Quite the winter eh? If you have followed our tweets and thanks to the 575 followers who are :-). You’ve noticed we have exhausted our supply of coffee terms, we have a ever lasting distaste for BC Ferries Coffee and think Coke should really just stay in the Cola business.
But also we said good-bye to our editor Stef as she is now a reporter with the The Westerly in Ucluelet, BC. We wish her the best of luck! But when we mean staff we really mean dedicated volunteers.
Why the delay in reviews?
We wanted to change the way we reviewed cafes in town and change the way our site operates.
We wanted to wait for the release of Wordpress 3.0 as Robert has seen some of the goodies in the latest update and though they would be perfect for the cafe.
We wanted to hear from you a bit more. In our last survey you said that we should do more cafe reviews, and while we totally agree with you we wanted to know what type of cafe we should review.
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.
I am thankful for living near my family and the support I have received when I broke my leg skiing.
I am thankful for living in a city that has such a dedicated coffee culture. A place where I can visit three amazing cafes without batting an eyelash. A town where you’ll see dedicated owners up at the crack of dawn pulling shots to make sure the espresso is the best it can be, and not sacrificing quality for profit.
I am thankful that the great cafes are just the public face of the caffeinated culture that is somewhat behind the scenes for those who might be unaware of its influence.
Two things have led me to this conclusion.
The Canadian Barista Championships at the Canadian Coffee and Tea Show were held in Vancouver. To see such a large collection of coffee enthusiasts all in one place for a first timer really showed me how much Vancouver really has to be thankful for. From the Piccolo clan to the Jones brothers from Banks Thomas to Spencer Viehweger. They were all in attendance. For a first timer like myself it was an impressive display of just how much Vancouver is involved with coffee.
The second came a couple weeks ago at a Coffee Lab near you.
Chris Giannakos, left, pours Nathan Slabaugh a cup. Photo by Mark Prince.
I went to Mark Prince’s new coffee lab for an inaugural coffee tasting. It was one of the best collections of coffee sampling I had ever seen.
Phil and Sebastian Kenya Kiru Co-op, left, PT’s Panama Elida Estate, Doma Costa Rica, Counter Culture AIDA Grand Reserve, Counter Culture Hacienda Esmeralda Special
But more than that the amazing collection of coffee was the eclectic group of people in attendance for the inaugural tasting. From baristas to bakers to bloggers. It was a diverse collection of coffee aficionados who were all bringing a different viewpoint to the cupping table.
It was one of the most enjoyable coffee experiences I have had. All the little pieces fell right into place. I also feel that this variety of people would be hard to find in a less coffee-centric locale. Check out the video below from my new youtube channel.
And then here is when you say, “Rob you’re in the know, normal coffee drinkers wouldn’t get this type of opportunity.” Well, I beg to differ and here is why. I run this blog so you can learn more about coffee. I am here to tell you that these experiences aren’t for the in-the-know of coffee.
Coming in the new year Mark Prince is opening up his coffee lab to courses for the consumer and I only know Vancouver will benefit from this. He will also be teaching people how to make great coffee on machines you’ll be able to afford. So if you can’t afford the $5k Speedster that’s OK ( p.s. neither can I ). His classes will be centered around how to make great cups at home.
After attending a number of his tastings at the Bump and Grind a couple years ago and attending a number of his cuppings at the Lab I have only benefited from the vast amount of knowledge in this geek’s head.
I’ll post a link when his lab is up and running, and hope to take a few classes myself.
p.s. Here is a list of twitters that were in attendance. (My apologies if I have missed anyone)
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:
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.
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.
We had one interesting write-in ballot and no Geoff we’re never doing another espresso-thon ever again. (Personally I never want to drink that much coffee in four hours ever again). But, more seriously the results show a want for more cafe reviews and coffee tours of great places to get great coffee with passionate staff.
