If you’ve tried a cup of Belfast Coffee, you will already know how rich it is in flavour.
But what you may not have realised is the richness in its history – both old and new.
Jonny Jordan, Albert Oberholzer, Eddie Allan and Dani McFerran launched the coffee company in October 2020.
Less than a year later, and the team of four are already exporting all over the world.
“I was really surprised about it,” Jonny said, “I thought it was just going to be Belfast.”
But from Singapore to Cyprus and the USA – everybody is wanting a taste of Belfast’s latest brew.
The Belfast Coffee Company may have only launched nine months ago, but the original recipe dates back a whole lot further.
It dates back to 18 th century Belfast, to be exact, when thousands of workers were employed to build grand ships by the docks.
‘Fire Boys’ kept the coal fires roaring throughout the ship. It was used to heat the rivets and, of course, to prepare the coffee - which kept workers awake for tough, 12-hour shifts.
Robert Allan, a Belfast shipwright, blended the coffee with spices he traded. This recipe was passed through the generations to Eddie, who shared it with his three companions to create the official Belfast Coffee Co.
‘The Belfast Coffee’ is definitive in both name and location. After all, is there anything more Belfast than a coffee roasted in the shadow of the Samson and Goliath cranes?
But becoming the coolest coffee brand in the city still means you have to make yourselves unique.
Which is why their selection of flavours is nothing shy of that.
From an Irish whiskey coffee blend (“that is sure to evoke the wild Glens of Antrim”) to nutty, cinnamon coffee blend (“perfect for a spicy warm winter”) there is something for everyone in these bold-branded sacks of locally roasted beans.
As well as the team's Samson blend (Columbian bean), the newly launched Titanic blend (Brazilian bean) has already gained huge attention from Titanic attractions both in Belfast and America.
Jonny said: “Even if they’re not from Belfast, they want to be part of it. They see it as an exotic product.
“The thing that sets us apart is that we’re kind of selling Belfast and promoting Belfast, and that we do have a bit of heritage.”
The coffee can be found all over the city – in restaurants (such as Cyprus Avenue), bakeries (French Village), hotels, farm shops and more.
And while the taste, flavours and history behind each cup give it the appeal everybody is loving, at the end of the day, it seems to be the city itself giving this coffee its flare.
“It’s been a pretty easy product to get out there,” Jonny said, “because it’s Belfast, if you know what I mean.”
