Latest news with #Dowling
Belfast Telegraph
11 hours ago
- Business
- Belfast Telegraph
The £5 latte cannot be far away: hedge funds and iced drinks are driving change in the coffee market
Prices have fallen back a little in recent months — but right now, the green coffee beans that are the basic raw material for your flat white are 47% more expensive than they were a year ago, says Sheila Dowling, commercial director at Bewley's, the Republic of Ireland's best-known bean roaster. That means Bewley's is paying €1.7m (£1.5m) more this year for its usual order of green beans — and coffee consumers have been hit with price rises of as much as 30% a cup. The nightmare scenario for everyone in the sector is to see the price of a cup of coffee rise above €5 (£4.30) — a level that would be hard for consumers to swallow and businesses to sustain, says Ms Dowling. But when, earlier this year, the price of beans on the market rose towards $5 (£3.70) a pound, that looked set to become a reality. 'Coffee was always around $1.20 a pound, maybe $1.40. But after Covid, things really started to change. We had Ukraine. Then we had the Suez Canal, then the Red Sea. It was the perfect storm — and by February of this year, it had risen to over $4.20.' Earlier this month it was reported that the boss of coffee giant Lavazza blamed hedge fund speculation for the volatility. Ms Dowling agrees, but believes that a huge amount of supply that has been bought by speculators will at some point be released into the market and help moderate the price. But the EU's new Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), which comes into force in January and aims to curb deforestation linked to the production of commodities such as coffee, could push prices back up. In recent months, the price of coffee has fallen slowly, and by last week it was back at $3 a pound. 'But when you think of the weeks ahead, with Trump and tariffs and exchange rates, you just don't know where it's going to go,' she says. Despite the price of coffee soaring to global highs this year, Ms Dowling suggests coffee may be an affordable luxury for younger people. 'Where people have disposable income is in colleges and universities — they are more likely to spend income than save for a rainy day.' And that generation, she says, is driving another massive sea-change — the cold brew. Coffee lovers under 35 are driving an explosion of iced beverages, a new report by UK-based coffee syrup manufacturer Beyond the Bean has found. Iced beverage consumption in the UK has surged by 26.7% since 2023, driven mainly by millennial/Gen Z consumers. 'There is speculation that younger people will eventually revert to hot coffee, but I don't think that will be the case. If we look at sales data on Starbucks in the US, 80% of their coffee is now served cold.' The trend could have big implications, both for coffee shops and for producers such as Bewley's. Cold brew is produced differently than traditional coffee and is supplied as a concentrate. To meet the expected demand for cold brew here, Bewley's has spent 18 months sourcing a cold brew product to bring to the Irish coffee market. The Bewley's Columbian Fairtrade Cold Brew process involves coffee grounds being slowly steeped in cool water, which extracts a less acidic flavour from the bean, says Ms Dowling. 'It's moving fast from a low base, and 50% of Gen Z are now saying they will drink cold all year round,' she says. 'We're working with a partner right now, but it is our ambition to invest in our own business to produce a cold brew. But it's a very different process and it'd be like setting up a whole new factory.'
CTV News
a day ago
- CTV News
Dramatic video shows driver in wrong lane almost hit vehicles on Hwy. 144
Video obtained by CTV News Northern Ontario shows a near collision on Highway 144 on July 19 near Dowling. Loading the player instance is taking more time than usual Loading the player instance is taking more time than usual Helene Legault says she was badly shaken by a nearly tragic collision recently on Highway 144 in the area of Dowling in Greater Sudbury. Her dash cam captured the incident. Legault said she was driving on the highway just after 1 p.m. July 16 when two vehicles ahead of her suddenly veered off the road. Near head-on crash Video obtained by CTV News Northern Ontario shows a near collision on Highway 144 on July 19 near Dowling. (Photo from video) Then a car travelling in her lane came directly at her, forcing her to quickly cut right onto the side of the road to avoid a head-on collision. Legault said she was 'very shaken.' 'After I got to my destination (Windy Lake Provincial Park) I broke down crying for a good 10 minutes,' she said in a Facebook message. 'Please send a message that police presence is needed on that highway.' She reported the incident to the Ontario Provincial Police, but said police still haven't contacted her to get her recording of the incident. 'I'm really concerned,' Legault said. 'The police are treating this as a 'traffic complaint' and I'm concerned with the lack of severity ... is being dealt with.' Messages from CTV News to the OPP seeking comment on the incident have not yet been returned.
