Imbibe Coffee Roasters

03/09/2026

For quite some time, people have asked us to run coffee classes. This wasn’t something I’d any interest in, nor was it something I wanted to impose on the team. It’s a bit like equipment. We don’t sell it. It’s not our specialty. We sell coffee. That’s our thing.

That said, last month, Paul, our wholesale manager came to me and said he’d like to start teaching classes along with Aidan, our Head Roaster. Just because it’s not something I wanted to do, it didn’t seem right to stop them so we’ll soon start brewing workshops for those with an interest in improving their home barista skills.

It’s important to note that although the classes will take place at our roastery, all the income will go to Aidan and Paul. It is their side hustle, not Imbibe. They’ll take all the money but doing it this way should make it easier for them as they won’t have any start up costs, accountancy fees or a need for their own insurance as all these things are in place at Imbibe.

The classes will cover all things coffee. There’ll be a tour of the roastery, cupping different processes and of course the best way to brew using a v60, an aeropress, French press and espresso.

I’d like to wish Paul and Aidan the best of luck in this venture and I hope it goes well for them. They’ve a huge amount of collective experience and these classes should be a lot of fun!

More details to come...

31/07/2026

As many of you know, we’ve given 1% of all the money you spend with us to Women's Aid Ireland for over 8 years now. A few years ago, we decided to increase this donation to 10% of everything you spend on Bank Holiday weekends. From midnight, It’s a Bank Holiday...

As a business, we give up 4% of all our revenue. This has equated to over 30% of our profits in each of the last 4 years. We’re not a social enterprise or charity. This is a model that is fair, sustainable, and profitable. We believe a larger business (say over 500 employees), could copy at least some facets of what we do. This would be good for everyone. We’d be grateful if you can share the idea of our business model with your friends.

This image was made by a real life designer.

Imbibe Coffee Roasters

22/07/2026

“Transparency” has become a much abused word. It’s now in much the same box as “boutique” or “artisanal” or “sustainable”. It been co-opted by large business.

At Imbibe, we run on a unique model. Our idea has nothing to do with cafes, coffee roasters or anyone in the speciality coffee space. It has nothing to do with small businesses. We don’t expect any small business to run as we do. We do however think it would be very viable for a large business of say 500 employees or more. We are proof of concept.

When we started roasting coffee over 8 years ago we pledged to give up 1% of all of our earnings. As we grew the idea grew. We now give up 4% of all our earnings. This 4% has equated to over 30% of our profits in each of the last 4 years.

The team at Imbibe are everything to our business. They are superb at what they do. They are therefore paid very well. Our part timers earn in excess of the living wage. We’re a profitable business so if we do well, those responsible for running it do well. It’s not difficult. It shouldn’t be out of the ordinary. It just makes sense.

After the first 6 months of this year and as a business of 6 full time staff, the 4% we give has broken down as follows:

Over €12,000 to Women's Aid Ireland
Over €10,000 to our bridge building fund at Asopep Planadas, a Colombian co-op we source coffee from
Over €10,000 to a staff bonus pool on top of salary and bonuses
Over €9,000 to local projects

In addition to above but not included in the 4% figure is a donation of over €18,500 of coffee between 3 local hospitals.

This is how we view “Transparency”. As we give based on “All income”, it’s a figure that can’t be manipulated like profits. Our model works for everyone. There’s no reason it can’t work for very large business who could easily copy facets although corporate greed is obviously a huge issue

Again, this isn’t about selling coffee. It’s about the times we’re living in where large companies screw people over and shed staff to replace them with AI (yes I’m aware of the irony of posting on this platform). It doesn’t have to be this way. If you can share our idea, we’d be grateful. Our hope is to be copied.

Imbibe Coffee Roasters

30/04/2026

Tomorrow marks 8 years since we started as a coffee roaster. As a business we now commit to giving 4% of all of our revenue (not just profits) every year. This is split by giving up 3% to good causes and sharing an additional 1% with staff on top of salary and bonuses. This has equated to over 30% of our profits in each of the last 3 years,

This commitment began in 2108. In that year we gave up 1% of all our revenue to .aid and as we grew, the percentage we gave also grew. It’s our model. The more we earn, the more we give. It’s both viable and sustainable.

Some years back we decided we’d increase the 1% we give to Women’s Aid all year round to 10% of all website sales on Bank holiday weekends. This means we end up going a little over 1% with them which resulted in us donating over €20,000 last year. We hope to do at least the same this year.

I think we’re all very aware of the issues surrounding late stage capitalism. It’s coming into more focus now with rapid AI advances, as large corporations fire the workers who helped them succeed in the pursuit of ever increasing profit. We wish to be the opposite of this. We’re proof it doesn’t have to be this way.

We stopped taking on wholesale almost 2 years ago. We’re a small business trying our best to focus on quality. We’d love your help in spreading word of our business model. You can do that not by buying our coffee but by telling your friends how we’re run. My hope is that even a small element of how we’re run will be copied by a large business and the only way to do that is by increasing awareness.

If you’ve gotten this far then thank you for reading and Happy Birthday to us!

29/04/2026

27/04/2026

A long overdue post about our newest staff member, Ian .

