I don’t know alot about coffee, by barista standards, but I know what I like. I’ve had the famous Singapore iced coffee and tried lots of different italian coffees, but honestly, for me, nothing compares to the machiatto in brewhouse maynooth. During January exams this year, I started every single morning with a machiatto as soon as the doors opened. I was almost always the first customer there and I would have to wait for them to set up the equipment but it was always worth it, regardless of who was on that morning. (I’m sure that was very annoying for them, sorry)

This is a somber memory because, as of a few weeks ago, brewhouse closed down. It’s extremely hard to run a small business right now and doubly so in a seasonal town like Maynooth. This leaves zero specialty coffee in the village. I reckon that I’ll be frequenting the Chocolate Bar on the main street from now on, because I trust their Machiattos and they do Madeleines, which makes for a great combo.

The reason I mention this is because I’ve been chasing the dragon for a year now, trying to find a more consistent machiatto, and I’m almost always incredibly dissapointed. Machiattos are, unfortunately, really easy to fuck up. If the barista goes for a foamy italian style, the milk is usually burnt or there is mountains of foam. This is also an incredibly wasteful use of milk, as most of it will get thrown down the drain afterwards (sorry italy). If the barista goes for the more consistent milky machiatto, the drink will still be mostly espresso, so the shot has to be really good. Most of the time, if I walk into a generic/chain place, the barista won’t have made one before. (I even saw a guy google how to do it in Shoda Market Cafe, Maynooth). On the off-chance that I get a good machiatto, I’ll head back again to find a different barista, who will usually mess it up. (Note: I have nothing against these baristas, most of them are in TY anyway and probably very stressed out)

My summer here in Cork has been absolutely laden with coffee dissapointments. Velo and Soma, despite being very successful, have both let me down. My second-best machiatto experience in Cork was in cafe Sensei across from work, where they very nicely informed me that they couldn’t make it, and so I ordered something else. (Shoutout cafe sensei, really nice staff, really nice bao buns, really nice iced coffee). The only place which has consitently made really really good machiatto is Filter Espresso and Brew bar (not a super catchy name). They have a really nice italian setup where I can go, get really nice coffee, sit with it for ~5 mins, and leave.

The green frog cafe is very cute but once I had a terrible time (again, they were very busy, not their fault) and the way I work I just can’t go back now, the vibes are off. (That said, they saved my morning another time when UCC accom kicked me and my gf out earlier than expected. I was very upset but I got a great smoothie and chilled out).

Really what I should do is just start ordering easier coffees to make if I want to be let down less often. I’ve never had a bad iced coffee before. But I will continue to chase this brewhouse high nonetheless. RIP :(

(Update from the future, just had a perfect machiatto at plugd vinyl and cafe!! So good wtf)