Irish Independent
2 days ago
- Business
- Irish Independent
Young people are hot for iced coffee – even when the weather isn't that warm
Almost three-quarters (74pc) of consumers in this category buy iced drinks regularly, almost double the proportion (40pc) of over-55s. The findings emerge in the latest Spring and Summer Trends and Insights Report by UK-based coffee syrup manufacturer Beyond the Bean, which looked at stores across Ireland, the UK, US, Canada, Denmark and Poland. It highlights that iced beverage consumption has surged by 26.7pc since 2023, driven mainly by Millennials and Gen Z. 'The report shows that this generation drinks cold drinks all year around – not just during the summer,' said Sheila Dowling, Bewley's Commercial Director. 'There is speculation that younger people will eventually revert to hot coffee, but I don't think that will be the case. 'If we look at sales data on Starbucks in the US, 80pc of their coffee is now served cold.' The trend analysis found that under-30s who drink iced beverages make a purchase every week, with winter consumption six pc higher than average across all other age categories. Despite the price of coffee soaring to global highs this year, Dowling suggests coffee may be an affordable luxury for younger people. 'Where people have disposable income is in colleges and university – they are more likely to spend their income than save for the rainy day,' she said. 'This year, the industry price of coffee rose higher than we'd ever seen in the Bewley's history of coffee - it more than doubled in price compared to this time last year. 'This has implications for the retailer and the customer – the price is going to affect people's pockets. 'Anecdotally, we hear that so many things have gone up in price, but coffee is seen as an affordable luxury.' Separately, the Allegra Project Café Ireland 2025 report, published in April, shows that 18.7pc of male and female respondents order iced coffee on a weekly basis, compared with 25.2pc of males and 21.7pc of females who buy hot coffee. Those living in Dublin are more likely to go iced, with 23.5pc ordering it weekly versus 16. pc outside the county. Over a third of people (31.7pc) aged under-35 in Ireland said they buy iced coffee monthly, with just 10.2pc choosing hot coffee over the same time period. To meet the growing demand for cold brew, Bewley's has spent 18 months sourcing the best cold brew product to bring to the Irish coffee market. The Bewley's Columbian Fairtrade Cold Brew process involves coffee grounds being slowly steeped in cool water, which extracts a less acidic flavour from the bean. The chemical profile and flavour are unique from conventional brewing methods because the ground coffee beans never come into contact with heated water. 'It isn't that the hot espresso over ice option is bad, but it is like comparing pink lady and granny smith apples – they're very different,' said Dowling.
Irish Independent
2 days ago
- Business
- Irish Independent
The €5 latte cannot be far away: hedge funds and iced drinks are driving change in the coffee market
The wholesale price of coffee rose 47pc in a year – is nothing sacred? Fearghal O'Connor With hedge funds driving volatile coffee bean markets to record highs in recent months and a growing taste for cold coffee brews amongst young people, the coffee sector is facing big changes. Prices have fallen back a little in recent months – but right now, the green coffee beans that are the basic raw material for your flat white are 47pc more expensive than they were a year ago, says Sheila Dowling, commercial director at Bewley's, the country's best known bean roaster. That means Bewley's is paying €1.7m more this year for its usual order of green beans – and coffee consumers have been hit with price rises of as much as 30pc a cup. The nightmare scenario for everyone in the sector is to see the price of a cup of coffee rise above €5 – a level that would be hard for consumers to swallow and businesses to sustain, says Dowling. But when, earlier this year, the price of beans on the market rose towards $5 a pound that looked set to become a reality. 'Coffee was always around $1.20 a pound, maybe $1.40. But after Covid things really started to change. We had Ukraine. Then we had the Suez Canal, then the Red Sea. It was the perfect storm – and by February of this year it had risen to over $4.20.' Last week it was reported that the boss of coffee giant Lavazza blamed hedge fund speculation for the volatility. Dowling agrees, but believes that a huge amount of supply that has been bought by speculators will at some point be released into the market and help moderate the price. But the EU's new Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), which comes into force in January and aims to curb deforestation linked to the production of commodities such as coffee, could push prices back up. In recent months the price of coffee has fallen slowly, and by last week it was back at $3 a pound. 'But when you think of the weeks ahead, with Trump and tariffs and exchange rates, you just don't know where it's going to go,' she says. ADVERTISEMENT Despite the price of coffee soaring to global highs this year, Dowling suggests coffee may be an affordable luxury for younger people. 'Where people have disposable income is in colleges and universities – they are more likely to spend income than save for a rainy day.' And that generation, she says, is driving another massive sea-change – the cold brew. Coffee lovers under 35 are driving an explosion of iced beverages, a new report by UK-based coffee syrup manufacturer Beyond the Bean has found. Iced beverage consumption in the UK has surged by 26.7pc since 2023, driven mainly by millennial/Gen Z consumers. 'There is speculation that younger people will eventually revert to hot coffee, but I don't think that will be the case. If we look at sales data on Starbucks in the US, 80pc of their coffee is now served cold.' The trend could have big implications, both for coffee shops and for producers such as Bewley's. Cold brew is produced differently than traditional coffee and is supplied as a concentrate. To meet the expected demand for cold brew here, Bewley's has spent 18 months sourcing a cold brew product to bring to the Irish coffee market. The Bewley's Columbian Fairtrade Cold Brew process involves coffee grounds being slowly steeped in cool water, which extracts a less acidic flavour from the bean, says Dowling. 'It's moving fast from a low base, and 50pc of Gen Z are now saying they will drink cold all year round,' she says. 'We're working with a partner right now but it is our ambition to invest in our own business to produce a cold brew. But it's a very different process and it'd be like setting up a whole new factory.'
