The Vancouver Indy Coffee Scene

BCIT SA

Two weeks ago, while I was standing in line for my morning fix, I saw a sign that read, 20 percent off your drink if you bring your own mug

I thought it was a cool idea, as most shops have done the 10 cents off your own cup for a couple of years now, but 20 percent over the course of a five day week would buy your next Mondays coffee.

The sign was posted outside The JJ Beans coffee kiosk in the Great Hall at BCIT’s Willingdon campus. It is owned and operated by the students association.

Cost per use per cup (click to see detail)

“It is good for the environment, and good for the students, it gives them a lower price.” said the manager of the cafe.

This little five minute conversation peeked my interest about what is the environment impact of disposable coffee cups and I found a wealth of information on the net.
In a study done by University of Victoria professor, Martin B. Hocking, on the energy use per unit (MJ) of each cup.

I was very surprised at first glance to see that the polystyrene foam was so cheap in energy to produce and how just washing the reusable cup uses more energy then the production of one polystyrene cup.

In graphic number two it would take more then two and a half years just to reach the amount MJ used in the creation of each cup. It is easy to see why take-out places use these items as they are mass produced, and given freely without cause for disposal.

So what is the use?

Energy per cup (click to see detail)

Well fear not, students of Rowan University in New Jersey, USA wrote a study asking the faculty to change from polystyrene cup to a reusable mug. Their study still supports that foam is cheaper to produce per MJ unit and you will be using more energy to produce and then clean the other mug, but after usage the environmental costs and economic impacts are hard to dispute and easy to gauge.

In just two semesters the university would have recouped the extra cost of the reusable cups and after five semesters the college would have recouped an entire semester of foam cups cost. Over 12 semester their could be a total savings of just under $65,000 US, now that is real money we talking about people.

Cost of Cups Comparison by Rowan University (click to see detail)

Who else does this?

The Winnipeg Folk Festival has been using this method for years, they encourage people to bring mugs and sell festival reusable travel mugs at cost. The festival takes this one step further by charging a $2 dollar deposit for the plate your food is served on.  To get this back you must return the plate where it gets washed and reused.  If you want to be a food vendor on site you must be part of this solution. It is a system that works well for the festival for years and reduces the impact on the provincial park the festival is held at each year.

Winnipeg Folk Festival Plate Recycling

• Prado Café gives you 20 cents off every drink with it’s own cup
• Caffe Artigiano will charge you 50 cents if you want another paper cup.
• Blenz and most other stores will give you just 10 cents off your own mug. It isn’t much of an incentive but you get tons of karma point for the environment impact.
• Bump and Grind and various other shops sell a reusable coffee sleeve.

So do you want to be like Al Gore? Want to do your part to save the environment?

Use your own cup!

Amendment  : Things have changed at BCIT and the Kiosk is no longer but connected with the Convenience store.

Back, way back in the early years of the 90s I loved Starbucks. I couldn’t get enough of this new drug. I have even been to the first ever Starbucks in Pike Place Market, Seattle. I mean I was a fan. I was used to coffee from McDonalds, BC Ferries and Petro Can. But this was actually good…and those barista’s were so friendly and knowledgeable.

Skip ahead a couple years, when I lived in Yellowknife for three years and rarely saw a Starbucks (or any other chain for that matter). But, Javaroma roasted its own beans and is totally independent. My love of coffee grew. I did a lot of travel up there and had some good and not so good coffee; the best was in Greenland. It was a Danish roast that was cheap as hell and got me through a number of hangovers. To this day I don’t know what was in that roast or why it was so cheap, I don’t speak Danish, but it was so good. The Canadian Customs Agents even joked about having to confiscate my brew during my repatriation in Iqualuit, NU.

Vancouver visit not complete without a visit to Starbucks. . .

I visited Starbucks occasionally every time I was in Vancouver. I still found that friendly service but noticed they were everywhere. I didn’t have to search to find that diamond in the rough. It kind of spoiled the adventure for me a bit when I could find one on every street corner. I wanted more then a 100% Arabica bean and a cute smile from the female barista behind the bar. I wanted culture, stories and the community of people that inhabited the shop. I wasn’t finding that at Starbucks anymore.

A trip down south

The Starbucks Paradox by Bernie Hou

I moved to Winnipeg and found a few independent chains that were as good, if not better than Starbucks. but to skip ahead a couple of years, I had the chance to visit Bogotá, Colombia in 2004. My eyes were open to the world of coffee and how we are exploiting it. I had some great and not so great coffee while I was down there but every shop and cafe I went to seemed to have so much character with a little old lady walking around with cream and sugar or a broom, it was cute. I hate to see what cookie cutter cafes would turn that country into. Also, it was very difficult to get coffee to go in Bogotá, you had to sit and enjoy your beverage. It was kind of nice to sit, relax and enjoy the aroma and chat with your neighbour.

When I moved back to Vancouver in 2005; the Starbucks Paradox (the one thing Starbucks had created they were slowly destroying) had taken over the city, but even more than that. Baristas were now telling me how my drink was made or the way I should like it, and what I should drink. Obviously they were right being the biggest and best coffee chain in the world, they can set the tone that everyone else should follow, right?

Not religious enough

A friend of mine was going to be fired for not taking out her nose stud when company policy changed. She said her mother had given her nose ring to her since puberty and it was a religious symbol in her faith. Starbucks said that was fine but she had to prove it by getting documentation from more than three religious leaders. She was shocked and horrified. . . and left the company not wanting to fight the rule and left after two years of successful employment.

You’ll have to wait a minute because it’s an instamatic

Although the speed and efficiency of the Barista was greatly improved by the automatic machines, the quality of the drinks suffered. It would be great if I could get a latte on any street corner in Vancouver in less than a minute, but why would I want one if no care was put into the making of it, should convenience trump quality?

Disclaimer
(amendment Feb 2009)

I still go to Starbucks about once a month, just to see what is going one. This rant is to show I don’t hate Starbucks because they are the biggest coffee chain on the planet and everyone loves a good David versus Goliath battle. I hate Starbucks because they don’t hold to the virtues that they once held so true.