Aesthetically Creed Coffee in Carrickfergus looks a lot like Belfast’s Established; a modern layout, rich greys and very very slick overall. With wall designs by the one and only Visual Waste and the promise of specialty coffee, this is exactly the type of place that we need more of, especially outside of Belfast and the bigger cities.
As far as the interior goes, I actually prefer Creed Coffee to the sparse, soullessness (in a good way) of Established. This place has character, it has edge and I really like it. If you want to have a look, click here for a tour of the inside.
Having been open only a very short while, I think Creed has a little way to go before it fulfils its true coffee house potential. The coffee selection on the board is nice but basic; you can get the standard cappuccino, flat white etc and there’s no information on types of beans, roasting, or brewing methods either. At the end of the till area there are Chemex’s for sale, but no indication that these are used to brew the coffee served, which I feel is a bit of a missed opportunity. As someone who can’t make it through the morning without my fix of Aeropress, I had high hopes for a speciality coffee shop in my own backyard. Looking at their website and Facebook page, it’s clear that the love of coffee is definitely there, so maybe just a bit more staff training and inspiration would do this place the world of good.
However, if you’re a tea drinker, Creed is the place for you, they seem to have a whole host of different tea varieties, most (if not all) of them are Jing tea – a luxury tea brand focused on the ceremony of tea drinking. Your tea is served on a wooden platter, with an entirely see-through cup and saucer, tea timer and tea-iere (a cafetiere for tea). As one of only three establishments authorised to sell Jing tea in Ireland, this is magnificent, and really makes the whole experience very special, however no one explained the tea timer to us and we just had to guess our way through the process.
As far as food goes, there’s a selection of lunch-type snacks such as croissants, paninis and a very delicious chicken fajita wrap that I would highly recommend, alongside some very decadent looking tray bakes and desserts for those with a sweeter tooth.
Open to 10pm each night, Creed Coffee has a lot of potential, and with a little more time and a little more staff training, Creed could definitely be something very special indeed.
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