The Vancouver Indy Coffee Scene

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. . .

I always like a challenge. Sometimes I think a little too much. But when my friend Suzanne Stunder said, “I didn’t know there were any other places other than Starbucks that are worthy of my money.” Well, you’re just asking for it.

I also thought this was the perfect opportunity to multitask and check out the new Elysian Coffee location at Ash and Broadway. (Check out the review the original the Elysian Room). So on a beautiful Friday morning I jumped on my bike and rode through the beautiful cherry blossom lined streets of East Van to this new local just before Cambie street.

Walking in to this joint you get a very minimalist laid out cafe with subtle tones of brownish gray and white walls. The bar really showcases two clovers when you walk in. They are unmistakable in shape and size.

At the counter the barista tried to guess my drink. Man do I love that. . . It shows just how much they love their job. Although he was third-time lucky (wet cappuccino) he also handed me a glass of sparkling-carbonated water while I was waiting for Suzanne to show up.

No Drip Here

Once she arrived she immediately asked for a drip coffee and was surprised to hear there wasn’t any available. I told her the coffee was on me so she ordered a macchiato and was impressed by the little heart she received, (don’t get that at Starbucks now do ya?). After we caught up on state of the world, I started to ask her about her love affair with the bucks (or any other chain for that matter). Suzanne was also feeling a little camera shy during the review so we have this substitute photo from her facebook page.

“I feel like home when I am in a bucks. It is my second home no matter where I go, I know what to expect. But what else is there?” asked Stunder. “The problem with me is that I am not a conoseiur of coffee. I think McDonald’s coffee is great. I reheat my folgers after it gets cold. It is not all about the coffee for me, I am much more about the experience.”

We discussed what experience she had at the chains that she liked.

“It is not about being cheap, it is about enjoying the experience. [For example] I’d rather have a $20 dollar bottle of wine with good friends then a $100 dollar bottle of wine with a bad date,” said Stunder. “My life is too busy for unrealistic expectation. Especially from my coffee… I want to get my coffee, I don’t want to be let down first thing in the morning.”

A mate by any other name

While we both agreed on this subject, the topic of a 60 oz cup commercial coffee urn came up and our paths show that we both drank our fair share of bad coffee. Apparently Suzanne started drinking coffee at the young age of six at her dad’s autobody shop and she was quite the fan of the coffee mate back in the day. She surmises that this is why she is not a coffee aficionado. . .

Well, I knew this wasn’t going to be an easy fight. so I decided to bring out the big guns and persuaded her to try a sample of the Karmaro Tanzania Peaberry from the clover without any cream or any sugar.

Excellently prepared and served by other barista on duty at the time, Jonathan and if only I could capture the expression on her face. . . It was priceless.

“OK, that is good, what is that, how can I order it?” she asked.

I then explained that this coffee was similar in price (actually it is .50 cents more a cup) and how the clover actually works. When she first heard there wasn’t any drip coffee admittedly she thought it was odd. So I also explained how it wasn’t about being an elitist when it comes to coffee but more enjoying the fine experience of a great cup. If you are going to pay two dollars for a cup of coffee, shouldn’t it be awesome?

I did forget to mention that Starbucks purchased the Clover from the Coffee Equipment Company for exactly this reason, in my opinion. . .

Once Suzanne had left for the beach I chatted with Matty Kolehmainen about the future of  Elysian Coffee as the canadian dealer for the clover machine. Basically, what they were able to do was purchase as many machines as they could before the sale to Starbucks, and they are all but sold out (Alistair confirmed he has two left). Now with a future that is uncertain for the machine and independent cafes.

Faces and Places

Where this blog was written: Elysian Coffee
Drink that was ordered: 6oz capp & 12 oz. Karmaro Tanzania from the Clover
Discount on to-go cup: You get nothing!
Barista Skill: Top notch
Barista friendliness: Awesome
Website: www.elysiancoffee.com

Address: 590 West Broadway, Vancouver, Canada

For a guy who lives his coffee life simplistically nothing is really more complex than really trying to upgrade a computer that just doesn’t want to leave the safe confines of the Tiger operating system for Leopard. (For you non-mac geeks that is going from 10.4 to 10.5).

But, while my laptop was getting re-imaged I decided to check out the latest incarnation of Wicked Cafe located on Hornby St. This cafe certainly came to play with the other kids in the sandbox. (As that bully Starbucks is throwing sand a few store fronts away and Artigiano tracing a few rosetta’s sand mandala at the other end of the box).

