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IRISH TIMES UNA MULLALLY - Cloud Picker Sam Blend (which for my money is the best coffee available on the Irish market)

I don’t know how other people who work from home deal with afternoon nourishment, but my main lunchtime ritual is wandering around the living room absentmindedly eating slices of ham.

Sometimes I wrap the slice of ham around a slice of cheese and eat that. I believe something like this snack was the cornerstone of the Atkins diet, so if it’s good enough for Jennifer Aniston…

Sometimes I wish I could get freshly made lunch portions of delicious things delivered to my door, but then I realise that kind of codology belongs on the list of Ways We Wasted Money: 2002 - 2007, like hiring dog walkers and buying fridges the size of Cian Healy.

Colm Tobin said in a recent interview with Kathy Sheridan that meeting someone for lunch is “an awful waste of time” and this has been weighing heavily on my mind. I often arrange lunch meetings or catchups, and now I realise that I’ve been doing so to avoid working mid-afternoon, which is a win for procrastination but a fail for productivity.

If I’m being honest, most of my consumption revolves around coffee. One mug of espresso-strength coffee in the morning, which is the punch in the face I need to successfully roar at whatever latest national screwup is being reported on MorningIreland, followed by a pot of lighter Cloud Picker Sam Blend (which for my money is the best coffee available on the Irish market) sipped at intervals, and that leads me to lunch, and the inevitable ham-daydreaming combo.

When I cook, I often cook in bulk, so dinner becomes next day’s lunch; chorizo and chicken hotpots, chilli, curries that take three hours to make and therefore are a fantastic way to procrastinate. You can’t give out to me for wasting time! I’m cooking!

Occasionally I get bursts of virtuousness that are inextricably linked to whatever food fad is on the go that I feel pressured by artisan deli menus and ‘what’s hot’ lists to get involved in. In the recent past, this has meant kale salads, which I am now over. Most recently I made a completely flavourless black quinoa (impossible to cook), pearl barley and butternut squash salad. I called this Halloween Salad. It haunted the fridge in various tupperware containers until I threw it out.

Food slumps are the enemy of getting things done, so although I have absolutely no qualifications in the area of nutrition, I do recommend eating as little as possible during the day so your body emits a jittery and caffeinated sort of productivity.

That’s science.

I frequently go well into the evening without eating anything significant, which is terrible, and will probably prompt a letter to the editor from my mother.

Let the record show I had porridge this morning.

Irish Times 13 November 2014 

CLOUD PICKER & GOOGLE - WEBSUMMIT 2014

We were delighted to be asked by Google to be their coffee partner for the Web Summit !!! 

DUBLIN COFFEE & TEA FESTIVAL (12-14 SEPT)

The Dublin Coffee & Tea Festival is a show dedicated to celebrating all that's new and exciting on the Coffee and Tea scene. 

From harvesting to brewing and artisan catering to equipment, this show will showcase every aspect of the coffee & tea world and all the enjoyment that goes with it! There will even be a roasters village so do come and say hello!

IAC 2014

So, Cloud Picker was one of the sponsors for the 2014 Irish Aeropress Competition! And what an event is was too. A big thanks to Lorcan O'Fagan for being 'the bestest' organiser! Well done Monika who was overall winner. Off to Rimini you go! Check out her recipe below.

Monika’s Winning Brew Recipe - 2014 Irish Aeropress Championship

15G of Konga Co-op freshly & finely ground (just a little coarser than espresso) 
240ML of H2o at approx 94 deg C 
Total brew time 60 seconds

1) Pour hot H2o down inner wall of AP to ensure complete saturation & maximise turbulence 
2) Stir fully only once 
3) Begin plunge with 20 seconds remaining
4) Cease plunge when you hear the hiss of air
5) Decant into appropriate drinking vessel & let rest for a minute or two
6) Enjoy!

www.irishaeropress.tumblr.com

Trip to Brazil

In December 2013 we headed off to origin (Brazil) and met the super people behind the beautiful Bob-O-Link coffee, Felipe Barretto Croce & his father, Marcos .... ah no that's Peter in the image! We have since imported this coffee and have limited stock available. An amazing coffee.. but what's more... it's organic and has allowed the Bob-o-Link bird to survive! A lovely story. 

London Coffee Festival

Who can resist a trip to London? Especially when it involves coffee.
So off we went.