3FE Coffee

jive · 19-02-2017 01:36PM

As long as people pay it, they can charge it. I've gotten beans and espresso in there before, neither were for me but that's not saying they were bad.

From the outside looking in, they've done really well which has forged the way for many other 'third wave' cafes to open up or expand in Dublin (along with those listed above). It's great to see independent cafes opening up rather than closing only for a Starbucks, caffe Nero or costa coffee to pop up with their 10,450th store.

You can always vote with your wallet!

Amirani · 19-02-2017 02:30PM

J_E wrote: »

Totally off the ball. Third Wave is one of the best things to happen to cafes and I am so thrilled that Dublin are on point with it. I was in Switzerland last week and the general standard of coffee was not on par. It was hard to find a place that didn't put out cheap machine-made coffee for €5 a pop. All industrial beans. Was thoroughly disappointed. I don't think people know just how good we have it here. The point is now you have a wealth of flavours, not just 'dark'. Don't like the light roasts? Just go somewhere else and see what they offer! Cafes have their own signature tastes, it's so great.

Agree completely. Outside of maybe Australia, Dublin has arguably the most diverse and vibrant coffee scene of any city of its size in the world. The volume of places selling really good coffee has exploded in the past few years, with a lot of it related to the much maligned "third wave".

limnam · 19-02-2017 04:09PM

I haven't been to 3FE in years. Not by choice. But really loved when it was in the pepper.

It was a bit different then as you were generally served by "the man" himself who makes the most amazing coffee and to this day have only had better outside of Ireland.

His knowledge and enthusiasm for all things coffee was all part of the experience for me and would be happy to pay 3.50 and more for that.

He's one man and doesn't sound like he scales well.

Disappointing to hear people are not having a "real" 3FE experience anymore I'll have to try and get back and see how it's changed

carrieb · 20-02-2017 04:13PM

3FE coffee is not middle of the road, appealing to the masses, it's marmite. People either LOVE it or HATE it. I'm a fan but I know many people who do find it far too bitter... and many people who refuse to wait the 10 mins it takes for your coffee to be made. For me it's worth it!

There is a great coffee scene in Dublin at the moment. Loads of great independent shops popping up and doing a great job.

Lilliput Stores in Stoneybatter does great coffee and I've recently discovered Granthams on Aungier St - both highly recommended.

I'd pay €3.50 for a coffee in 3FE all day long rather then the crazy money for the dishwater that comes from the automatic machine in Starbucks!

J_E · 20-02-2017 09:18PM

carrieb wrote: »

I'd pay €3.50 for a coffee in 3FE all day long rather then the crazy money for the dishwater that comes from the automatic machine in Starbucks!

OK, but I think it's only fair to compare like to like. There are places charging €3 that are phenomenal.

carrieb · 21-02-2017 04:40PM

J_E wrote: »

OK, but I think it's only fair to compare like to like. There are places charging €3 that are phenomenal.

Fair point but TBH it's getting to the stage that €3.50 is the norm in Dublin city (in the new indie shops). I paid €3 today but it was a 6oz cup!! I hate large cups but even for me this was tiny.

All My Stars Aligned · 21-02-2017 05:36PM

One thing I always find strange is how shops using 3FE beans can sell coffee for about 50c cheaper then 3FE themselves.

Bottleopener · 21-02-2017 05:43PM

All My Stars Aligned wrote: »

One thing I always find strange is how shops using 3FE beans can sell coffee for about 50c cheaper then 3FE themselves.

Thats because there is a big difference between the generic blends such as the Malarkey Blend that 3fe sell to a lot of retailers and the single origin stuff you get in the shop itself. Just because it has the 3fe logo on it doesnt mean that you are getting the same generic coffee every single time. The SO stuff has higher cost at production level, and as such will obviously be more expensive. You cant just make a straight comparison like that!

Eoin_g · 21-02-2017 09:24PM

Bottleopener wrote: »

Thats because there is a big difference between the generic blends such as the Malarkey Blend that 3fe sell to a lot of retailers and the single origin stuff you get in the shop itself. Just because it has the 3fe logo on it doesnt mean that you are getting the same generic coffee every single time. The SO stuff has higher cost at production level, and as such will obviously be more expensive. You cant just make a straight comparison like that!

I wouldn't call their blends "generic". I'm not 100% on this but I'm pretty sure 3fe coffee is the same as hasbean in the uk. If so, their blends are a mix of "SO" beans just blended for a different flavour. Blends are common for espresso and often better than SO.

