Where next?

Every 3 months or so I tend to take stock on what's just happened and try to fill you all in on what's happening next. In truth, its probably been 6 months since I did this last. I've got quite a lot to get through so lets get stuck in!

Firstly, we've been busy. Real busy. The business has grown to the stage that myself and Steve spoke about getting to for mid 2014. I'd like to think that's all down to me but without you guys supporting the cause this never would have happened.

When we started 3FE it had always been with the intention of one day opening a roastery here in Dublin. We had looked at doing this straight off the bat but the prospect of setting up a specialty roaster and then going to look for customers was a daunting one. Dublin in 2009 was a VERY different place in terms of coffee. We knew that before we could sell specialty coffee, we need to create a context for specialty coffee and as we approach our 4th year in business, we really think that's started to happen in Dublin.

The big news is that in June of this year we will be taking possession of our own roasting facility and we hope to begin roasting coffee for 3FE HQ by September and all of our wholesale customers by the end of the year. Steve will continue to source all our green coffee and dictate our roasting profiles (We already have a very onerous quality control programme outlined) and the business will still be very much guided by both he and I.

In all the years we've been operating the only real negative feedback has been that we don't roast our coffee in Ireland. Anyone who knows me understands how patriotic I am and how much I love the city I live in. Building a roastery after we've created a network to supply was for me, the best way to achieve our goal. It allowed us to grow to what we are today and do so without the help of bank loans, enterprise boards or interest groups. I also believe that it was the most financially responsible way to do things, and the fact that we now employ 14 people means that there was an extra onus on me to take on risk in a responsible way.

The new roastery will also bring with it new 3FE bags (being designed as I type!) and a whole new revamp of how we do what we do.

Central to the new focus of the business was stepping away from the Twisted Pepper and handing the reigns over to Tom and the Vice crew. Trev and Eoin were a massive part of 3FE coming to life so it was with a heavy heart that we stepped away. I was conscious of doing too much and wanted to focus on one shop while we got the roastery going. A lot has happened since then but the general consensus is that the Twisted Pepper has gotten busier, 3FE has gotten busier and Dublin has more diversity in its coffee offering. I think we can chalk that down as a 'win" so.

Our Grand Canal Street shop had originally started life as almost a "show room" for what we wanted to do with coffee. These days the place tends to be rammed from early until late. Although this is kind of unexpected, its also very welcome! We've got plans in place for a lot of new things which can be summarised as such; wine license, outside seating, new food offerings, sparkling water (woop!), new equipment, longer opening hours, new printed menus, bathroom refurb, new bar lay out and many other wonderful developments.

The funny thing about getting busier is that the first thing we always find oursleves asking is "how was service?". In the last six months, the shop has really seen a surge in business which is bound to have an impact on service one way or another. I think we'll always serve 'good' coffee but what we're determined to do is serve excellent coffee and this inevitably involves change.

This is a massive step forward for us and is really exciting for everyone working at 3FE. Our goal is not just to become busier but also get better at what we do.

FINALLY I'd like to update you all on the classes that we're holding. The brew classes and barsita classes have been selling out and have been really well received. We've decided however to restructure them somewhat. We find that most attendees are genuinely interested in both brewing and espresso. We've also been struggling with the price difference between the two as both classes seem to be equally enjoyed and valued by attendees.

In July therefore we'll be launching one single class that focuses on all aspects of coffee, instead of splitting them in two. We hope to have these classes live by the end of next week and look forward to getting them started. More and more I'm seeing that 95% of people are just 'interested' in coffee, and so our classes are going to focus on them. We can still accommodate specific classes tailored to your needs on an ad hoc basis but our main focus will be on these new all-in classes.

FINALLY (FINALLY) I'd like to thank you all for your continued support and let you know that we are so appreciative of the fact that you keep coming back. We have a lot of hard work ahead of us in the coming months but we're ready to get stuck in. Wish us luck!

Col