This Wicked Cafe is a long, slender beast with a comfy bench along the length of the right side and small, two-person tables that parallel the benches down to the coffee area. This  cafe has not one but two Clover coffee machines and a pair of 2 group La Marzocco GB/5 espresso machines that are used depending on how busy it gets.

It opened early in 2009 and I have been to it a few times since it opened, I also took Erica Hill to the cafe in our  Girl in the City coffee tour we had in the new year.

This time I had a Clover 12 oz. Rwanda Zirikana from Intelligentsia which had a really nice flavour of a dried berry but not over bearing in acidity and yet balanced equally as well in body. It had a really clean finish that was complex and yet refreshing second cup of the day. This was one of the best Clover coffee’s I have had since my first in 2005, as I am usually an americano type of guy.

Being that Wicked is the Canadian distributor for Intelligentsia it is not surprising to see a huge Intelligentsia logo on the back wall of the cafe and Intelligentsia info on the tables and machines. I have always been impressed with Intelligentsia’s transparency and accountability to produce a better product and a better way of life as a number of roasters have a paragraph to describe their roast and origin of the bean. Intelligentsia has an entire product data sheet where you can totally geek out on coffee info.

Its coffee is damn good and the location is really decent and a quick jaunt from the Robson and Hornby mecca of activity. The cafe doesn’t have wireless, or more than one power outlet on the outer edge, but not a big concern as there is plenty of “Internet Cafes” Downtown to chose from. The cafe serves food, along with the unique selection of muffins and sweets in a menu that is unique to other Downtown cafes. On this visit along it wa playing the music a bit too loud to carry out a business meeting if I were to have one.  But I am sure it has full control over the volume and can adjust accordingly.

Is it coffee I’d sell my soul for?

Well since the bank, VISA and Apple currently have equal shares of my soul at the moment I am not in a position to negotiate but it certainly is worth a trip.

Update – Aug/09 Black Cat Espresso running quite nicely and macchiato.

Where this blog was written: Wicked Cafe
Drink that was ordered: 12 oz. Rwanda Zirikana from the  Clover
Discount on to-go cup: 30 cents
Barista Skill: Solid skill
Barista friendliness: Cool and very Intelligentsia
Website: wickedcafe.ca

Address: 861 Hornby, Vancouver, Canada

Meet Erica Hill, (Erica has moved to Vancouver and now co-authors the blog) I have known Erica for a number of years as we both lived in Portage la Prairie at the same time. Now Portage doesn’t have much of a coffee scene actually there was only one indy cafe called The Grindstone and Erica worked there. I had sinced moved back to Vancouver and she moved to Lethbridge and then Regina, but she always gave me a hard time about my Starbucks rant, amongst other things, I said well there is so much more to coffee than just Starbucks. And while in Vancouver there is more to coffee, but Regina? Not so much.

Erica decided to come to Vancouver to celebrate new years and get a break from the snow of Regina, and we couldn’t deliver the usual balmy west coast weather she wanted, I was able to show her around some of the cafes in Vancouver, and so here are one girls thoughts about coffee in Vancouver. For better or for worse. . .

Drink & Cafe	Drink	Roast (if known)	Comments
49 Parallel Cafe	8 oz Latte (1 shots)	Epic Espresso	The coffee wasn’t bitter, I could drink this coffee with out a lot of milk. 8oz with one shot and I didn’t need a lot of sugar.
Prado Cafe	12 oz latte	49th Organic Espresso	I like how (the cafe) wasn’t as crazy busy or intense, I like the big cups, I can taste the flavour of the coffee more. I don’t like the bitterness of most coffee, but I do like the taste of coffee.
Tony's Cream Puffs	Tony’s Deli and Catering		Cream Puff intermission, hmmm. . . .
Bump and Grind	Clover 12oz	Costa Rica Montes de Oro Honey	It is the only coffee I could drink black, It actually tastes better black than with cream and sugar. . .
Other visits from her trip
Wicked Cafe	12 oz Latte	Black Cat	Creamer, smoother in taste. Love the intelligentsia logo….
Starbucks	12 oz Latte	Starbucks Roast	It was a good amount of coffee flavour and it wasn’t overwhelming… and the sweetness was kinda spicy…like cinnamon or something… It was creamy and the foam was actually kick ass.
Bread Garden	16 oz Latte		My latte never showed up, I had to go up and ask for it. So they finally brought it out like 20 minutes after it was ordered and it tastes awful…it was more like an Americano with foam… and it was super bitter. I added so much milk and sugar and it still tasted disgusting, very watery… Like normal shitty coffee that had been steamed. I just left the whole thing sitting there, never drank any of it.

