Latte Art Heart

I am thankful

I am thankful for living in an eclectic area of town, East Vancouver, on the best street Commercial Drive.

I am thankful for living near my family and the support I have received when I broke my leg skiing.

I am thankful for living in a city that has such a dedicated coffee culture. A place where I can visit three amazing cafes without batting an eyelash. A town where you’ll see dedicated owners up at the crack of dawn pulling shots to make sure the espresso is the best it can be, and not sacrificing quality for profit.

I am thankful that the great cafes are just the public face of the caffeinated culture that is somewhat behind the scenes for those who might be unaware of its influence.

Two things have led me to this conclusion.

The Canadian Barista Championships at the Canadian Coffee and Tea Show were held in Vancouver. To see such a large collection of coffee enthusiasts all in one place for a first timer really showed me how much Vancouver really has to be thankful for. From the Piccolo clan to the Jones brothers from Banks Thomas to Spencer Viehweger. They were all in attendance. For a first timer like myself it was an impressive display of just how much Vancouver is involved with coffee.

The second came a couple weeks ago at a Coffee Lab near you.

Chris Giannakos, left, pours Nathan Slabaugh a cup. Photo by Mark Prince.

I went to Mark Prince’s new coffee lab for an inaugural coffee tasting. It was one of the best collections of coffee sampling I had ever seen.

Phil and Sebastian Kenya Kiru Co-op, left, PT’s Panama Elida Estate, Doma Costa Rica, Counter Culture AIDA Grand Reserve, Counter Culture Hacienda Esmeralda Special

But more than that the amazing collection of coffee was the eclectic group of people in attendance for the inaugural tasting. From baristas to bakers to bloggers. It was a diverse collection of coffee aficionados who were all bringing a different viewpoint to the cupping table.

It was one of the most enjoyable coffee experiences I have had. All the little pieces fell right into place. I also feel that this variety of people would be hard to find in a less coffee-centric locale. Check out the video below from my new youtube channel.

And then here is when you say, “Rob you’re in the know, normal coffee drinkers wouldn’t get this type of opportunity.” Well, I beg to differ and here is why. I run this blog so you can  learn more about coffee. I am here to tell you that these experiences aren’t for the in-the-know of coffee.

Coming in the new year Mark Prince is opening up his coffee lab to courses for the consumer and I only know Vancouver will benefit from this. He will also be teaching people how to make great coffee on machines you’ll be able to afford. So if you can’t afford the $5k Speedster that’s OK  ( p.s. neither can I ).  His classes will be centered around how to make great cups at home.

After attending a number of his tastings at the Bump and Grind a couple years ago and attending a number of his cuppings at the Lab I have only benefited from the vast amount of knowledge in this  geek’s head.

I’ll post a link when his lab is up and running, and hope to take a few classes myself.

p.s. Here is a list of twitters that were in attendance. (My apologies if I have missed anyone)

@circuscoffee
@peter_van
@kafkascoffeetea
@casualbaker
@thecafeguide
@Coffeevancouver
@GI_Spro
@CoffeeGeek

That's a Wrap

As this was the first coffee trade show I have ever been too, I have to say I really had a great time. I got to meet a lot of people in the coffee industry who provide the tools to the cafe’s.

I also got to see the Barista Competition live for the first time and it is impressive. The pressure the bar tenders are under to get every drink down is pretty amazing.

Swiss Family Piccolo

I finally met the lovely and equally knowledgeable Andrea Piccolo at the Swiss Water Booth. Erica and I both took the Swiss Water Challenge which provided two cups of french pressed coffee one decaf on not. Both of us could barely tell the difference between the the decaf and the caffeinated brew. We really enjoyed our chat with the gang at swiss water and hope to find out more about their unique decaffeination process.

A Greener Show?

At 50 cents a piece for this IKEA Älmhult stonewear mug, it is a cheap reusable option.

From the Aardvark paper drinking straws to the Baskets-n-bags burlap coffee trays to a hand pump portable espresso maker. This show had a number of booths focused on recyclable, biodegradable and greener products. We fully support the use of a greener more sustainable product, but the other side of the trade show we saw a whole lot of waste.

What we also saw was a lot of sample cups being offered, sampled and then being thrown out. I found it to be a lot of waste with some exhibitors wanting to give us 10 to 12 oz cups of coffee with sleeves etc.  While we were impressed with the marketing venture some of the new producers were trying to accomplish, we felt there was a lot of waste as well.

