The Vancouver Indy Coffee Scene

The Globe and Mail one of my favorite newspapers has a really decent article on micro-chain café expansion. They talk with Willie Mounzer, co-owner of Caffé Artigiano, Vince Piccolo of 49th Parallel and John Neate of JJ Bean and some guy from Starbucks PR. It is a really in-depth and decent article and sums up the current café scene quite nicely.

This winter I was able to have a long chat with Wille Mounzer at the Canadian Coffee and Tea Show . He expressed that growth is natural for a chain and finding the right people for the job is important.  He explained that taking short cuts behind the bar leads to less quality product, to which I agree. The varying quality I have seen from chains leads me to believe that even the mighty Artigiano can’t keep the quality consistent and still expand. I’d agree with Owner John Neate of JJ Bean, who I have found more consistent in his cafes across the board.

“For us to go to Toronto, we’d have to compromise what we do. You can only have so many stores, I don’t know how many, but I think after 20 it’s hard to remember all the managers names and their families. We’re pretty close to our maximum size around 10.” Said JJ Bean Owner John Neate ~ As published in the Globe and Mail Wednesday, Feb. 03, 2010.

That comment pretty much sums it up in my mind but don’t take my word for it.  Head down to your favorite café, grab a copy of the paper and decide for yourself.

The Globe and Mail Newspaper

Hemingway writing in journal Credit: Creative Commons: Wikipedia

“It was a Pleasant Cafe, warm and clean and friendly, and I hung up my old water proof on the coat rack to dry and put my worn and weathered felt hat on the rack above the bench and ordered a cafe au lait. The waiter brought it and I took out a notebook from the pocket of the coat and a pencil and started to write.” ~ Ernest Hemingway

I found this quote at a recent cafe I was at. I think it is why we often head to cafes with books, journals and now laptops.

This is part two into the look at the wireless culture in Vancouver. You can read part one here.

When I need to work downtown I hit the Vancouver Public Library, which has one of the largest collections of free wireless internet in Vancouver. When its internet was down I used to head to Take 5 Cafe on Granville. I wasn’t exactly looking for quality coffee more than I was looking for a quality internet connection. With some extra instruction to the barista I received a decent $2 latte, certainly worth the money I paid for it.  No more, no less. They always have space and don’t mind if you spent most of the afternoon there.

They had extra power plugs installed and had a seating capacity of at least 100. When you compare that to a smaller cafe of 20 – 30 seats and you’ll need substantial more turn over, it all depends on your business model.

The Wilder Snail had an interesting solution to wireless internet. They only turn on the wireless after 2:00 pm. Owner Boyd Thomson says it was part of his plan to offer wireless to his customers, but he also has to cater to his lunch crowd which was quite busy last winter.

A different model

“We want people to spend all day in our cafes. We design our cafes with power plugs in mind and even the smaller kiosk stores have plug ins in the floor,” said Layla Osberg, Director or Training at Blenz Head Office.

Despite the quality of coffee the Blenz at Horseshoe Bay is a decent place to wait for a late ferry. But that is 90 per cent of their business.

Of course Blenz is a franchise-based organization and costs of wireless is up to each cafe owner. But when buying into the franchise you are also buying into the business model. Friends of mine have often commented that they have go to a wireless cafe to give roommates some room or to burn the midnight oil during the end of the term papers.

Personally I have enjoyed the Blenz at Horseshoe Bay more then a few times while waiting for the ferry. Their is such a high turn over of staff at the location the quality of any espresso drink will be completely random. I usually stick with the drip coffee at Blenz. It is far better then the vending machine in the ferry waiting room and the wireless allowed me to get some much needed work done. The first part of this look at wifi was written their while waiting for the ferry that was more then a hour behind schedule.

Wavey Wi-fi

Waves is another chain in Vancouver that has it’s entire business model centered around wireless laptop culture and 24-hour access. Without going into detail I did camp out at one 24-hour cafe for a group assignment that went horribly wrong. The only reason I headed to a cafe was if I went home I would have fallen asleep on the couch. I left at 4 am when I started to see less than desirable patrons sleeping next to me. I have never expected to get a decent cup of coffee from a place that markets itself as a wireless first and a cafe second and haven’t been disappointed.