Bottleopener · 22-02-2017 03:08PM

Eoin_g wrote: »

I wouldn't call their blends "generic". I'm not 100% on this but I'm pretty sure 3fe coffee is the same as hasbean in the uk. If so, their blends are a mix of "SO" beans just blended for a different flavour. Blends are common for espresso and often better than SO.

Sorry, bad phrasing there! What I moreso meant is that if you go into 3fe's bricks and mortar shop itself, you are likely getting limited run unique beans (usually a selection of 3 or 4 on offer) which have higher production costs than the blends 3fe make which are on sale in other coffee shops.

For example, you see this "Momentum Blend" often in cafes around Dublin: https://shop.3fe.com/product/momentum-blend , whereas a coffee like this: https://shop.3fe.com/product/costa-rica-farami-de-dota-red-honey-catuai, would more often be on sale in 3fes own shop. As can be seen the momentum blend is cheaper even to buy in bean form, so its natural that the other one linked costs more when on sale.

This wasnt a critique of the quality of the Momentum/Malarkey blends, just highlighting to the above user why you may see other shops serving coffee roasted by 3fe at a lower price than a coffee which is on sale in 3fe itself

All My Stars Aligned · 22-02-2017 05:31PM

Bottleopener wrote: »

Sorry, bad phrasing there! What I moreso meant is that if you go into 3fe's bricks and mortar shop itself, you are likely getting limited run unique beans (usually a selection of 3 or 4 on offer) which have higher production costs than the blends 3fe make which are on sale in other coffee shops.

For example, you see this "Momentum Blend" often in cafes around Dublin: https://shop.3fe.com/product/momentum-blend , whereas a coffee like this: https://shop.3fe.com/product/costa-rica-farami-de-dota-red-honey-catuai, would more often be on sale in 3fes own shop. As can be seen the momentum blend is cheaper even to buy in bean form, so its natural that the other one linked costs more when on sale.

This wasnt a critique of the quality of the Momentum/Malarkey blends, just highlighting to the above user why you may see other shops serving coffee roasted by 3fe at a lower price than a coffee which is on sale in 3fe itself

To my mind this still does not justify the price 3FE charge as many other cafes, after paying premium prices form some of the worlds best roasters, still manage to charge considerable less.

To be honest, when I used to frequent the place, granted that was some time ago, more often then not the coffee, by speciality coffee standards, was average at best. Things may have improved.

Also, having worked in many very busy specialty coffee shops, both in Ireland and elsewhere, the time it takes to prepare drinks is ridicules. Again, this may have improved.

Anyway, each to their own.

adrian522 · 25-02-2017 02:08PM

For value for money it will be hard to beat Nicks in Ranelagh. €1 espresso, €1.50 double. €2 Flat White/Cappuchino.

Free coffee if buying beans. I dont think its as good as some of the other more expensive places, but if you want great value for money you won't better than that anywhere.

J_E · 25-02-2017 11:38PM

adrian522 wrote: »

For value for money it will be hard to beat Nicks in Ranelagh. €1 espresso, €1.50 double. €2 Flat White/Cappuchino.

Free coffee if buying beans. I dont think its as good as some of the other more expensive places, but if you want great value for money you won't better than that anywhere.

And free if you are over 65! That place is wonderful, I just wish it was closer to me.

Triangular · 06-04-2017 02:26PM

The filter coffee in 3FE is nice but over-priced.

As far as I know, up until very recently, they weren't roasting their own. They were buying everything from HasBean in the UK. Considering how prolific they are on Social Media, I presume we would have been told about their amazing roasting capabilities by now if they were roasting their own.

Krusty_Clown · 06-04-2017 06:44PM

Triangular wrote: »

The filter coffee in 3FE is nice but over-priced.

As far as I know, up until very recently, they weren't roasting their own. They were buying everything from HasBean in the UK. Considering how prolific they are on Social Media, I presume we would have been told about their amazing roasting capabilities by now if they were roasting their own.

Like this? https://www.3fe.com/roastery/

Triangular · 07-04-2017 12:29PM

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

Triangular wrote: »

The filter coffee in 3FE is nice but over-priced.

As far as I know, up until very recently, they weren't roasting their own. They were buying everything from HasBean in the UK. Considering how prolific they are on Social Media, I presume we would have been told about their amazing roasting capabilities by now if they were roasting their own.

Like this? https://www.3fe.com/roastery/

Bingo!

OldBean · 07-04-2017 02:13PM

Triangular wrote: »

The filter coffee in 3FE is nice but over-priced.Â

As far as I know, up until very recently, they weren't roasting their own. They were buying everything from HasBean in the UK. Considering how prolific they are on Social Media, I presume we would have been told about their amazing roasting capabilities by now if they were roasting their own.