He’s been with us just over 6 months now and has slotted in seamlessly. I’d imagine it can feel slightly awkward joining any new team, particularly ours when we’ve all been here so long. Paul and Aidan are here since we started roasting. Monika joined not long after and Conall has also racked up quite a few years too. It’s a tribute to Ian how easily he’s fitted in.

He’s a person who is really easy to get along with. He’s easy going, sharp as a tack and didn’t really need any training. He had so much prior experience in coffee that he knew exactly what to do from day one. He also brought a skillset we didn’t have in terms of IT knowledge. He’s taken complete control of our website and now also manages our Instagram account - we’re sorry about that one Ian...

We’ll be 8 years as a coffee roaster this coming Friday and the only person to leave Imbibe emigrated so I’d formally like to welcome Ian to the Hotel California. He’s not allowed leave... except for holidays.

Oh and and almost Happy Birthday to us!

10/02/2026

Last year we increased the 3.5% of all revenue we give up to 4%. Part of this was done by way of 4 x €2,500 “local grants”. These grants went to events and organisations in the community we wanted to support.

This year, we’re giving the grants to the same people but increasing the value to €4000. The first of these has gone to the Solas Project in Dublin 8 who do amazing work with underprivileged kids. I’m not sure some of us realise how difficult life can be for others and Solas do amazing work. Please check out all they do at www.solasproject.com and here

In addition to the above this year we’ll continue to give:

1% of all our revenue to .aid
1% to a bridge building program
1% to our staff on top of salary and bonus
Over half a tonne of coffee between 3 local hospitals

This isn’t charity but a business model. I hope it’s transparent and holds us to account. I’m not sure if there’s a better way to do it but we’re trying to put our money where our mouth is and we’d love to see a large business copy us.

02/01/2026

At the beginning of 2025 we decided to try to push the 3.5% of all revenue we gave up the previous year to 4%. We’re delighted to say we’ve achieved this with a little bit to spare.

This isn’t charity but a business model. I hope it’s transparent and holds us to account. I’m not sure if there’s a better way to do it but we’re trying to put our money where our mouth is.

So many words associated with trying to do the right things have lost all meaning. “CSR”, “sustainability” etc have been co-opted by large scale corporations whose marketing departments make intangible promises that are difficult to track. We wish to be the opposite of this.

Below is a breakdown of how our model worked in 2025.

€20,281 was given to .aid

€18,000 went to a bridge building program at a co-op we buy from in Colombia

€19,304 went to local and additional origin projects

€18,000 went to a 5 person staff bonus pool on top of standard salary/bonuses

60 x 250 gram bags of coffee donated weekly between three local hospitals

My hope for 2026 is that people make more conscious purchasing decisions. As consumers, it’s the greatest power we have and the only way to hold big business to account.

We’d very much like to thank you all for your continued support and wish you all a brilliant 2026!

Imbibe Coffee Roasters

07/12/2025

We’ve a favour to ask that will cost you absolutely nothing but will perhaps bring you some joy!

Many of us enjoy TV, film, music, literature, the theatre but in a busy world, you’ve perhaps found yourself wasting a couple of hours on a Netflix show that turns out to be a bit rubbish. A good filter for these things is a useful tool.

A few weeks ago we announced our sponsorship of the . It’s a culture show hosted by arts journalists and (Aoife Barry). Aoife and Lauren both have amazing cv’s which stretch across TV, radio and print. The guys put a lot of work into this podcast but we as listeners get to hear it for free. It’s how much of the world works these days and it’s not something we often consider. Podcasts rely on subscribers/listeners and if they attract enough of these they can then seek sponsorships and advertisers. That’s the only avenue to getting an actual income for all the hard work.

This is a show I had on my podcast rotation even before I met Aoife and Lauren to discuss sponsorship. It’s a genuinely good listen. Last Monday’s episode delved into Pluribus (the best show on TV right now), Comedian Joanne McNally, Dublin Gothic at The Abbey and a whole pile of other stuff including some really good guest interviews.

It’d be really great if you can do me, the guys and yourselves a favour. You might follow the guys here and add the show to your pod rotation. It’s miserable outside today so perhaps do yourself a kindness, make a coffee and listen to last week’s episode. It’s a good one and gives a flavour of what the show is all about. You’ll be supporting two of the nicest freelance journalists in Ireland.

04/12/2025

In 2024 in addition to the 3% of all revenue we give up as part of our business model we decided to add 4 x €2,500 grants to local projects doing great things.

This year, we’ll push what we give up to 4% of all revenue.

Local projects we’ve given to have included among others, the and a weightlifting competition in aid of Barretstown.

Another one of these grants went to and for very good reason. We are increasingly living in a time of disinformation with many getting their news from social media. I’m sure we’ve all had people tell us things that we immediately know to be untrue that they’ve read on platforms such as “X”. There are some truly insane takes out there at present that people are taking at face value. It’s not good.

The guys at Dublin Inquirer provide the complete opposite to this in that they actually report unvarnished facts. They are a local, community newspaper, based in the Liberties, that scouts out and reports articles across the city that you can’t read anywhere else. They cover things that affect our lives every day: housing, transport, community safety, the environment, and more. They’re journalist-owned and journalist-run, and take more of a public-service approach than a profit-driven one.

We fully support all of this and it would be great if you could too. You can find all of their news at www.dublininquirer.com and it’d be really helpful if you could subscribe. Please, if you can, try to support good local things that help communities. It’s important.