Waves bases it's entire business model on the wifi customer

Return on Investment

Starbucks and Bell offer one free hour of wireless to anyone with a Starbucks Card. This approach helps to keep the Cafe Loafers at bay and if they want to spend all day they will have to purchase wireless from Bell to do it. I tried it out and it worked quite well for me when I needed a wireless cafe on a holiday monday in a small town. But there is a catch. You must have a balance on your card. I login in and then ordered my drink spending the balance of my card. I accidentally closed my laptop. I went to sign in again and had already been kicked out of the system for not having a balance on my starbucks card. All of this had transpired in just over half an hour. The bucks certainly has the return on investment dialed in, but the infrastructure need would be far more then any independent shop owner could do.

So what is a wondering wireless roamer to do? It all depends on what your looking for:

1. If you going to a smaller capacity cafe. Don’t expect to stay all day with out getting a few looks from the staff if you have over stayed your welcome.
2. If you headed to a 24-hour cafe with free all you can eat wifi. Don’t expect the World Barista Champion to be working the 3am shift.
3. If you can’t connect to the internet. Don’t blame the staff they can’t be held accountable for providing a “extra service”.
4. If your going the top award winning cafe in town expecting to find a wireless connection. Don’t be disgruntled when you find they don’t offer any.
5. Always be thankful to find a cafe that does offer wireless when your waiting for a ferry. Anything is better then the vending machine in the BC Ferries waiting room.

JJ Bean Mainstreet Store front

The Main Street JJ Bean is one of seven in the string of cafes that are part of  JJ Bean Coffee Roasters. They have a large wholesale and distributing arm which services a huge number of independent operated cafes across the lower mainland.

But the house that I am talking about is exclusively the JJ Bean Cafes located across Vancouver and are owned and operated by the parent company. These cafes are where a lot of barista’s in Vancouver have gotten their start and some cafe owners like Amy York were taught the business before going off to start new cafes.

This is also an exclusive review of the Main Street Cafe as chains go one cafe can not speak for the entire brand.

A short walk up from Broadway you’ll find yourself at East 14th and a bucks on one corner and a JJ Bean on the other. The JJ’s has a large wood finish on the exterior and a huge portal for people watching along main street. Walking into the cafe the wood theme continues with high wood ceilings, a central fire place, with a green titled and  wood bar.  As far a cafes go this is quite the large one with a pair of La Marczocco Linea three group machines and a large fireplace in the center. Their is a roaster in the corner and it is used on a weekly basis for small batch roasting.

The Main Street Patio

Song bird style

The cafe has large garage style windows which open up to the patio during the summer. I must admit I whore for this style of windows and with the type of climate Vancouver has it suites the cafe perfectly. Small little song birds who are quite cheeky in their pursuit of muffin crumbs perpetrate through the large garage bay windows. Personally I think it adds to the cafe. If a seagull came nibbling around my feet I might have a different opinion, but the sounds of the song birds are certainly sweeter then roar of traffic IMHO.

The JJ Bean Coffee Roasters has been going through a re-genesis of sorts the have shorten their line up and refined their purchasing, the Espresso Nero Organic has been really kicking it in high gear lately. I think were coming into a great time for coffee drinkers in Vancouver as the roasters are really challenging each other in terms of quality.

The Americano ordered on the first visit was rich in crema. As it cool I found it kinda mellowed out a bit with a clean finish. I had to down it as I didn’t realize the time, but even doing that I didn’t ruined the finish, although I wouldn’t recommend it.

A Roman Indulgence

The Macchiato was so good I almost forgot to take a photo

8oz Dry Cappuccino

I returned a week later to have an espresso macchiato. The milk was steam perfectly with a decent amount a micro foam and both the espresso and milk melded perfectly together. It was one of the best drinks I have ever had from a JJ Bean. I find it hard to sometimes describe the perfect drink as their are so many variables that can’t be judges or quantified. But everything came together, quality drink, the environment, service, music, mood.

In my second drink I decided to go all out and ask for an 8oz Dry Cappuccino and they delivered in my estimation a perfectly crafted dry cappuccino of which I fully enjoyed from the spoonfuls of foam on top to the perfectly heated milk below.

They don’t have wi-fi, but they do serve food and this place can get dam busy even at the slowest of days. I have been really enjoying JJ’s coffee as of late and these latest cafe visits has certainly excelled in quality from previous visits.

Faces and Places

Where this blog was written: JJ Bean Main Street
Drink that was ordered: 12 oz Americano & 6 oz. Macchiato and 8 oz Dry Cappuccino
Discount on to-go cup: 15 cents
Barista Skill: Top notch
Barista friendliness: personable and sociable
Website: www.jjbeancoffee.com

Tim Hortons comes to the DrivePlease do you part and Boycott!