Sunday World
4 days ago
- Sunday World
Face of man who sexually abused his three-year-old cousin as he's jailed
UNMASKED | The court heard that Dowling was Mr Murphy's older cousin and would babysit him and his brother. Darren Dowling pictured at the Criminal Courts of Justice (CCJ) on Parkgate Street in Dublin. Photo: Paddy Cummins Darren Dowling (48) of Palace Flats, Palace Close, St Saviour, Jersey, UK, was found guilty of eight counts of oral rape and three counts of indecent assault that took place at a Clondalkin address between 1990 and 1993 against his cousin Alan Murphy following a Central Criminal Court trial in July 2024. Mr Murphy has waived his anonymity to have Dowling named. Dowling has three previous convictions, all from Jersey in the UK. The court heard that one of the convictions involved him engaging in messages with an undercover police officer in which he sent a picture of himself holding a 10-month-old child on his knee, and referring to how excited he was and that there was a bulge in his pants. He was sentenced to 9 months for this offence. At a previous hearing, Justice Paul Burns said the crimes had an adverse effect on Mr Murphy, leading to him having behavioural problems and abusing alcohol and drugs as a teenager to block out the memory of the abuse. The birth of his own children helped him to come to terms with his addictions. Darren Dowling pictured at the Criminal Courts of Justice (CCJ) on Parkgate Street in Dublin. Photo: Paddy Cummins Today's News in 90 Seconds - July 18th 'He is rightly proud of himself for seeing it (the trial process) through, and the court hopes that with further intervention and support from his loving family, he will continue to recover,' Mr Justice Burns said. He set a headline sentence of 13 years for the oral rapes and eight years for the sexual assault, given that the victim was a very young boy at the time of the offending, and his cousin had been placed in a position of trust. He also acknowledged that the abuse had happened in the victim's home, a place which 'ought to have been a place of safety', Mr Justice Burns said. He reduced the headline sentences to six and a half years and four years respectively, given that Dowling was a juvenile at the time of the offending. Read more Mr Justice Burns then imposed concurrent sentences of five years and three years before he suspended the final 12 months of the five-year term on strict conditions, including that Dowling engage with the Probation Supervision upon his release. The case was adjourned for mention to allow for the hearing of a case in the Supreme Court in relation to the naming of juvenile accused persons when they reach adulthood, and therefore could not be reported until now. At the previous hearing, Detective Garda Sharon Duncan told Grainne O'Neill, BL, prosecuting, that on July 12 of this year, a jury found Dowling guilty of 11 counts. The court heard that Dowling was Mr Murphy's older cousin and would babysit him and his brother. The court heard that while Dowling was babysitting, he would bring Mr Murphy upstairs to the bathroom and place his penis into Mr Murphy's mouth and move his head back and forward. Mr Murphy stated in his evidence that the door would be closed and the offending would last between 10 and 15 minutes. Mr Murphy's brother was outside the bathroom or on the stairs while this was happening. The court heard that the abuse would take place 'on each and every occasion' that Dowling would babysit. Mr Murphy described how he would scream and hold onto his mother's leg when she was going out. Mr Murphy was aged between three and six at the time of the offending, and Dowling was aged between 13 and 16. Mr Murphy's mother gave evidence during the trial, in which she said that Dowling had begun babysitting her sons around the time of Italia 1990. She said that her son disclosed the abuse to her when he was 15 years old. Mr Murphy's brother gave evidence that Dowling would bring his brother to the bathroom. He said the door was closed and possibly locked, as he had tried to enter the bathroom once but could not. He said that when his brother came out of the bathroom, he would be upset and crying. The Director of Public Prosecutions placed the offences in the 10-15 year band. The court was told that the maximum sentence available for section 4 rape is life in prison and 10 years for each of the indecent assault counts. Detective Garda Duncan read Mr Murphy's victim impact statement to the court, which said: 'I never understood the effect the abuse had on me until I gave up drinking and drugs. I was always acting up and misbehaving. I turned to drink and drugs as an early teen to block out the abuse. No one knew why I was so moody.' He said I was so embarrassed and ashamed of people finding out. 'I was just a little boy; why would he do that to me? It makes me feel sick. I want my boys to know never to be afraid to tell the truth.' He concluded by saying: 'I am so grateful for the results of the trial.' Det Gda Duncan agreed with Hugh Hartnett, SC, defending, that his client met with gardai in Jersey on a voluntary basis and did not contest this extradition from Jersey. Mr Hartnett said his client was a child at the time of the offending. He said it is 34 years since these offences took place, and his client had set up a life for himself in Jersey. Counsel said Dowling was first told that no prosecution would take place, and then that decision was reversed. He said that there was one 'blemish' on his client's record for which he received a nine-month sentence. Mr Hartnett handed letters of testimonial into the court, which described Dowling as a helpful and kind person to his friends. He asked the court to take into account the very serious factors that distinguished this case from others; he outlined that his client was a child at the time of the offending. He said there was no use of violence except for the act itself, and no threat was made.
