Brewing up a storm

THE logic that typically prevails during an economic downturn is: when money is tight, the luxuries fall by the wayside.

Until recently that was certainly the fate predicted for Irish coffee culture, which was one of the defining and most ostentatious characteristics of the Celtic Tiger boom years.

But, almost three years into a recession, the coffee market in Ireland is proving to be surprisingly resilient. That’s not to say that there haven’t been shifts in both the market and in customer’s attitudes and expectations. One of the biggest changes is the increase in popularity of home coffee-making machines: if the low-fat, double-shot, extra-hot latte in fashionable take-away cup with recycled heat-protection sleeve was an ubiquitous image from the boom years, the plastic portable coffee flask containing home-made brew is one for the post-Tiger era.