Yet another chain on the drive. Tim Hortons has decided to take over three stores in the mall and create a behemoth of coffee shops almost the size of Wazubee’s. This also comes at a time when Magpie magazine and Eastside Art Supply and Stationary are both closing its doors due to lack of sales.

The best cappuccino ever

Meanwhile, Magpie’s closing has more to do with the laptop culture of cafes. It signals a change to the drive. I have been know to frequent Tim Hortons on numerous occasions, but is ‘the drive’ really a place for Tim Hortons?

Bump and Grind Sold:

Bump and Grind was sold to Audrey and Joe. Christine needed a break from running the cafe and to focus more on her dance instruction.

Audrey and Joe are new to running the cafe. They are certainly no strangers to coffee, glad to see the old haunts are still in good shape. I will miss Christine’s cappuccino’s she had made some spectacular ones.

Direct Purchase Colombian:

My parents were recently on a cruise and had some shore leave in Cartagena, Colombia. They brought me back a pound of roasted coffee. It is a light roast with mellow body.

Audrey and Joe Smelling freshly ground coffee

Cuppings:

I have been using it with my cone filter at home, but I was talking with Audrey and Joe at Bump and Grind and they wanted to put it up against 49th Parallel Colombian.

We put it to the French press test and had some fun in a cupping challenge. Without going into excessive detail we found that although the Colombian did have a nice body after it had been poured, it lacked the overall quality of the 49th parallel roast. Was it really a fair comparison? No not really. . . was it a fun thing to do on a boring cold and rainy afternoon in June. Oh yeah. . .

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

Stumptown Pine Location

I checked out Stumptown’s Capitol Hill location very briefly, but what I saw I like, it was a different type of feel then Victrola. The two barista’s behind the counter were very lively and full of energy who had great aditudes when I walked in. I had a 12 oz. Latte that was poured perfectly with some funky free pour art. I barely had a chance to take in the surroundings. I did ask few locals and they all approved it’s awesomeness. I on my next trip to the emerald city I hope I get some more time in Stumptown.

Where this blog was written: Stumptown Pine Location
Drink ordered: 12 oz latte
Discount of own to-go cup: Did not ask sorry..
Barista Knowledge: Lacking in some latte art, but skilled none the less
Barista friendlyness: Two funny, cute and full of energy female baristas
Website: www.stumptowncoffee.com

Starbucks at Pike Place

It is kinda odd to walk all the independent shops of Pike Place Market seeing all the fresh fish, local produce and general buzz of a local market place only to run into one of the largest corporate chains in North America.

Pike Place

The location has three cashiers and two barista’s working a three head machine. No tables or chairs and barely room to move due to the number of people. The drink was a 8oz Dry Cappuccino (no other information was given). It was made  perfectly, sure the expresso was complete crap but the drink was made exactly as a dry cappuccino should be. They also didn’t ask me if dry was like foamy they knew what dry providing these barista were familiar with a wide range of lexicon. For the volume of people on a warm and sunny New Years Eve afternoon it was amazing how well they were working that machine. I had my drink in seven minutes from time of ordering which is decent due to the massive amount of volume served.

While just blocks away. . .

But why can’t this excellent of quality be applied across the board, why just a blocks away from the famed Pike Place Cafe is it the same cookie cutter cafe that makes that same poorly made cappuccino on automatic machines. The automatic machines where brought in to speed up the services and reduce wait times, but at Pike Place I didn’t have an unusually long wait time. The staff handled the rush easily and effectively with teamwork.

Are the employees any less at the other locations, or are they just supplied with more training?

I find an unusual paradox that Starbucks found a good thing at the Pike Place more then 35 years ago and wanted to share this experience with the rest of the world, this I whole hearty agree with. But yet the rest of the worlds Starbucks don’t even remotely resemble the unique nature that is the Pike Place Cafe. Yes their are some really bad independent cafes in Vancouver and yes some chains stores are better then others, but what I really see at every other Starbucks and many other chains is a complete lack of training, knowledge and  a overall lower quality of service and in the immortal words of Howard Schultz:

“we have had to make a series of decisions that, in retrospect, have lead to the watering down of the Starbucks experience, and, what some might call the commoditization of our brand.” ~ February 23, 2007 ~

Faces and Places

Where this blog was written: Pike Place Starbucks
Drink ordered: 8 oz Dry Cappuccino
Discount of own to-go cup: 10
Barista Knowledge:  Both cashier and barista were quite knowledgeable
Barista Friendliness: quite nice, with a soft up sell skill set.
Website: www.starbucks.com

Well I figure it was about that time, yes time to do the impossible, time to review Caffé Artigiano. But what can I say that hasn’t already been said, and if your reading this blog then maybe your already a fan. . .