While I totally understand how hard it is to be a little more green The Salt Spring Coffee Co showed why they were leaders in sustainability. Their coffee samples were given in reusable IKEA Älmhult stonewear mug. After being used they were washed in the clean up area that was provided and brought back to the booth.

According to Banks Thomas, roaster for Salt Spring, he brought the idea to the Island Roaster, but he can’t take credit for it.

“When I was at counter culture they had reusable cups and I took the idea from them,” said Banks.

Salt Spring first introduced the reusable cups at the EPIC Sustainability convention last spring.

This is a win win, one the cost of the cup is only payed out once and then reused, and two the samplers will stick around to finish the coffee and you have a captive audience to make your pitch until they are completed. So I hope Salt Spring doesn’t mind me letting the cat out of the bag on this one and I hope the trend continues!

5 seconds of Fame

I ran into Sophie Lui from Global Television and with one look at my name tag she had me in front of her camera asking about Far Coast coffee, the just named official coffee supplier of the 2010 Olympic Games. I wasn’t surprised seeing that is the hot beverage arm of the Coke-a-Cola company. Sophie asked me to taste the coffee and give it my impression. The coffee was about an hour old and kept in stainless steel vacuum flask.  I thought it was over extracted and  and slightly higher in acidity then body.

I made the news on Thursday night (Yup you can watch it here go to the 11:00 minute mark), but as TV goes, my quote was slightly cut. I didn’t mind, I know the seconds count in a news cast and just so you think I am not a complete snob, I said

“Is this olympic worthy coffee, it certainly wouldn’t get a gold metal in my book, but I have drank far worse.”

The Barista Championship

Kyle Straw, second from right, and the finalist of the Canadian Barista Competion

It was the first time Erica and I had both seen the Canadian Barista Championships competition and in every sense of the word we were impressed with the competition. The timing needed to prepare everything to come out in a certain order, the judging involved with each and every moment is completely rehearsed and practiced over and over again.

Kyle Straw from Caffe Argitano Hornby location came out the top Canadian Barista and will be heading the London England in 2010 for the World Barista Championships in June.

But something that I saw in person that you never really see on the u-stream of the event is the support system that is there for the barista, from sample testing during the set up time to making sure the barista is completely set up. Once the competition starts the barista is on their own.

After the competition the barista goes over the their scores with the judges.  While getting feedback is par for the course, I was really impressed with the amount of detailed feedback that was given back to the barista. This wasn’t just a 30 second, you did well.  Both judge and barista when through the comp in fine detail.

Fine Example

I came to the obvious conclusion that this consultation is the true gift of the barista competition and that it is a shining example of why they are important. If baristas of national caliber spend weeks training for this event and then after the competition spend 5 to 10 minutes going over their scores with one of the judges, the trickle down effect to every cafe must be significant.

Sammy Piccolo the 2009 Canadian Barista Championship

The Coffee and Tea show and Barista Competition has concluded. You can read all about it here.

I have never been to a barista championship. It’s not that I don’t believe in them, I just have had bad timing. I have met a few champion baristas in Vancouver and their handy work is stuff coffee jitters are made of.

So when I heard that the Western Canadian Barista Championships were being held in Victoria I was completely annoyed that I couldn’t make it. My real job got in the way of my coffee addiction again.

So when I heard the nationals were coming to Vancouver, the staff of the Vancouver Indy Coffee Scene are more than excited to attend and watch a barista competition live. But, what are we going to watch? We had to do some research. I checked out the Canadian Barista Championship rules PDF, which is available from the Canadian Barista Academy website. It’s an uniquely detailed list.

According to the Canadian Barista Championship 2009 rules and regulations you will be provided with:

Judges are plentiful.

Four Sensory judges will compare the quality of the espresso based drinks. Technical Judges will watch the skill of the barista on the espresso machine and one head judge will watch them all.

What will the Barista Make?

4 shots of espresso
4 cappuccinos 5 to 6 oz
4 signature drinks
============
12 drinks total

If you have ever worked an espresso bar before you know that pumping out a drink every minute is a decent task of time management, skill and multitasking. And then presenting these drinks for inspection is more than a little stressful.

What the hell is a signature drink?

Signature Drink Base from Atlanta World Barista Championship photo credit: liz clayton

A signature drink is something the barista has developed to show the skill of their craft and to show some artistic flair and style. The signature drink is some of the most unique drink designs and combinations you will ever see. I am no expert in this subject, but I doubt you’ll see any of these drinks ever on a menu because they are so complex in creation and design.

