Our first roastery in Ballsbridge, Dublin

My name is Brian Kenny and this is the story of Silverskin Coffee. My very first job in 1996 started my career in coffee. Here I began roasting coffee and immediately knew this was to be my chosen career path. I fell in love with the process, roasting, coffee machines, cupping and training. In 2008 I represented Ireland in Copenhagen World of Coffee Cup Tasters Championship.

Later I went on to study food science in Kevin Street DIT, Business and Marketing in DIT Aungier Street. After spending 15 years here I decided to open my own business at the Kiosk in Ballsbridge. I wanted to offer customers something different.

Inside this iconic 37sq foot hexagonal building I installed a roaster, a couple of grinders and had the time of my life. Standing on the side of the road mightn’t be the dream ticket for everyone, but here I could offer fresh roasted coffee and a menu that was ever changing. Different origins, region and styles of coffee along with different processing methods. Every other week the coffee menu changed and customers really bought into it and joined me on this adventure.

The 5 years I spent here have shaped my life immeasurably. I’m really proud of my what I achieved and feel the Coffee Kiosk was a “local community spot” in the middle of Dublin 4. The kiosk was awarded “Best Coffee in Dublin” 2014 and “Best Customer Service’ by JCI in 2015. Personally it was just as busy, myself and my fiancé Caroline got married and had our first two babies (we now have three girls) and bought our family home.

Alas my time here was to be cut short, as a developer bought and then sold the business and ejected me from my place of work. Luckily enough I had been busily planning my own roastery and returning to my production roots. I bought a 15kg roaster and began roasting and wholesaling coffee from our first roastery in Glasnevin.

I secured funding from the Local Enterprise office and purchased a production line for packing wholesale coffee. This machine ensures that our coffee is packed immediately after roasting and degassed in a protective environment. Coffee is a volatile product and we believe this superior technology and best practice provides the freshest coffee on the market.

For our retail and home use pack we invested in a dosing machine and compostable cylinder packing. These cylinders have a peel fresh technology and are produced to order and packed immediately.

In late 2019 we moved to our brand new state of the art facility where our new 30kg roaster was installed alongside the rest of our machinery. This roaster is the most technologically advance and efficient roaster on the market. We source fresh, specialty coffee and work with some of the best farms in the world.

Our rotating coffee offer focuses on hybrid varietals and experimental fermentation. We work with reputable farmers and pioneers who respect the land they work from and the people who carry out the laborious work.

I am delighted to share our story with you along with our current offering.
Enjoy your coffee

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