Cafe Artigiano Howe Location

A few notes in point form:

• They always have a line up
• They are always busy
• Their barista’s are always really friendly (This means you Jacqueline & Arielle. sad note: both have now left Artigiano)
• Yes you will have to wait more then 30 seconds for your latte.
• Yes it really is worth the wait. . . .

Why has this micro chain of five cafes done so well and so popular, well that is a bit of a longer story, one I really don’t know all that well, but I give you what I know.

As the story goes the Piccolo brothers, (Vince, Sammy and Mike) wanted to create a different type of cafe in Vancouver, one that completely centered around quality, comfort and lively atmosphere regardless of how busy they where. It wasn’t meant to combat the huge trend of cookie cutter cafes in the Vancouver region, we don’t need another Waves or Blenz or Starbucks do we? But more to show what quality a café really can achieve.

They don’t have wireless at any of their cafes, but then what are you coming for the coffee or the Internet?

“If you want the Internet go to Blenz” One of the Barista said to me jokingly.

Barista Arielle and a Artigiano Latte

Back in the summer of 2006 when I was an actual barista and working for Seattle’s Best Coffee (in the Bental 5) I heard about the five dollar cup of coffee, how they weren’t even making a profit at that price and how it was the best coffee around.

Jen, a fellow SBC co-worker, and I had decided to check out this roast. It was the best coffee I have ever had in my life, it was a light roast, but rich in flavour amazing in texture and had this amazing lingering aftertaste that made you feel like it you were still drinking it, without a hint of burnt or bitter flavour, this is what coffee was suppose to taste like.

The cup was also made with a special brewer called a Clover, which uses a system like a French press, but instead of a plunger they use a vacuum to separate the water and the coffee. It really is an ingenious way to enjoy coffee and it’s more precise then a normal brewer. It is also $10,000 plus dollars, which is why most cafe’s can’t afford the machine.

I have heard some stories about bad service or long waits for service, but I have never had a bad experience in these cafes, especially the one off Georgia and Howe. When it is busy this cafe is quite noisy, so it is not for the studying kind.

They were using intelligentsia coffee at the Initial start up and it was the Piccolo brothers goal to always roast their own beans. They started to do that with the incorporation of 49th Parallel Coffee and in 2005 and have never looked back.

The café was sold in December 2006 to Willie Mounzer, former VP of operations for Earls. But the front end will always serve 49th Parallel Coffee, it is just a different owner behind the till.

Arielle Latte Art

Where this Blog was written: Caffé Artigiano on Hornby
Drink ordered: 12 oz latte to stay (pictured)
Discount of own to-go cup: You get nothing
Barista Knowledge: Extremely knowledgeable
Barista Friendliness: Awesome
Café website : www.caffeartigiano.com

Serious Coffee on Yates

Well, after a couple days of R&R in Victoria I can see why people like this place so much. It is awesome.

While walking around downtown I checked out a cafe called Serious Coffee, any cafe with this name is just begging for a review.

Walking I was met with a nice looking cafe, pastel colours, wood floors and track lighting. I was pretty hesitant to think I was going to match the cafe I am use to on the drive, but do I love being wrong.

The americano I had could have been a bit stronger, but it did have a nice mellow body, it just wasn’t the smack across the face of flavour I was craving or was use to with the Organic Ethiopian I usually drink at home. But as I finished the cup, the body became more present to my palette leaving me fulfilled.

Serious routine

The reason I went to Victoria was to visit my friend Lucy Nicholson who was covering the U-20 and she was covering the teams practices in the mornings, so I have my mornings free to lounge around and just enjoy life. I decided to head to back Serious Coffee and make a second review of the cafe.

I got into a great routine of having breakfast at the hostel and then walking up to the cafe and purchasing the fair trade mexican which was a well balanced medium roast.

One thing I really liked about this cafe is that they offered the local newspaper The Times Colonist a 12 oz. coffee for two dollars even. It was really nice to sit down to a daily roast with a nice rag like the TC. I grew quite accustomed to this routine and hated to give it up once I left and had to return back to school.