While all of this is going on you also have a hands free microphone in between shots of espresso being pulled and milk being steamed. The barista will talk on a microphone about the origin of the roast and concept of the signature drink and why they got into coffee.

For example check out Sammy Piccolos final round in the 2009 World Barista Championships in Atlanta.

Why do Barista Competitions Matter?

It could be said that like most competitions this showdown really only matters to the people involved. I’ll pat your back and you’ll pat mine scenario.

But really what is more important is the grass roots that regional competitions provide. Just in preparation alone for the regional competitions, baristas are honing their craft and after competitions the amount of knowledge each barista brings back to his or her home cafe is extraordinary. These competitions are held across North America and have thousands of baristas competing and learning about new techniques.

Where is this all going down?

The Vancouver Convention Centre East (Canada Place)

October 14th 9:00 am – 6:00 pm

October 15th 11:00 am – 5:00 pm

How much is it to get in?

It is $15 a day to see the trade show and Barista Championship. But the Vancouver Indy Coffee Scene has a number of free passes available to watch the competition. But you have to pre-register online at the Canadian Coffee & Tea Show website.

Fill out your information and enter promo code: Online9

Once you click “Apply Promo Code” the trade show cost should be zeroed out.

The Coffee and Tea Show has concluded. Read about the show here.

Disclaimer:
• The Vancouver Indy Coffee Scene is not affiliated with the Canadian Coffee & Tea Show and you will be leaving our site to access the free pass.
• The Vancouver Indy Coffee Scene can not guarantee your access to the Canadian Coffee & Tea Show.

We had a crew of about 10 people arrive outside Bikes on the Drive for the East Van Coffee Tour. Waiting for the crew to show up I got a text from my editor Stef that she was in bed with the flu, so no live blogging, or twitter updates. Unfortunately for Stef she couldn’t try out a Tree and take over the coverage of the tour. With a group of about 10 people we took off down the hill to Bump and Grind for the first coffee of the day. Fellow coffee aficionado Evan McGraw was able to take up the task of the tour photographer so I could keep focused on the tour.

Bump and Grind
We arrived at Bump and Grind and I enjoyed some espresso and ice cream. I got this off of the menu item from Bump and Grind and it hit the spot on a warm summer morning. It’s available through out the summer months. For the next tour it would be awesome to have someone to look over the bikes that way it won’t take us forever to lock up the bikes each and every time	Espresso and Ice Cream at Bump and Grind
Prado Cafe
Arriving at Prado Cafe it was a busy as ever, with Amy and Sara behind the bar we were able to get our drinks with out much trouble. Since I was well aware of what being over-caffeinated can do, I decided to go for a decaf macchiato. I was amazed by the absolute quality of the decaf it was by far one of the best drinks of the day. I gave a little talk about the cafe and the modifications of the La Marzocco FB-70 that Amy York made.	Espresso at Prado
JJ Bean Mainstreet
With barely a seat to be found at Prado we finished our drinks and took off for Main Street and JJ Bean. The 10th avenue bike route provided us with some shade from the blaring sun. Arriving at JJ Bean we found barista Robert Csar behind the counter working up a sweat. Putting him through his paces, Evan had a great photo of her soy macchiato from JJ Bean. We lost a couple tour people after JJ Bean, I think I might keep the next tour to three cafes. But the tour must continue!	Dry Cappuccino at JJ Bean
Re-Entry Espresso
Arriving at Re-Entry we had some definite need for some more bike parking. Even with a bike rack right outside the cafe we couldn’t find enough parking for our crew. Makes me wish the cafes of Vancouver had something like what Stumptown has in Portland. We met Matt Bishop and I found that he actually uses darkroom timers for timing his shots. What an awesome reuse of technology! You set your dosage to any amount you want with dials and hit the timer button that starts the grinder! The group had dwindled down to five by this time but we had a real nice chat with Matt Bishop and learnt a bit about red espresso for those who aren’t so addicted to caffeine.	Darkroom Timers at Re-entry
Elysian Room
ilan showed us how close Main Street was to the Ontario Bike Route and so we popped over and cruised down the hill to Elysian Room and the conclusion of this tour. A number of us were coffeed out by this point. But we all had a some of that awesome sparkling water they serve from the fountain and we all shared a clover press of the guatemala just to give it a try.	Espresso at Eylsian

Things I learned from this tour

• It is really hard to park 10 bikes on a normal street and we ended up locking them to each other
• Five cafes is much too much and the route was too long to keep everyone together
• If we do another it will certainly be a different route with different cafes
• I am not sure we could get much better weather. . .

