The Vancouver Indy Coffee Scene

Continental Coffee during Sunny Day on The Drive

I felt it was time to visit another long-standing coffee shop of East Vancouver. Continental Coffee has been a cornerstone of The Drive for 30 years and far longer than  the green behemoth that sits right across the street. It has seen its fair share of cafes come and go and still remains busy with a line up to the front door some mornings.

With a wealth of great coffee on The Drive and Vancouver it is sometimes hard to cover cafes that are so close to home. So, we decided to give Continental our undivided attention.

We first visited some weeks back and still enjoyed the family-run operation in strict contrast with the feeling you get with some of the corporate giants of the area. The Americano I ordered was under extracted and really short for a 12 oz. I went back and the nice barista apologized and just added another shot. I noticed these shots were really short in time and thought it could save the owner some dough and make a better cup if the shots were more properly timed. On the other side of the scale Erica found her drink quite bitter even with the addition of some cream and sugar.

Reno for the Roaster

I do remember what the old Continental Coffee resembled before the renovations of Spring 2009 and found the cafe a little less cozy and some what spare. Erica arrived before I had and said she felt the cafe could use a little more care in its aesthetic appeal as the coffee was great but the vibe and feel of the cafe lessened her experience.

The second venture of this cafe review I managed alone and found my Americano has a proper extraction, with mellow undertones of a slightly darker than medium roast profile. It was a joy to drink on a Saturday afternoon with the weekend G & M.  But sadly my second drink some two hours later was an 8 oz. latte with over-heated milk, which burnt my tongue a bit.

Both Erica and myself purchased some beans and found the roast bean fared far better than what was served by the barista. And you know as well as I that all the harvesting, sampling, roasting, cupping and storage can all go for not if the actual brew isn’t timed just right.

Family run operation

The owner of the cafe, Anita Allen, is seen behind the counter most days and was behind the counter the Saturday I re-visited. I don’t doubt the endless hours she puts into the cafe as any small business owner does to run a successful business day in and day out. After chatting with her briefly at the end of the day, I see the passion she has for coffee and it must be one of the reasons why the cafe has been around for so many years.

There is free wi-fi and plug-ins for you laptop users, but the seating is limited so don’t be a cafe loafer.
All in all I give Continental props for being one of the longest standing cafes on Commercial Drive. That along with roasting its own beans for some 30 years is a real dedication to craft and art in the coffee industry. I’d still like to see a more attentive barista behind the bar, but isn’t there always room for a little improvement?

* We at Coffee Vancouver are also not immune to a constant need for improvement.

Faces and Places

Where this blog was written: Continental Coffee
Drinks that was ordered: 12 oz. Americano, 8 oz. Latte
Discount on to-go cup: Didn’t ask
Barista Skill: Completely random
Barista friendliness: Very friendly and welcoming
Website: none
Address: 1806 Commercial Dr, Vancouver, Canada

Your second home. That cafe down the street

I was reading an interesting article in the Wall Street Journal about New York City cafes that have started to ban the use of laptops. I thought it was a really unique issue that I personally have stretched on more than one occasion.

Back when wireless was still a buzz word and digital SLR cameras were only a professional’s tool. I would drive around the city of Winnipeg capturing my assignment and then file my photos from the nearest wireless cafe. Being a freelancer it was actually easier to purchase a coffee at a cafe and file my photos than it would be to drive back to offices on the edge of the city. I was known as the guy who transmited his photos first and ordered a coffee second. Telling the baristas that I was a news photographer and on deadline for the Free Press explained what I was doing and why.

When I arrived back in Vancouver I started looking for a list of wireless cafes. Caffeinated and Unstrung ~ A Guide to Vancouver’s Free Wireless Coffee Shops, became my bible of reputable wireless cafes in Vancouver. It is actually how I found Prado Cafe some four years ago. But since then I have seen some changes in our wireless culture.

Internet is a privilege not a right.

Covered Power Plugs

New owners of Bump and Grind Audrey Grant and Joe Peterson found that people were really abusing the privileges provided to them at the cafe spending hours in the cafe, taking up two three seats and even bringing their own food and drink.

“They would order the cheapest thing on the menus sitting here for 3 – 6 hours. We lost a few customers (when they covered up the plugs),” said Joe Peterson. “We knew it was going to happen. We lost a few people and gained a ton more.”

Joe says he kept the internet going for the customers that have respect for a small 20-seat cafe.

“It is a great workspace and people can work here. Wade (a customer) just finished his book here,” Joe said.

And for the people that have a dead battery or no battery and there is a plug on the wall in the hallway, you won’t be able to sit or lounge around surfing your Facebook profile.

“I don’t have a problem telling people to move during a busy weekend, but when we’re really not busy bums in seats are always a good thing,” he added.

Bump and Grind has accepted that we are becoming a more wireless culture and doesn’t foresee a ban on laptops, but that doesn’t mean they can’t enjoy a little humour around the subject.

