Written by Kevin Whalen

3/1/2026

I love to travel, and part of that for me is exploring the coffee houses and coffee culture in other places.

I was in Dublin, Ireland, in October, and I wandered the city each day, which included finding a place or two to have a coffee. They have many independent coffee houses and small chains, so lots to explore (and yes, there were Starbucks too, and I have no doubt the strength of their sameness was present in the Irish Starbucks as in the US).

I didn’t see any coffee drive-up windows in the city. I talked with a couple of the baristas, and they explained that people in Ireland probably drink less coffee per day than the average US coffee drinker, but they may be a bit more particular. Still, there were several walk-up take-away shops (with a few stools where people stood outside chatting).

I found a couple of shops called Hypergoat, which is a funny name because it seems to refer to the legend of the Ethiopian goatherd whose goats became "hyper" after eating coffee cherries. There were a couple of stools inside, but the Hypergoats I saw seem to cater to busy people who work in the area and want a good coffee to go (in my old age, I do prefer a real cup for coffee).

I found several places I liked, but the one place I enjoyed more was a small chain called Coffee Angel. My flat white was perfect each time. An important distinction is that I’m not a coffee snob, but I know what I like (if you prefer instant coffee, all the best to you . . . .)

Coffee Angel was laid out like a lot of coffee shops I see in Europe - bright, simple but functional, lots of seating. And it included a long community table that seats over 20. The big table is not to reserve in advance, it’s to follow the tradition of hundreds of years ago where complete strangers from different walks of life could enjoy a coffee and conversation (as a related aside, I’ve read that coffee culture spurred the Age of Enlightenment because people who would never interact were suddenly sitting next to each other and chatting away while perhaps a bit wired on caffeine).

*Interior of Coffee Angel by Kevin Whalen*

Coffee Angel had an interesting history. The owner was a journalist covering the Northern Ireland “troubles” in the 1990s, and he was wounded while covering events. While recovering at home in Canada, he decided a different line of work would be better, so he went back to Belfast, started a very successful coffee wagon, which he then sold and invested in a full-service restaurant in Dublin. The restaurant failed, and with it went all his earlier profits, so he got a loan from a family member to start a coffee wagon in Dublin. This humble beginning has grown into nine full-service coffee shops. I loved his tenacity and his ability to succeed twice in a very competitive coffee world.

I was struck by how busy all the shops seemed to be at all times of day, yet the seating areas never seemed messy. I realized it’s due to staffing - unlike so many American coffee shops that will leave a table with spills and empty cups, most of the European shops had staff that immediately cleaned up, so the table was ready to go for the next customer.

It seemed less about the quality of the workers and more about sheer numbers. If you have barely enough workers to keep up with taking orders and making drinks, you’re making the choice that it’s an acceptable experience for your customers to clean up after the slobs who previously occupied a table. Not all customers are slobs, of course. And not all coffee shops are understaffed, but it does seem to be more common in larger chains in the US.

I liked the coffee and the atmosphere, and chatting away with people and hearing their stories. There are so many smaller shops and smaller chains, and each one has its own personality. Until next time . . . .

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