The girls behind the counter were quite knowledgeable and never missed a beat with any question posed to them. They were light and bubbly and generally enjoyed the work they did.

I didn’t have my laptop but all locations have free wireless and a internet cafe setup.

Serious Coffee Yates Interior view

But why a chain?

As many people know I am not much of a chain type of guy I am much more a independent cafe and local owned an operated business. I like the shop local additude, but after many years of living the land of nothing but Walmart (eg. Portage la Prairie, Manitoba) I know that sometimes searching for quality is important regardless of where it comes from.

But as my visits to Serious Coffee grew, so did my knowledge of the chain. I learnt a bit more about the company and their history, they started in 1994 in Duncan BC. They have grown through out the lower island to over 20 stores and as most of them are franchised. Again, I am not a big fan of franchised as it can really harm the brand if they are not controlled properly.

The Roastery has moved but is now back in Duncan BC and the chain is looking at expanding another 12 to 14 store’s over the next year.

I would compare this micro chain to JJ Beans in Vancouver, although they are in different markets, they are going after the same demographic and both do a nice job of it.

Is this your final answer

As I only went to one cafe, I can’t comment any more on the chain, but I’d be happy to have this cafe blocks away from my house, the staff do make the difference at this location they really did rock. So if your looking for a local cafe with a decent brew and some awesome customer service I would check them out. I would also note that unlike Murchies, the Serious Coffee location was more for locals, then tourist, it seems that they were more concerned with the providing really good product on a daily basis to locals then a single experience to a visiting tourist.

Faces and Places

Where this Blog was written: Serious Coffee (Yates & Broad location)
Drink ordered: Mexican Malinal Fair Trade 12 oz.
Discount of own to-go cup: 10 cents
Barista Knowledge: Intelligent
Barista Friendliness: Personable, good sense of humour
Café website : http://www.seriouscoffee.com/

Murchies Victoria

While I was in Victoria I went to check out the massive Murchies on Government Street. It looked very high class with it’s white shirts, black pants and everything served on a fancy tray. For any tourist coming to Victoria, this would certainly be a spot to check out, especially when high tea at the Empress is about $70 dollars a person. High tea here would cost you about $10-12 dollars. Not really being a local, but not really being a tourist I came for the coffee.

Everybody is doing it

This place was busy, full of tourist, so I walked in ordered a medium roast, it was called Danish. I asked the girl behind the bar if it was really grown in Denmark and her reply was ” Everybody is doing it”. I asked if I could try some and she have to brew up a new batch, she waited for the brew to start and then started to pour the cup. Argh! I asked her if she could wait until it brewed, she did apologies and then realized how horrible coffee tastes if you do this.

What’s the big secret?

While my coffee was brewing I went over to the bulk bean sales area where they had a list of coffees they roast. Some had names like:

• Murchie’s Best
• Mexican Fancy
• Canadian Blend
• CBC Morning Roast
• Danish Roast
  

I asked where the Danish roast was from the slightly older women responded it isn’t from Demark, that would taste horrible, I asked where it’s origins are from.

“She (the owner) doesn’t like to tell people there is to much competition, but it is a blend of beans from South America,”

A view of Murchies Bar area

More and more companies are talking about the Co-ops they have purchased from, including the name of the farm(s), the manager of the farm, and the town and country of origin. It is a matter of pride for the cafe and the farm to have these relationships as it is just more then one Juan Valdez and a donkey picking your beans.

Three strikes and your out

I didn’t really know what to expect from Murchies, but just asking a few simple questions I was certainly disappointed with the lack of knowledge at this location. So once I had my freshly brewed coffee I can say that it was only alright, nothing special, and certainly not even close to 49th Parallel standards, but the surroundings and vanilla slice I had certainly were nice. I never tried the tea and Murchies is a bit more famous for being a tea company. If your in Victoria and looking for a cafe, I’d pass on this one (their busy enough with the tourists) and head down to Serious Coffee for your daily addiction. . . I will be reviewing Serious Coffee soon, I just needed to get caught up on my blogs.

Faces and Places

Where this Blog was written: Murchie’s Victoria Location
Drink ordered: Danish Blend 12oz
Discount of own to-go cup: Didn’t ask
Barista Knowledge: Dumb as a post in terms of coffee knowledge
Barista Friendliness: friendly
Café website : (Sorry you didn’t make the cut)