The Vancouver Indy Coffee Scene

Starbucks buys Clover

Last night I heard that Clover sold to Starbucks. I was shocked and couldn’t believe it. Well, I am sure that the folks over at Clover made a tied profit off this and yet I wonder if this was the final end-game for the Zander Nosler and Randy Hulett.

I am not a conspiracy theorist, but hey look at the facts!

Clover company colour’s Green
Starbucks company colour’s Green
Clover Company sold in March
Four leaf Clovers are found in Ireland
Ireland’s most greenest day is St. Patty’s in March

OK, more seriously lets look back about two years ago to my first Clover experience.

Why Clover Why?

It was the summer of 2005 and I was working at the Whitefish Group’s Canadian licensed Seattle’s Best Coffee in the Bental V located in downtown Vancouver. It was a high pace and slightly higher quality then Starbucks, but not by much.

While I was working downtown, Caffe Artigiano celebrated its $5 cup of coffee. This coffee made news across Canada and was a great marketing coup for the company. People who had never been in Caffe Artigiano before were coming in for that coffee and also Clover made its first appearance in the local media. Hearing about a $10,000 coffee brewer that brews a $5 cup of precise coffee, I had to try it.

It was still one of the best cups of coffee I have ever had. It danced in my mouth like a prima ballerina in her final performance, which brings me to the sale of Clover to Starbucks.

It really is a simple equation:

Excellent Roast + Excellent Machine + Trained Barista = Great cup of Coffee

You need all three, and the Clover is not an automatic machine. It needs a well trained staff to stir the roast and adjust the time according to each roast. Plus it really isn’t all that fast. So it goes against all of the automation that Starbucks had previously implemented.

Mark Prince over at CoffeeGeek has provided some great insight into this sale on his recent podcast. He goes into much more detail than I have. But let’s just say I am sticking to my pour over, Starbucks can’t buy the license to that!

Pour Over Filter

Caffee Artigiano Granville Location

Walking along Granville there is a lot of sushi joints, clothing stores and stationary shops, but what has excited me most about my frequent Granville strolls is the opening of a new Caffe Artigiano.
I have found the Hornby location all too busy some times and found the surroundings of this new cafe a well kept secret. It was fast, friendly and I dare say the latte was better than the one from the Hornby crowd.
On my second trip to Artigiano, I met Sammy Piccolo who told me that they were looking for a few good barista’s for there new Burnaby store. So if you want to learn from one of the best in the world, here is you opportunity.
He also promised a tour of the 49th Parallel Roastery and I am looking forward to that!

Take two

Almost across the street from Trees Organic Coffee is Take 5 Cafe and they were advertising the $2 latte of any flavour. I have never been a fan of these promotions because I believed it also lowered the quality of the product. But feeling adventuresome, I walked in.
I must admit that is wasn’t the very best latte I have ever had, and I have had far far worse. The point I am trying to make is that if you put effort into a quality product regardless of the quality of your roast, you will notice a vast improvement.
This isn’t a full review of Take Five, but with a good barista and the right knowledge price does not always equal quality.

Starbucks short lived campaign

Best Starbucks in the Neighbourhood?

Starbucks have another piece of spam advertising on the doors of their establishment, proclaiming the best expresso in the neighbourhood. Well on who’s authority? Again this is a smooth marketing campaign for Starbucks, because it is all a matter of opinion. But I think it just looks funny. They are trying really hard to get the perception of quality once had when an automated machine hasn’t improved what a properly trained barista can do. . .

5, 4, 3 . . . and we’re live.

I have started another blog:

blog.robertdall.com

This is more a personal blog that is about my web design and photography skills and anything that isn’t coffee.

In addition to the new blog I have also re-launched a brand new website for web design and photography. This site has been rolling around in the back of my head for years, but it was only until now that I had the technical knowledge to do it. Please check it out.

We now return to your regularly scheduled program.

Trees Coffee on Granville

I am currently doing a practicum at Creative Spirit Communications, it’s been great fun and I am learning a lot. Other than my bosses love of Starbucks it was a great place to learn.
I am also learning about the cafes that grace Granville. I decided to take my friend, Laura Leyshon, out for a coffee at Trees Organic Coffee and try some of their cheesecake that people are talking about.

Let them eat cake

Trees Coffee was started in 1996 and is just one block from the Hastings and Granville Intersection. When you walk in you’re greeted with a great wooden atmosphere and tile floors.
We picked our sinful treats and we both chose the cherry and chocolate cheesecake. We went to pay for our tasty desserts and the total $20 cheesecake bill was really quite shocking. My mind did wonder, “Hey couldn’t I feed an entire village in Africa for the price of this cheese cake?” I felt more guilty for that than for the amount of calories I was consuming. Was the cheesecake the best I have ever tasted? Oh yes. . . .

Walk in the woods?

Laura got herself a latte and I went with the tried and true double shot Americano. Both were quite good and Laura really liked the free pour art she received on her drink.
My Americano was also a nice pull. Since starting my practicum a couple weeks ago, I have gone to Trees on a weekly basis and found that most products were of fair and decent quality.

Seeing the Forest for the Trees

The beans are organic, fair trade and are roasted in the back. They roast in the off hours and the beans that sit there are the ones roasted. The only question I have is: Why have so many types of roasted beans sitting there? And how fast do they go through that production? It is nice to see all the different type of beans displayed, but the oxidation of the bean would degrade the quality of the roast. But with that said, I give my full approval to Trees Coffee and its sinful cheesecake.

Faces and Places

Where blog was written: Trees Organic Coffee
Drinks ordered: Medium latte and Americano
Discount of own to-go cup: large for price of a small
Barista Knowledge: dependable
Barista’s Friendliness: sincere
Website: http://www.treescoffee.com/