Fermoy based coffee roasters Badger and Dodo have been honing their craft for over twelve years now. We take a deep dive to find out more about the wholesale brand, their passion for specialty coffee and the mission behind everything they do.
Who exactly are Badger and Dodo?
We have been roasting in our roastery in Fermoy since 2008. We are a wholesale facing brand first and foremost, so our fans’ experiences are completely dependent on the skills and the passion that our wholesale partners have for coffee. Which is great, because our passion has always been helping local businesses in Ireland look at coffee as the main event, and not the afterthought. We are blessed to have such an incredible group of wholesale partners that we work with, and they are the ones that take our brand to masses, they are the backbone of who we are as a company and that will never change.
What’s the most important factor driving the business?
For us, strong relationships with our wholesale partners are of the utmost importance, which is why we will work closely with them throughout the partnership, and not just be a supplier of freshly roasted coffee. It is our goal to come alongside people who share our passion and values within the café scene here in Ireland, which of course helps us in our pursuit of great service paired with excellent coffee! We are 100% committed in supporting our partners, their staff and their business. We have built our business on these partnerships.
You’ve been going strong for twelve tears now. What things have contributed to your longevity in the business?
2020 is our 12-year anniversary, 12 years of roasting that is! We have some 40+ years of experience within the coffee industry. 2018 also saw us travel to origin for the first time to select the very best crops to import. Our sourcing trips to both Brazil and Colombia are annual which allows us to offer stunning single origins for wholesale all year round. We are dedicated to finding the best coffees and rewarding the farmers for their detailed effort with prices some 5 to 10 times more than the average Fairtrade market price.
We have passionate and experienced core staff through all aspects of our business who have been with us for many years. Our staff include wholesale managers covering the nation, our head roaster who is also Ireland’s second only Q Grader, trainers and a team of staff based in the roastery dedicated to ensuring the supply chain operates seamlessly.
What’s the thinking behind what you do?
We have a very simple philosophy: To source and roast a boutique range of excellent coffees, and deliver them to our wholesale customers along with support and advice on espresso machinery and baristas and training. Our commitment to protecting our brand means we only supply cafes, restaurants and venues that are as passionate about making excellent coffee as we are. This helps to ensure you will benefit from working with a unique brand and an excellent reputation.
You are big advocates of ‘Reduce. Reuse. Recycle. Renew’. What kinds of initiatives are you currently driving?
From farm-to-cup we reduce our carbon footprint by reusing 90% of our waste produced, recycling the other 10%, and renewing our commitment to go even further. As a company we are on an ongoing mission to discover ways to not only reduce our own carbon footprint but also the footprint of our products once they leave our roastery. We never stop searching for new and creative ways to reduce, reuse, recycle, and renew. Our current initiatives in place are:
1 We offer a fully compostable range of takeaway cups and lids.
2. Our 250g retail bags are recyclable.
3. We offer several reusable takeaway cups.
4. We offer reusable coffee storage canisters.
5. We compost all of our coffee chaff.
6. We donate our jute bags to an organic farm.
7. We recycle all of our water filter cartridges
8. We send coffee to our wholesale accounts in reused cardboard boxes.
9. Buy the majority of our coffee direct trade which reduces the amount of fossil fuel used in the transporting of coffee from origin to the port of Cork.
What sparked your initial interest in the world of specialty coffee?
Anyone who is a coffee nerd like we are, has had that ‘aha’ moment, the moment they tried their first cup of specialty coffee. For me it was a cup of naturally processed coffee from Yirgacheffe Ethiopia. I went in thinking that I couldn’t believe anyone would pay €4 for a cup of coffee, I then left dreaming about my second cup. It tasted like nothing I had tried before in my life. I couldn’t understand how coffee could taste like a warm blueberry muffin, but it did. I was hooked.
So my favourite feedback from customers is not in words, but the experience of: seeing people who are used to drinking second-wave commodity coffee; who are hesitant to try 3rd-wave specialty coffee like ours; try our coffee for the first time. To see the smile grow on their face after taking a sip is what speciality coffee it’s all about. That is our mission to create new coffee nerds all across the country that fall in love with what coffee is, and can be.
What’s the most popular roast you do?
Our biggest seller is our Blackwater Blend, but in the cafe setting it is definitely the Flat White that takes the cake. Brock, founder/owner/director who is also the ‘Badger’ in Badger & Dodo, is originally from Australia where the Flat White originated. When he started this company with his wife Claire, who is from Fermoy, he brought the Flat White with him. People weren’t making or drinking Flat Whites in this country till Badger & Dodo put it on the map. Now you can’t go anywhere in Ireland without a Flat White being on the menu. I am quite proud of that fact.
Tel: 085 7062019