Tree Coffee Cuff

Bike to Work with Coffee Photo: David Niddrie

I have done a few coffee tours with friends, the over-indulgent coffee tour Geoff Howe and I took, and the educational tour I took Erica Hill on at New Years Day. The first one was done by car the second was done by transit, the third will be done by bike.

This summer I have been working with Bikes on the Drive developing a blog and some social marketing around their new bike The Tree. The experience has been one of the most compelling and encompassing projects I have ever worked on. I worked with ilan Handelsman and he quite enjoyed an excellent cup of coffee and really enjoys this blog.

Over a few Americanos we hatched this plan of a biking coffee tour to some of the best coffee shops in East Vancouver. After blogging about The Tree bicycle for most of the summer I found that the bike and coffee blog share the same goals: More sustainable products through education. Both ilan and I thought this would be a great way to showcase some excellent roasters, groovy cafes and the quintessential commuter bike all in one shot (sorry no pun intended).

We had the idea and now just needed to extract the details:

The East Van Biking Coffee Tour
Sponsored by: Bikes on the Drive & Vancouver Indy Coffee Scene

Meet: 10:30 am at Bikes on the Drive 1350 Commercial Drive ~ Rain or Shine.
Day: Saturday  July 11, 2009
Cost: Your choice of coffee beverage at cafes we will go to.
Distance Travelled: 9.5 kilometers
Finishing around: 2:00 pm give or take time taken at cafes.

Being that this is the first public coffee tour I have ever organized I had a few goals in mind:

1. Variety of roasters
2. Short distances travelled
3. Quality of cafe

which is kind of why we have chosen the cafes we have and the route we did. If it is a success we certainly have another one and will choose a different route with different cafes. So please come out it will be a lot of fun and hopefully good weather.

Tour has concluded thanks for all who came out

Arctic Aurora one of many image from Native Landscapes

In my former life I was a news photographer and I did a fair amount of travel around Western Canada covering the events of the day. So when Joe and Audrey asked me to show my work at the Bump and Grind I was more than happy (it is the closest cafe to my house).

This show was commissioned five years ago for the Bienal Fotosemana, which had photography exhibitions across Bogota, Colombia. I was chosen too as the international guest and showed at Universidad Nacional de Colombia Meseo De Arte, The National University Art Museum.

With the help of Vince over at 49th and Bump and Grind we will be serving the Colombia Timana during the event.

So here is the skinny:

Show: Native Landscapes
Where: Bump and Grind 916 Commercial Drive (map below)
When: Saturday, June 13 5:00 – 7:00 pm

The Barista Jam came to the Radio Station Cafe. It was a hot Sunday afternoon on the long weekend and I decided to bike down from the drive to the East Hastings haunt. I didn’t really know what a barista jam was but after reading Mark Princes (aka the Coffee Geek) Tweet I decided to take a Sunday afternoon off from work and check it out.
The Jam comprises of a dozen barista’s from a few cafes and who ever could pull the best shot of espresso grinder, judged by Robert Csar Supervisor of JJ Bean on Main Street and Mark Prince, from Coffee Geek.

Competitors chill during the judging at the Radio Station Cafe

This was the first “Jam” I had been to and there was so many things I enjoyed about spending a lazy Sunday afternoon watching barista’s compete for nothing but a belt buckle, a couple bucks and the admiration of thy fellow peers.

Other interesting notes I found from the day were:

• • It gets really hard to shoot 12 different pictures of a barista working a three group La Marzocca Super Caimano with a point and shoot digital.
• • It is really hard to watch a barista jam without being able to enjoy some espresso yourself.
• • I pulled my first shot of espresso in about five years and although I had the grace of an elephant ballet dancing, 23 seconds later I had a decent shot.
• • Vancouver has a great community of involved coffee enthusiasts who truly enjoy the adventure, mastery and complexity of serving a great shot of espresso.
• • People who volunteer to do the dishes are AWESOME!

This little Jam started last year at Radio Station Cafe making this only its second. I hope two things continue on to next year. One, that the jam just continues, heck I will even help sponsor next year if needed. Two, that it remains as fun and low key as it did this year. No one was wearing any colours or sporting any logos (other than the bags of coffee themselves, which is ok) and there wasn’t anything on the line other than a spent afternoon and some fun with fellow enthusiasts. While we need the Barista Championships in Canada (congrats Sammy) and the world, this is one that should remain just for the fun of it (and the belt buckle of course).

Gallery of Photos with captions