Northern Ireland gets its 13th Économusée
The international network of elite artisans has welcomed coffee roastery, Fidela Coffee, in Coleraine as its latest Northern Ireland member.
Économusées are artisan producers that use traditional techniques to make products in the bio-food or arts and crafts sectors. They open their workshops to visitors, who can watch the artisans at work, learn about skills that have endured over time and buy unique local products.
Fidela Coffee in Coleraine recently became the 13th Économusée in Northern Ireland. Frank Portilla and Rachel Dillon, founders of Fidela, began their coffee journey in Columbia in 2016 following a visit to Frank’s family farms in the well-known coffee region Nariño. Realising that there were opportunities to work alongside the family and to find new and exciting prospects for their coffee, Frank and Rachel returned to Coleraine and set up Fidela Coffee Roasters in 2019.
Named after Frank’s grandmother, Fidela, a pioneer in coffee farming in her local area, the Coleraine enterprise maintains the strong Colombian family connection by sourcing their coffee beans from the Nariño farms of their relatives and friends.
Fidela Coffee offers visitors a range of bookable coffee experiences from their roastery and coffee shop including coffee courses that teach how to create the perfect espresso, the principles of brewing or perfecting latte art.
There is also a tour that gives the opportunity to hear Fidela Coffee’s story, and to discover traditional production techniques and contemporary products, stamped with their own particular identity and originality.
Économusée is a growing international network involving over 110 artisans renowned for their excellence. Northern Ireland features strongly in the network, particularly in the area of artisanal food and drink.
The other Économusée workshops in Northern Ireland are Broighter Gold Rapeseed Oil, Limavady; Steenson’s Jewellers, Glenarm; Hot Milk Forge, Martinstown; Ursa Minor Bakehouse, Broughgammon Farm, and North Coast Smokehouse, all in Ballycastle; Audrey Kyle Art and Gobbins Crafts, Islandmagee; the Creamery Can, Glarryford and The Chocolate Manor, Castlerock.
Each workshop is situated on or close by the famous Causeway Coastal Route making it an ideal craft trail for visitors as they explore this stunning region.