“One of our passwords was talk to each other. We were poking fun at the fact that people weren’t talking to each other,” said Joe. “I got into coffee because I love coffee, not because I love laptops. If I see people having a great conversation over a French press I love that!”

There can be only one.

Laptops in Prado Cafe Photo By Margaret Kwan

Prado Cafe has been lovingly referred to as that place without anything on the walls and more recently that place full of mac laptops.
“What happens when you bring a windows laptop into that place?” was asked at a house party I was at once. Well nothing will happen, but according to owner Amy York it is more about the demographics of the neighbourhood than anything about computer segregation.

“I think it is more the type of clientel in the area. There are a lot of people in the arts and they tend to use macs,” said Amy York as she pulled a shot of espresso.

Prado has a different take on laptop usage: They only have one plug for the entire cafe. You’ll either need to sit near the plug or share the plug with someone who is. They freely give out the daily changing password and internet service is somewhat sporadic. In my opinion this cafe has made the best of both worlds. You have the laptop users mostly to one side of the cafe and you have the bookworms and newspaper readers on the other. It seem to work for them as this system has been in use since spring of 2007.

In part two I will look at some further wireless options.

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 and Coffee

I did the coffee tour on Tuesday and it is a really nice ride. Abet it was in the rain, pray for sun and hopefully the weather office will be nice to us.

We also have some awesome door prizes from Bikes on the Drive, Momentum Magazine and the Coffee Cuff.

Quick Q&A:

Q: Will I have to drink coffee at each stop?

A: We don’t want you to do quad shots of espresso at each cafe that would be overload. I hope this tour to be more of an educational adventure, to give you a chance to try a new cafe or a drink you haven’t tried before.

Q: Can I leave the tour early?

Bike and Coffee

A: Of course! If you need to leave the coffee tour early then sure head off early. We are giving out some fabulous door prizes at the final cafe of our tour so you might miss out on those, but fear not we might have another tour if this one is successful.

Q: Can I join the tour late?

A: Of course! You can find out where we are through our Twitter Account. Or just do the route and catch up to us!

Q: I heard door prizes were bad ?

A: In terms of biking lexicon door prizes are when a car door opens and surprise you end up hit the pavement. We hope this doesn’t happen to you! but we hope you maintain the rules of the road as this won’t be a critical mass and we can’t be held responsible for your biking actions.

Final Notes

I have died my hair my hair espresso brown for the occasion and my hair cutter has given me a fauxhawk for increased aerodynamics (abet under a helmet).

We look forward to seeing you at Bikes on the Drive at 10:30 Saturday morning!

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

Last summer, almost a year ago I ask Gio Corsi to help me review a famous cafe and attraction on The Drive. Cafe Calabria.

Gio Corsi might be 98% Chimp, but 100% authentic Italian

You might know Gio Corsi from some of his other rolls on the Internet. He plays the Russian Ambassador on the famous Tiki Bar TV. He also writes wrote a food blog called Vancouver Eats (he now writes Singapore Eats) and has been know to take some damn popular flickr photos.
Gio had also just returned from a trip to Italy and who better to help me review a cafe then a Italian-Canadian who just got back from Italy?
Well that summer came and went and still not a post was updated, I felt horrible, but was so behind the 8-ball in way to many project I still let this one slide. Come the new year both Gio and myself found ourselves unemployed due to the recent economic downturn.  I had decided to relaunched the coffee blog and I was determined to make good on a promise and concluded this review.

I just keep moving on…

Well as luck may have it, I found work just down the street and Gio well he found work in Singapore. Yes our lovable ambassador of food and all things tiki has moved to Asia and while we couldn’t fit in a return visit to Calabria. I promised to return a finish what we started and save some face.

Finishing what we started

Caffe Calabrian, Circa Summer 2008

Cafe Calabria has been an establishment on The Drive for 32 years and they have the memorabilia to show for it. I first tried the gelato, it was the tiramisu a little pricey and fresher could be had on The Drive although in the heat of the summer this is nothing to complain about.

Gio arrived and we went up to the bar and ordered a cappuccino and double espresso.

“The crema was a bit weak but it tastes like Italy, appearances can be deceiving,” said Corsi.

We both though the Italian of the year was a bit cheesy but it plays to the theme of the place well.

“But baring that this is the great melting pot of european goodness… Italian coffee across the street from a Thai take out and a Greek resturant.” said Corsi.

It is places like this that really make The Drive.

“You can tell a good place from everything else because it always has all the old Italian guys sitting out front.” said Corsi.

Calabria is always busy I have never seen it empty or without people sitting outside although I am sure it happens occasionally.
Going back a year later I had both a Americano and a 8oz Dry Cappuccino and both were decent I also had a biscotti that hit the spot. I have had a variety of quality and service at Calabria as it almost depends on their mood. The roast is also quite dark but something you would expect from an Italian roaster, overall quality is decent and drinks are consistent to their style, oh and character, nothing in Vancouver comes close to this cafe in terms of character.

Cappaccino with cocoa

I did enjoy my last visit and hope to see Gio back in Vancouver with in a couple years where I sure will toast his return to The Drive.

