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

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.

Krups has listed their 2009 finalist for the Kup of Excellence and their are a few usual suspects on the list and a number of cafes I have yet to go to. (Have a full time job is such a pain some times)

You can have your say too vote online

And you can help to, by voting for you favorite online and then tell why you like them so much:

• 49th Parallel
• AGRO Cafe
• Brazza
• Bump and Grind
• Gene
• Médina
• Prado
• Elysian Room
• Thomas Haas
• Wicked Cafe

Can wait to see who wins this, the competition will be steep.

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

Well Michael Breuer decided to challenge me on my hatred of Starbucks and although it took a while to get the dates confirmed, (his people needed to talk to my people) We set out last Friday to the home of Coffee in Vancouver Commercial Dr and we picked our corners.

Shift Manager Claire

First we attended the Starbucks on the Drive, where we found shift manager Claire to quite nice and knowledgeable about ways of the Starbucks. She was also totally game on our little adventure. Her shots came through at a prefect 14 seconds for their machine, now I have learnt over the years that 14 seconds is way to short for the real extraction of the flavour of the beans to happen, but Claire claims that it is running perfectly so I won’t disagree.

Breuer and myself sat down and entered the first round. We both found it a bit weak but yet with the familiar dark roast flavour Starbucks is famous for. To my surprise Breuer agreed with me. Could this be happening? Could we have a convert in our midst?

Round Two

On to Prado where we ordered what we though would be the same exact Americano to make this as scientific as possible. We also cleaned our palette with water and waited a bit to really compare the two roasts.

Owner Amy York was behind the bar and pulling the shots the timers on the shots at Prado was about 22 seconds which is prefect operating speed for her machine. We gathered the drinks and had a seat on the patio.

We both took a sip and whoa this was almost freebasing espresso here. It was bold, woke us up and was as strong as Starbucks was weak.

What we were left with were so many variables that it was hardly what I would call accurate comparison for either side.

What was so different Well here is a list. . .

	Starbucks	Prado
Drink size	A large 8 oz cup	A small 6 oz cup
Timed shot	14 sec.	22 sec.
Orgin of Beans	South American Blend	Brazil, Ethiopia and the South Pacific
Mug	Paper	Porcelain
Crema	Crema Starbucks Americano	Crema Prado Americano

Also when we look at the crema for each round you can see that Prado (pictured on the right) has triple the amount of crema as apposed to Starbucks (on the left) and that is truly important part of this exercise, because for an Americano that is where most of your flavour comes from, the less the crema the lesser quality cup.