Creed Coffee Roasters, with coffee shops in both Kildare and Dublin, is one of Ireland’s leading speciality coffee roasters. As someone from Celbridge, I am very familiar with their coffee shop on the main street. However, last month, I had the opportunity to visit their roastery where I met Declan, one of the owners, and Cecilia, a barista and roaster, for a chat and a tour of the roastery. Following this, I also visited their coffee shops in Dublin, on Pearse Street and the hatch in Rathmines. I can safely say, I am a solid Creed Coffee fan!
The Roasting
This was my first time seeing a coffee roaster in action. When I walked into the warehouse, I could hear a soft whir of the roasting machine, and the smell of fresh coffee, which was rich and warm, lay thick in the air. When I looked into the cooling tray I could see that they had just roasted a batch. The agitator arms were rotating slowly to prevent the beans from continuing to roast, as the beans come out of the roaster extremely hot.
Declan explained that the green, raw coffee beans are poured into the hopper at the top of the roasting machine (which Cecilia elegantly demonstrated later), and while the beans roast the roasters have to monitor things such as the colour and temperature of the beans during the process, how long it takes to roast, the Rate of Rise (RoR)1, and the popping sound of the gases and moisture escaping.
The Coffee
As we chatted, Cecilia kindly prepared me a black coffee using freshly roasted (and cooled) beans from Colombia. I daren’t say it, as it’s not the Irish thing to be gushing, but it was, quite simply, the best cup of coffee I have ever had. I had let it cool slightly as I was yapping away to Declan about what coffees they have.
Creed Coffee Roasters have four core house coffees2:
- Brazil – Santa Lúcia: Chocolate, caramel, brown sugar. Citric acidity and sweet finish.
- Colombia – Popayan Reserve: Milk chocolate and cane sugar base. Subtle orange peel and maple syrup notes.
- Skipper Blend – Brazil Santa Lucia 50%, Colombian Popayan 25%, Guatemala Waykan 25%: Creamy body with a stone fruit taste leaving a smooth clean finish.
- Decaf – Colombia: Notes of apricot, a caramel body, and a lingering honeyed finish.
They also have seasonal coffees. This summer’s offerings:
- Colombia – Matambo: A rich cup with notes of milk chocolate and cane sugar sweetness, layered with browned butter and a subtle hint of orange peel. This is what I tried and I could definitely taste the subtle citrus come through. Yum!
- Burundi – Gatukuza: Notes of tangerine, toffee and honey over a caramel base.
- Guatemala – Santa Rosa: This coffee has a fruity fragrance over a cocoa base, with notes of caramel and praline. The cup is sweet, with a smooth body, mild acidity, and a long, chocolatey finish.
Coffee subscriptions are available online and you can choose either the ‘house coffee’ or ‘roasters choice’. You can also buy all coffees in their coffee shops.
Where It All Began
Creed Coffee Roasters opened its doors in Celbridge coming on ten years ago, in October, 2016. It was set up by Celbridge natives and childhood friends, Declan and Paul, after returning to Ireland from working abroad for many years. Declan had worked across the world in various roles including construction and mining in places such as Scotland and Australia.
It was in Melbourne that his love of coffee truly began. Which isn’t surprising as the city has one of the strongest and most distinctive coffee cultures in the world, with a thriving café scene and a strong focus on speciality coffee.
The seed had been set in Australia and when Declan returned to Ireland, he found a very different coffee landscape. Speciality coffee was still in its infancy here, and a good-quality coffee often meant travelling into Dublin city. Once, while standing in a queue at a Dublin coffee shop, he overheard a conversation between a customer and a barista. A woman asked the barista for a little more milk in her coffee, explaining that she was used to Nescafé. The response was: “You’ll have to go somewhere else for that.”
For Declan, the exchange highlighted a gap in Irish coffee culture. It was a moment that helped crystallise the idea that would eventually become Creed Coffee Roasters – to share Melbourne’s same passion for coffee without the pretentiousness he had encountered in Dublin.
Since opening the roastery and original coffee shop in Celbridge, Creed Coffee Roasters has gone from strength to strength. What began with an idea inspired by Melbourne’s coffee culture has grown into a successful Kildare speciality coffee business, built on a passion for quality coffee and a desire to make it more accessible.
The business has expanded to two Dublin locations – Pearse Street and the coffee hatch in Rathmines; with its roasted coffee beans now delivered to customers across Ireland and beyond.
Creed Coffee Roasters have also become a regular presence at coffee festivals, including the Dublin Coffee Festival, connecting with coffee lovers and sharing its passion for speciality coffee.
The Heart of Celbridge
I had been working abroad for about a decade and returned to Celbridge a little over a year ago and was taken aback by how much the village, now town I suppose, has changed. It has become a very different landscape – several new housing estates, building-use changes etc. But it was not only the physical landscape that changed. The way people now use it has changed as well.
For generations, the church or pubs had been the focal points of village life. Now, I have noticed a different kind of hub emerging in the county of Kildare – coffee shops. They have become places to meet, socialise, date, work, read and spend time. When I came back I was struck by just how many coffee shops had popped up in Celbridge. Any time you pass Creed Coffee Roasters there are always people sitting outside at the tables drinking their coffee and chatting, and inside, the place always seems to be full of people – and why wouldn’t it given the great coffee?!
But there is something more to Creed than grabbing a drink. It has become a social space, and a new kind of community hub. Declan mentioned a group of retired men that pop in every morning for their coffee and a chat, making it part of their daily routine; and also, a local wellness group, The Happy Pace, meet there after their run/walks, to name but a few.
Creed Coffee Roasters is not just about great coffee, it is about creating a place where people feel comfortable coming together. In many ways, this brings Declan’s journey full circle: the passion for coffee he discovered in Melbourne has found a home in Celbridge, in a space that is welcoming, accessible and part of the landscape of everyday life in the town.
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