Gem and Jo go to the Dublin Coffee and Tea Festival

Tea Anyone? Coffee? Well we had lots of both this weekend at the Dublin Coffee and Tea Festival in the RDS! Thanks to Jo's family friend Jerry, we got our hands on some complimentary tickets to go to this awesome, super hipster event that was only on for the weekend.
We had a absolute blast, and not just from the amount of coffee and green tea we drank!
We got to sample and taste tons of different brands of tea and coffee from some of the best baristas and coffee companies from not only Ireland but from around the world as well. 
Our favourite was Java Republic, and not because they were serving full sized, free tea! They had an amazing array of flavoured teas, which are all organic and their packaging is all fully biodegradable, even the really cute little silk teabags! We tried a ton of their teas but our favourites were:

Blood Orange Tea. 

You can buy it online Here

Peppermint Tea 

You can buy it online Here

Gunpowder and Mango (Surprisingly doesn't contain gunpowder!)

Buy it online Here

Now the great thing about the Java Republic tea is the teabags are reusable for up to 3 times! But we didn't take their word for it so when we went home we tested it and low and behold, it actually works! Any other teabag would have melted into icky-ness after the second time or so. 

What was really cool was that we also got to chat to Jerry about the coffee and tea industry and how it's growing and improving at a super crazy rate. We learned that coffee is the world's second biggest commodity after oil and that you can now even get a diploma in coffee. We also got to learn a lot about how many different teas and coffees are made and got to see some of the processes used in action. 

The exhibition also had prototypes of the latest coffee making technology including this amazing tap that you can have installed into your kitchen counter-top that makes coffee from a menu on your ipad. Everything is controlled from your ipad from the amount of milk you want right down to how much sugar and water!

We also got to try out a load of different exotic teas and coffees like this green matcha tea. Although this tea may look like gross green liquid, but this stuff is great for you. It is known to increase metabolism, energy and decrease stress. We have heard a lot of great things about matcha tea and we were so excited to try it out and have a taste 

Along with all the amazing teas and coffees on offer, the exhibition also had a chill out zone where you could have a bit of a rest and drink your yummy hot drink and just relax for a moment. 

There was also live music in an outside area where you could just chill and soak up the atmosphere.

After having spent the day immersing ourselves in tea and coffee, we decided to head out to Dun Laoghaire to round off the day. The weather was gorgeous and we went for a bit up a stroll around. We even managed to bump into author Lee Child!!! Don't believe us? Just check out the picture above, he's in it we swear!  

After all that busy excitement we finished off our day with dinner in the Real Gourmet Burger restaurant in Dun Laoghaire where we had some really tasty food. The chips were amazing. if you are in the area definitely check it out. 

We had such a super day out. Thanks so much to Jerry Hughes for giving us the chance to experience the amazingness that was the Dublin coffee and tea festival. We had so much fun. 
As always thanks for reading be sure to let us know what you think in the comments section below, we always love to hear from you. 
Until next time, 

Gem and Jo take on Spraoi

If you saw our 'Gem and Jo take Waterford' post you'll know that we had such a great time frolicking around the county. So when we had the chance to head back down for their annual Spraoi festival it was a no brainer. Spraoi is Waterford's annual street arts festival which takes place over the august bank holiday, and we couldn't wait to soak up the atmosphere with all the free street acts and live music.

We headed down to Waterford on Saturday, however the weather wasn't really on our side. If you live in Ireland you'll know that we had torrential downpours on Saturday which wasn't the best weather for an ourdoor festival (unless you're a duck..... which we aren't).  Luckily, the rain cleared up by evening, which meant that we were still able to check out some of the street acts before we headed in for the night. 

On Sunday the weather took a complete turn around and it was a scorcher. This meant that we were able to hang around the town all day and check out some awesome acts including the drum band Torann, The Correspondents, Gypsi Swing  and Propeller Palms. Even got to see the Hot sprockets in Geoffs cafe bar. 

Gypsi Swing 

Torann

The festival finishes every year with a parade and fireworks. This year the theme was 'to the waters and to the wild' and it definitely did not disappoint. The floats were amazing and the performers in the parade were incredible and had loads of energy

After the parade, the fireworks were the icing on top of the already amazing cake. Jo has been to going to Spraoi for many years now and she thought that it was one of the best fireworks displays they've ever had. 

It was incredible and the whole crowd was wowed. 

The whole festival was brilliant. The atmosphere was unbelievable and we had an absolute blast. If you ever get the chance to go to Spraoi definitely do. You won't regret it. Check out their website here.

Thanks for reading!

Until next time, 

XO Gem and Jo 

Gem and Jo's Outfits of the Day

So here are our next Outfits of the Day, we wore these while visiting county Waterford, again, for the Spraoi Festival (Spraoi means fun in Irish and is pronounced sp-ree). Take a look: 

Gem's Outfit: 

Top: Primark €6.00 

Jeans: Vila Clothing €34.50 

Necklace: New Look €8.00 

Shoes: Dunnes Stores €20.00

 Jo's Outfit:

 

Top: Primark €4.00

Jeans: Primark €11.00

Necklace: Next €7.00

Shoes: Heatons €16.00

Jacket: Dorethy Perkins €40.00

Thanks for checking in guys and we hope you liked this post, tell us what you think in the comments and let us know what your favourite piece was! 

Until Next Time, 

XO Gem and Jo