Back in Dublin, Ireland, one of my favorite cities in the world. Dublin has a coffee culture all its own. A lot of small coffee shops with outstanding Barista's. They prepare and serve up coffee as a city better than any other city in the world. Sorry Seattle, Portland, its the truth. Where I find they fall short is in the coffee itself. Many say they Roast and have Branded coffee bags instore, but I came to find out through conversation was there are just a few Roasters and they work like a contractor and "Roast" for a brand. This is why when I got an espresso at one shop and then tried espresso again down the street it was the same. This is where they seem to fall short, in shop roasting with Micro-lots of speciality. I may be wrong but this is my impression upon tasting coffee in over 15 shops in Dublin city center.
As a full fledge coffee nerd/snob I am looking for great coffee nothing more. Also if they don't roast their own beans and they are just serving someone else's coffee they will never get above a 3 star from me. I am looking strictly at the coffee and the customer service in my reviews. Fonte is a different coffee spot in London, they do not use a local roaster but fly in their beans from Seattle, so unfortunately the best I can give this Fonte is 3 Stars. However the preparation was fantastic and the coffee was outstanding. If you are looking for a Seattle type coffee this is the place. read more