not the only speciality of this innovative organisation. Java produces a huge range of excellent organic herbal teas and organic hot chocolate.

The range of organic herbal teas made by Java offer one of the largest varieties on the market at present. The teas are served in a silken pillow to maximise the infusion of the herbs with hot water. With an herbal tea that will suit any occasion you will be spoiled for choice with this excellent range.

As if all of this is not enough, Java have also managed to select an Organic Hot Chocolate that is luxurious and velvety and is loved by adults and kids alike.

You can now enjoy the Java Republic Café experience in Molesworth Street as well as the Roastery in Ballycoolin – for more information check out www.javarepublic.com