More than Just a Blog

The majority of this cafe information is dated to 2008 and is not entirely accurate. 10 09 2010

When I started this thing it was just a blog. A thing to get a good mark on a course some three years ago. But with the growth of anything. The more I understood about coffee, wordpress and the internet. The more I wanted to change this site. But yet my technical knowledge was actually lacking what I really wanted to do.

And now without sounding like something that I will regret saying in 6 months. I believe now is the time where my technical knowledge of the internet and my knowledge of coffee and the Vancouver cafe scene will merge into what I am calling Coffee Vancouver 3.0. (While at the same time style calling the site The Vancouver Indy Coffee Scene.)

It is with some hope that this new site with help with the longevity cafe reviews along with the regular rants, raves, terms and news you have been use to.

Americano

We got coffee for coding!

Website redesign checklist:

  • We got sketches done
  • We got our users survey’s done
  • We got WordPress 3.0 Installed
  • We have plenty of coffee for working
  • Helpful friends who like code as much as they like good coffee

And as always it has taken longer then we thought (as this is a volunteer gig yo) but were starting to code the site and hopefully it won’t take us another six month to complete ;-)

Once again we are delayed :-( by the discovery of the lack of RSS in Custom Post type for WordPress 3.0. According to idea’s page of the WordPress.org site this idea is under consideration.

Thanks again being patient while we get this site working.

Robert



Poll: What type of cafes do you want us to review?

The majority of this cafe information is dated to 2008 and is not entirely accurate. 12 04 2010

Don’t worry we’re not going anywhere!

Quite the winter eh? If you have followed our tweets and thanks to the 575 followers who are :-). You’ve noticed we have exhausted our supply of coffee terms, we have a ever lasting distaste for BC Ferries Coffee and think Coke should really just stay in the Cola business.

But also we said good-bye to our editor Stef as she is now a reporter with the The Westerly in Ucluelet, BC. We wish her the best of luck! But when we mean staff we really mean dedicated volunteers.

Why the delay in reviews?

We wanted to change the way we reviewed cafes in town and change the way our site operates.

We wanted to wait for the release of WordPress 3.0 as Robert has seen some of the goodies in the latest update and though they would be perfect for the cafe.

We wanted to hear from you a bit more. In our last survey you said that we should do more cafe reviews, and while we totally agree with you we wanted to know what type of cafe we should review.

EAVB_EFATXNKZAT



Woody

The majority of this cafe information is dated to 2008 and is not entirely accurate. 16 03 2010

The taste of expired coffee. Woody coffee has a smell of dry wood or cardboard. This defect results when beans are improperly stored for an extended period of time. Coffees stored in high temperatures and humidity, such as port cities, tend to deteriorate the bean quickly and it becomes woody. All coffees can become woody if stored long enough.



Whole Bean

The majority of this cafe information is dated to 2008 and is not entirely accurate. 9 03 2010

Roasted coffee beans that have not been ground. Whole beans has the advantage of staying fresh longer than ground coffee. Whole bean is commonly sold for it’s utility as much as its freshness as it can be ground to different sizes for different brewing methods.



Wet

The majority of this cafe information is dated to 2008 and is not entirely accurate. 9 03 2010

The most common usage of this verb in Vancouver is when ordering a wet cappuccino. The drink is made by first pouring the espresso shot(s) and then adding 1/3 steamed milk topped with the last third micro foam. A wet cappuccino is considered a regular cappuccino.

Author’s note:
In my opinion, a foamy latte is often confused with a wet cappuccino.



Wet Process

The majority of this cafe information is dated to 2008 and is not entirely accurate. 2 03 2010

In the wet process, ripe cherries are first immersed in water where any floating (coffee) cherries are removed as defective. The remaining cherries are then pressed by machine against a perforated surface, allowing only the seed to pass through the holes. The remaining pulp is then removed by placing the beans into a fermentation tank to loosen the pulp before it is washed away with water. After the pulp is removed, the coffee beans are then dried by a combination of sun drying and machine drying. Machine drying is common practice, especially in damp climates where mildew can cause problems.

Author’s note:
Wet processed coffee beans are sometimes called washed coffee, in reference to the washing that separates the pulp from the beans.



Water Purification

The majority of this cafe information is dated to 2008 and is not entirely accurate. 2 03 2010

All coffee brewing benefit from water purification. Water purification  improves the taste, odour and appearance of brewed coffee. Effective filters remove contaminates, excess chlorine, particulate matter and other impurities.



Toddy

The majority of this cafe information is dated to 2008 and is not entirely accurate. 23 02 2010

Is the trademarked term referencing a cold, brewed-coffee method. It has become part of the lexicon, as a generalized term. The generic term for toddy is cold, brewed coffee.

Some coffee establishments call it cold, brewed-coffee concentrate.



Tamping

The majority of this cafe information is dated to 2008 and is not entirely accurate. 23 02 2010

Tamping coffee grounds is necessary to produce a consistent spread of water over the entire espresso shot. Tamping is needed to prevent the channelling of the water flowing from the porta-filter through the roast. If the spent grounds do not come out in the shape of a round, puck shape then the water from your unit is not reaching your espresso evening. Proper tamping requires a consistent force of up to about 30 lbs.



Tamper

The majority of this cafe information is dated to 2008 and is not entirely accurate. 16 02 2010

A short, disc-like object that is usually two or three inches in length. It is commonly made of metal or plastic, and the handle part can be wrapped in wood. Tampers are often hand-held accessories or attached to espresso grinders.

Author’s note:
Attached tampers allow baristas to handle the tamping operation with one-handed flair, but is slightly harder to get proper compression and hand tamping is preferred. Commercial machines like the La Marzocco Swift Espresso Grinder can dispense beans and tamp the grounds automatically.