Conclusion:

I felt like the barista’s were more involved with the customers at the locally owned coffee shops. They make you feel like a friend, at Starbucks they have kind of like a production line set up and you are purposefully separated from the barista.
I like talking to someone and making friends with them…at the ‘minimalist’ coffee shop, the woman there (Amy York) was really nice…they were all actually really nice.
At the locally owned coffee shops I feel like I can get what I want, but at Starbucks I feel as though I have to order only what’s on the menu, pre-made drinks.

And now at home:

Well just pure disappointment at what lattes I could get in Vancouver but will never be able to get here… I LOVED the latte art, it’s so easy to learn and people could take a short course to do it.. and the baristas are just so boring here now…
I wish there was a nice friendly coffee shop here and actually I wish there were more options for coffee shops in Regina…if you don’t want a chain store then you have very few options.

(Editors note: Much like Geoff,  Erica now mail orders her 49th Parallel as she missed that “Good Vancouver Coffee” way to much)

The Elysian (pronounced E·ly·sian) Room is one of the great homes for coffee lovers in Vancouver. It is home to one of the best traditionally poured cappuccinos in the city.

The Elysian fields in Greek mythology is the final resting place for the gods’ chosen ones. It is not a far stretch to see why Alistair Durie named his cafe after it. The free pour cappuccinos are to die for and the mellow mood of this cafe plays a mix of Zero 7 and Thievery Corporation in the background.

The Cafe is located just behind the Fifth Avenue Cinema, strangely enough on Fifth Ave. It is tucked into a corner of the building and has a very warm feeling once you enter. I love coming to this cafe just before a show to sip a nice americano before attending a flick with a good friend or partner.

Seating is limited as it is barely the size of a one-bedroom apartment, but what it lacks in size it makes up for in quality with 49th Parallel beans. There is also free wireless, but because of size don’t make it your home office.

I felt horrible for guys like Alistair Durie who put time and effort in to perfecting and marketing the Clover, only for it to be sold out to Shultz and the green machine.

What I also love about this cafe is that it is inset from Burrard Street. It fits the mellow mood of the cafe. It could almost be missed if you don’t go looking for it and it contrasts most cafes. I rather like that this cafe is arms distance away from the hubbub, much like the Elysian fields themselves.

Faces and Places

Where blog was written:The Elysian Room
Drinks ordered: Traditional Cappuccino and 12oz Americano
Discount of own to-go cup: large for price of a small
Barista skill: Top Notch
Barista’s friendliness: Cool cucumbers
Website: http://www.elysiancoffee.com

Address: 1778 West 5th Avenue, Vancouver

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.

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!

Surprise surprise, I am not sure if the Piccolo brothers can get away from the Cafe business or was this the goal all along.

But I was finally able to check out the 49th Parallel Coffee Roasters new cafe in downtown Kitsilano and a few things surprised me while other remain the same.

This is very much not another Caffe Artigiano by a different name. The skinny cafe with high ceilings a wooden bench that flow the length of the cafe, but yet broken up by banks of lights build into the wall.

Word on the street is this will be the one and only 49th Parallel Cafe. In answering my own question above, why open up a cafe after just selling off the successful chain you started. Well the answer is simple, the hard work was already done.

Not just another Artigiano

The Artigiano experiment was to compete head to head with the green machine, serving hug volumes, but exceeding expectation in terms of quality. They mainly succeeded and have 49th Parallel to show for it. A brand that many coffee drinkers know and a brand that independent cafes look for. But I also heard that after starting the roaster, the chain was a real drain on the brothers and when the right buyer came along they made the right decision to sell.

I felt great coming into this cafe, as busy as it was, I ordered my drink from a wonderful Kiwi girl offered a pleasant amount of conversation while I ordered.

I ordered a medium Americano which weighted in at 9 oz in size. I walked over to the sparkling new expresso machine and with in about 30 seconds had my americano in hand.

True to form the Epic Expresso was rich with flavor full of body and had a nice aftertaste that was actually leaving me wanting more. So. . . I had more. . . but I decided to have something from The Clover this time.

No drip to be found here

After a cleansing of the palette The Costa Rican was a really smooth coffee with a hint of caramel sweetness. Americano’s and The Clover is usual fair, brewed coffee is only available on the weekends.

If you are looking to get your coffee to go and in a rush you might have to wait more then a couple seconds because every cup is made independently on the clover and perfection take time.

Faces and Places

Where this blog was written: 49th Parallel Coffee Rosters Cafes
Drink ordered: 9 oz Americano
Discount of own to-go cup: you get nothing!
Quality and service: Extremely Knowledgeable
Barista friendliness: Always in good humour
Website: www.49thparallelroasters.com

Address: 2152 West 4th, Vancouver