I met up with co-owners Cristina Dias and Carlos Bertin at their roastery in Burnaby where they are roasting the green beans that are imported from Cristina’s family coffee plantation in Brazil. Some background history of Mogiana Coffee that was…
It’s been 20 years since I co-wrote “Cafes Vancouver” with my brother Arthur Wolak. Back then the internet wasn’t like it is today, there were many printed guidebooks for food and such. The coffee scene was humming along and at…
I recently participated in a virtual coffee and chocolate tasting hosted online by The Philippine consulate. Featured local coffee roaster KAPE Coffee who imports the green beans from the Philippine’s and then roasts their coffee here locally. Iona and Paolo…
Focus is everything when making latte art, Jake Hancox is a Barista at Pallet Coffee Roasters Howe Street location in downtown Vancouver. He moved to Vancouver from Dublin, Ireland where he had been working in coffee, he also worked in…
The 3rd Annual Beanstock Coffee Festival was held over 2 days at Performance Works on Granville Island in early November where coffee enthusiasts filled the room tasting Pour-overs, espressos and macchiatos. Each day most of the vendors were different as…
I am looking forward to participating as one of their Judges of this first Tri-City Latte Art Competition taking place at C Market Coffee in Coquitlam. This competition will feature baristas from cafes in the tri-cities region utilizing their barista…
On my recent trip back to Portland a couple of weeks ago, I re-visited Nolan Hirte, the founder of Proud Mary Coffee of Melbourne, Australia as well as Portland, Or. His vast knowledge of coffee makes talking with him always…
Founded by Matt Johnson who has been in the coffee industry for several years roasting and managing cafes around the city. Here he custom roasts the coffee beans in house in small batches with 3 black Aillio Bullet R1’s tabletop…
As a coffee lover for many years, I am always looking to try new coffees, seek out the new roaster, and learn about the latest coffee trends, and see the newest machines. Recently had a chance to learn about the…
I recently took part in a Coffee cupping (coffee tasting) with Mike Chapman who owns this café in the heart of Squamish. He was a rock climber before he took an interest in coffee of which is an expert in…
Chef Nik Lim recently presented a wonderful longtable dinner at Milano Coffee Roasters where he featured one of the Milano Coffees in each of 5 courses at the dinner. A canapes reception started off the evening where guests had a…
With over 38 locations extending from Hawaii to Japan, Guam and China, Honolulu Coffee has just opened their first North American café in downtown Vancouver. As I understand several more locations will open in and around Vancouver over the next…
Six-time gold-medal-winning espresso master Brian Turko Shares secrets in the Milano Master Class Series. I had an opportunity to partake in a preview of his Aroma class recently with Brian who is one of the most passionate people I know…
Vancouver is bursting at the seems with perfectionists and passionate people, some of which have been part of the scene for years and others who have started within the past year. These are some of my favourite local coffee roasters…
I had an opportunity to preview the 8-Course Tasting & Pairing Menu at The Urban Tea Merchant a few days ago. Known for their vast collection of TWG Tea along with their food pairings, this event mixes both into an…
I toured the new Elysian Coffee that opened in Mount Pleasant on the southwest corner of Ontario and 7th, this impressive café and roastery took 15 months to build. They have their own roastery on site with a 1950 cast…
I had taste of the Christmas season at Urban Tea Merchant recently where they launched their new TWG teas for the holiday season. I tasted some tea inspired canapes as well as some of the teas from this line-up of…
I have been a fan of their coffee for quite some time ever since frequenting their Yaletown café. Blake Hanacek founded the roastery in October 2006 first establishing the Yaletown café, eventually he grew his company with a café on…
To celebrate spring and the coming out of all the cherry blossoms around the city, O5 Rare Tea held a unique tea ceremony featuring their special Sakura Tea (made of cherry blossoms). This was a tea ceremony after…
Milano Coffee Roasters have been have won three Gold medals awarded by the International Institute of Coffee Tasters in Italy. I had the pleasure to attend a media tasting recently where owners Brian and Linda Turko talked about each of…
Discovering rare tea can often be daunting unless of course you had been introduced to a tea company by someone who is passionate about the tea he sells in his café. I recently heard Jenny Lo, the founder of this…
Over the years I have tasted the evolving espresso roasts that Vancouver based Milano Coffee Roasters has had on the bar in their own cafes as well as ones that they supply. I visited with owners Brian and Linda Turko…