When we set about opening Coffee Shop we wanted to do something special. We wanted a Coffee Shop in the grand European tradition and asked Paris-based designer Elliot Barnes to help us. Between us, we designed the concept and procured the materials for the superb finish you see in Coffee Shop today. Elliot describes the design inspiration
“An updated Proustian notion of recollection informs a subtle blend of materials, finishes and objects from the realm of coffee. When experienced together or individually, as when one tastes or smells a brew, they stimulate the memory of various moments in a life.” Our inspiration was simpler. We just wanted to become THE place in Dublin for coffee.
There are several legendary accounts of the origin of the drink itself. One account involves the Yemenite Sufi mystic Ghothul Akbar Nooruddin Abu al-Hasan al-Shadhili.When traveling in Ethiopia, the legend goes, he observed birds of unusual vitality, and, upon trying the berries that the birds had been eating, experienced the same vitality. Other accounts attribute the discovery of coffee to Sheik Abou'l Hasan Schadheli's disciple, Omar. According to the ancient chronicle, Omar, who was known for his ability to cure the sick through prayer, was once exiled from Mocha to a desert cave near Ousab. Starving, Omar chewed berries from nearby shrubbery, but found them to be bitter. He tried roasting the beans to improve the flavor, but they became hard. He then tried boiling them to soften the bean, which resulted in a fragrant brown liquid. Upon drinking the liquid Omar was revitalized and sustained for days. As stories of this "miracle drug" reached Mocha, Omar was asked to return and was made a saint.