Where this blog was written: Caffe Calabria
Drink that was ordered: 8 oz Americano and 8oz Dry Cappuccino
Discount on to-go cup: none
Barista Skill: Old Skool
Barista friendliness: A little rough around the edges (but not ball busting)
Website: none

A cafe in your kitchen.

This is one of the best home setups I have ever seen for a cafe set-ups and Geoff Howe certainly did his homework before bringing pulling out the plastic. (Click on the picture for a list of items)

After Geoff Howe‘s and my adventures in the Espresso-thon, Geoff just couldn’t take the bad coffee other than Cafe Museo. So he took matters into his own hands and purchased his own espresso gear, but he didn’t cheap out on the gear either. Good thing for mail order from 49th or he would be up the South Saskatchewan River without a paddle.

I can only applaud Geoff for taking the bull by the horns to tell me he has had quite the learning curve getting the precise grind. He tells me living on The Drive has certain advantages, one of them being “I don’t need an espresso bar in my kitchen to have a great latte. I can just walk down the street.” Let’s just hope he hasn’t broken the bank on this little venture. Can a small cafe be far behind?

Marketing a brand…

A fridge magnet only a connoisseur could love

I have developed a fridge magnet for the coffee blog that kind of pokes fun at one of the biggest misconceptions in coffee at home. Keeping your beans in the freezer.
I have about 30 or so of these magnets left (Sold out! Look for more soon.)
After leaving them around town and if you want one for your very own fridge, you’ll have to try Ebay. . .  and I’ll send one off in the mail to ya (postage is on me, unless you want hundreds or live on Mars, that will be subsequently more).

Monkeying around with my brew

Apparently 49th has brough some India Devon Estate SL-795 Arabica that brings out sourcing to a new level (just joking). The bean is picked by a monkey and only the ripest cherry that encompasses the bean is picked by the little dudes. Subsequently this brew has caused a bit of a stir. So much so that vancouveriam did a story featuring Colter Jones about the stuff.

The Future of Vancouver Coffee.ca

This blog has become more than I ever thought it would be and was started as a class project almost a year ago. But I totally love writing this blog, it has been a true education for me and some future improvements will include:

• Moving to a self-hosting blog (done! if your reading this welcome)
• Coffee Glossary of terms (done! check it out)
  
• Interactive map integration(done! check it out)
• More research into fair / direct trade to educate you and me.
• and as always, a bunch more reviews, rants and hopefully a cupping or two.

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. . .

For this review I decided to say a little closer to home, in fact this is the closest café to my house on The Drive.

Bump and Grind is a saucy joint that has been open for a couple of years on the northern most edge of the Drive. The café is run by Audrey and Joe ( Christine sold the cafe in May, 2008 ) who are business partners and can usually see most days behind the counter.

Front of Bump and Grind

The surroundings of Bump and Grind give away that this is a little more counter culture then your usual fair. The café boasts a couch full of vocabulary one large table and a few smaller ones with art that changes on a monthly basis. The café has one of the most interesting art installations a while back where the entire café was covered in “2000 pages of handwritten study notes from a Doctoral Candidate” in political science. It was one of the best art displays in a coffee shop, I had ever seen.

DJ can now be seen in the cafe spinning vinyl on the turn tables in the back on the weekends and during the week Joe and Audrey seem to always have something funky playing in the shop.

There is wifi at the shop, but they had taken away all but one power plugins away due to abuse by some loitering customers.

If you just want to sit in a cafe for six hours and nurse one cup of tea go find a Waves.

Sleeves are for wimps

A while back I dropped in to ask if I could have a sleeve for my coffee, (I didn’t bring my own mug ) and it was a bit of a struggle to get one. Apparently Josh and Christine have something against sleeves of the world, Actually they are just trying to reduce the impact on our environment and they are pretty militant about it. But instead of just bitching about something they decided to do something about it.

At Bump and Grind if you want a sleeve you’ll have to pay a buck for one, and they’ll want you to keep it too. It is a cool concept and I wish them the best of luck with it.

Since selling the Cafe Audrey and Joe sell the Coffee Cuff

A little sauce with your coffee

What I really enjoy about the drive is the fact that you can a huge variety of people and viewpoints. I think it is what makes people come to the drive. Bump and Grind is no different. Just don’t ask for a sleeve. Josh and Christine sold the cafe to Audrey and Joe in May, 08. The coffee is still the same quality but is lacking the saucy and somewhat abusive attitude. Dam I will miss that.

Since purchasing the cafe last year Joe and Audrey have really captured the attention of coffee drinkers in Vancouver and it has become one of the top cafes in Vancouver, When some of the top Barista in the country go to Bump and Grind to enjoy an espresso you know they must be doing something right.

Faces and Places

Where this Blog was written: Bump and Grind
Drink ordered: 12oz Costa Rican Roast
Discount of own to-go cup: 10 cents
Barista Knowledge: Top notch
Barista Friendliness: Awesome
Café website : none