Will work for latte
This really helps us, because there are a lot of cafes in Vancouver and all do things a little differently. We want to talk more about them and we like our reviews to change in look a bit: Making the date we review and the date we update a review more prominent. So you know the last time we ventured into that cafe.
We’re looking at doing another coffee tour, but something a bit more low key and only two or three cafes max for any tour. We also are looking at doing some industry news and roaster visits. At this time we won’t be doing equipment reviews or bean evaluation only because we know there are better people in the industry who do a better job of it then we could.
But enough about him this post is about you. Here are the results of what you want us to cover and what we hope to do more of this winter and next summer.
No this post doesn’t have anything to do with the possible federal election that maybe be coming this fall in Canada. Were here to ask what you would like to see more of on the blog. CoffeeVancouver.ca has become quite popular with over 200 visitors a day and a real labour of love we have a number of ideas for the site, but we’d like to hear from you before we do!
I have been commuting by bike as much as possible this summer, and with this weather I have totally enjoyed it too. Living in East Van and needing to get downtown I would often take the Adanac Bike Route downtown. It is a super quick route and at one point you come across a green space that you need to navigate in order to continue along Union Avenue into the Downtown core.
If you’re a bike commuter and live in East Van you’ll know exactly where I am talking about and if you don’t bike please refer to exhibit A to my left.
Exhibit A - The Adanac Bike Route
What does this have to do with coffee? Well it is at this curve in the road that I was told by Kathy Sinclair of the VACC that I should make a right turn instead and check out the Wilder Snail Neighbourhood Grocery and Cafe. From the outside it looks like your stereotypical corner store you would find in any community across Canada. But don’t judge this book buy its cover, because it is part coffee house, part corner store and somewhere in the back there is a bit of a bike shop hanging out.
Is this cafe trying to be all things to all people? Well no, I don’t think so. I think it is serving the changing community of Strathcona and all of its needs.
I had checked out this place three times, and I love finding these out of the way places, so I thought to myself “time for a review”. Also this review coincides with the introduction of Erica Hill to the coffee blog and we have just been too silent for our own good.
The Wilder Snail
Walking into the Wilder Snail you are greeted by a large wooden bar, some great red cupboards and large red globe lights that Erica wanted to make special mention of. The name is a humorous poke at unusual British pub names.
The owner Boyd Thomson, is an avid cyclist and has a small collection of tubes and bells and other bike knick-knacks that may help you out should you ever have a flat near the shop. I have found Boyd behind the counter every time I have been in the shop, and he runs the shop from behind the bar. The name is a play on words.
It has that coffee shop feel but it has got some other stuff to it also – A gem in the middle of the funky neighborhood, with a park right next door. I could just sit here and read my book on a Saturday afternoon. said Erica
Boyd uses JJ Bean for coffee and a 3 group LaMarzocco Linea for the extraction. Erica had a 8oz cappuccino and found her cappuccino a little on the hot side. My 8oz capp had some great stiff micro foam, just the way I love an old skool capp. Although I have had great macchiatos there before, I also found my second drink which was a macchiato a little on the hot side as well.
Espresso Macchiato at Wilder Snail
The Corner store offers wireless starting a 2:00pm everyday, the cafe is on Hawks just south of Hastings and just two blocks north of the Adanac Bike Route on the other – a well placed cafe for locals and non-locals alike. I would have passed by this cafe for months just because I didn’t know it was there. But I certainly won’t next time I am looking for a quiet place away from the Drive but close enough to home. Both Erica and I applaud Boyd and his Wilder Snail for being one of the coolest corner stores around and hope his niche market of bikes, groceries and coffee is around for a long time to come.
Faces and Places
Where this blog was written: Wilder Snail
Drinks that was ordered: 6 oz. Macchiato and 8 oz Dry Cappuccino
Discount on to-go cup: 15 cents
Barista Skill: Decent
Barista friendliness: Very friendly
Website: www.thewildersnail.com Address: 799 Keefer St, Vancouver
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
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.
Klie stirs the Clover
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
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)