3FE have been roasting their own for the past 2-3 years. They recently moved to a bigger roastery due to demand.

Utijogs · 13-06-2017 11:23PM

Bought 250g bag of beans for €13 from 3fe which lasted me a weekend (I was shaking like a leaf come Sunday), and 1kg bag Lavazza super crema from <other Irish discount coffee crowd> for €23 which I can't wait to get rid of. The 3fe beans won hands down, but it's an expensive habit. SO is there anyone else in Ireland selling freshly roasted beans that lie between the two?

Bus Boy · 13-06-2017 11:29PM

Each to their own. Live close to 3FE and just don't get the hype. Spend a lot of time around the world drinking coffee and its average. Anyone tried SilverSkins Coffee? Now that's nice.

north south east west · 14-06-2017 06:40AM

Bus Boy wrote:

Each to their own. Live close to 3FE and just don't get the hype. Spend a lot of time around the world drinking coffee and its average. Anyone tried SilverSkins Coffee? Now that's nice.

Utijogs wrote:

Bought 250g bag of beans for â‚¬13 from 3fe which lasted me a weekend (I was shaking like a leaf come Sunday), and 1kg bag Lavazza super crema from for â‚¬23 which I can't wait to get rid of. The 3fe beans won hands down, but it's an expensive habit. SO is there anyone else in Ireland selling freshly roasted beans that lie between the two?

Badger and Dodo sell good quality beans and they cost about 9 euro for 250g

OldBean · 14-06-2017 07:15AM

Bus Boy wrote: »

Each to their own. Live close to 3FE and just don't get the hype. Spend a lot of time around the world drinking coffee and its average. Anyone tried SilverSkins Coffee? Now that's nice.

As you say, each to their own. I find Silverskins to be awful.

jwwb · 14-06-2017 09:22AM

I buy the kilo bag from Coffee Angel. Their Forza Gala blend which I find pretty good. Around the €23-28 mark

mossym · 14-06-2017 01:41PM

had 3fe subscription for a year, lovely coffee, now switched over to badger and dodo as recommended above, 1.25kg of coffee delivered last week, 39 euros, does me for a month. kg bag of the nefas is 30 euros and it's an excellent coffee. quickly became my favourite.

uncle_sam_ie · 14-06-2017 06:51PM

I'm thinking of starting a 6 month weekly subscription at €220 (250g) from Cloud Picker Coffee. Anyone using them? I like the idea of getting fresh coffee every week instead of every month.

All My Stars Aligned · 14-06-2017 08:15PM

Cloud Picker coffe is great, really underrated IMO.

MagicHumanDoll · 14-06-2017 08:28PM

uncle_sam_ie wrote: »

I'm thinking of starting a 6 month weekly subscription at €220 (250g) from Cloud Picker Coffee. Anyone using them? I like the idea of getting fresh coffee every week instead of every month.

Oxmantown (on luas lines just off of Capel St) do Cloud Picker and are superb value for money I find. One of the only places I go to that serves 8oz and 10oz Americanos at same price? (2.8-3 quid I think)

One coffee I enjoy is The Barn roasters from Berlin. They sell bags in First Draft and a few others places. Quite pricey but awesome stuff.

Utijogs · 14-06-2017 08:41PM

Great advice everyone! I'd no idea there were so many Irish roasters. Going to try Badger and Dodo first.

Bus Boy · 15-06-2017 12:42AM

north south east west wrote: »

Badger and Dodo sell good quality beans and they cost about 9 euro for 250g

Will try Badger and Dodo now. Thanks.

Utijogs · 19-09-2017 09:14PM

Well I tried Badger & Dodo's Guatemala: El Jade and Honduras: Beneficio Los Andes. Roasted and shipped out the same day. Pity I was out of beans as I'd have liked to wait 10 days before opening them. They were alright, had an odd 'foody' aroma (if that's even a word - it is now I suppose!). The El jade was the better of the two. BUT I think 3fe's Guat's were nicer. Going to try Coffee Angel's San Jacinto, Honduras to see how it measures up. Does anyone else have comparisons of 3fe / B&D / CoffeeAngel / Cloud Picker?

RasTa · 20-09-2017 10:59AM

Bailies the best bet. Free delivery with two 250g bags.

This is outstanding

https://www.bailiescoffee.com/collections/coffee-beans/products/kenya-ndimaini-aa-250g

3FE Coffee

Comments