The Belfast Coffee Co

By maintaining the Belfast coffee tradition and refining coffee to represent the modern Belfast taste profile, Belfast Coffee is still today, expertly roasted in the shadow of the two yellow gantry cranes, Samson and Goliath, that dominate the Belfast skyline.

The Belfast Coffee Co. is a coffee company based in Belfast, Northern Ireland specialising in small-batch, infused Belfast coffee – specifically Irish Whiskey-infused coffee (made with Dunville’s Irish Whiskey from a local distillery). The Belfast Coffee Co. is a family business based on recipes created over generations of home coffee roasting.

Belfast Coffee is based on Belfast family heritage.

Belfast was once the world’s shipbuilding epicentre, construction of ships and production of rope employed thousands of Irish families. These grand ships were sold across the world and with this international influence and interaction of different people came coffee. Good quality coffee beans were prized. Belfast coffee houses served ‘special roasts’ much as they do today. These were generally for the ‘well-heeled’ of the time.

For the majority of Belfast, coffee was popular and roasting coffee beans took place at the fireplace over open, peat-fuelled fires. The fireplace was a focal point for the family and all generations gathered around morning and night for a source of warmth and for cooking meals. A place of comfort in the home. The roasting of coffee beans was generally done at night after the evening meal by the head of the family. The significance of this is the value of importance placed on the ritual. It was here that the ‘perfect Belfast roasts’ were created.

Only enough beans were roasted and ground for consumption for that night and the next day. Coffee was not a quick convenient drink. Exposure of roasted coffee beans, and even more so ground coffee, to the damp air ruined the coffee (containers were limited and airtight containers did not exist).

One such Belfast family is Belfast Coffee’s own family – the Allan family. Robert Allan, a shipwright employed at ‘the Yard’ (Harland & Wolff) had a passion for his family and coffee. Three generations of Allans have been perfecting roast coffee at home and now are sharing this unique coffee with the world along with their passion for Irish Whiskey-infused coffee.

The Belfast Coffee Co. sources only the finest beans to roast in small batches at very precise parameters.

Purchase from their website belfastcoffee.com, or find their coffee with the following stockists:

• Arcadia – 78 Lisburn Rd, Belfast


• Coleman’s Garden Centre – 6 Old Ballyclare Rd, Templepatrick, Ballyclare


• Cyprus Avenue – 228-230, Upper Newtownards Rd, Belfast


• French Village – 343b Lisburn Rd, Belfast


• Oui Poutine – 1 Donegall Quay, Belfast


• Spar Lisburn Road- 322 Lisburn Rd, Belfast


• Spar Titanic Quarter – Units 1-3 ARC Retail Units, Belfast


• Ward & Co Fine Foods – 7 Lockview Rd, Belfast