Paying your dues - coffee style - 2011 · Sunday February 6, 2011 by colin newell
Andrea and I spent an early Saturday sitting in my all time favorite rural cafe – The Drumroaster – Just off the Island Highway at the Cowichan Bay turn-off.
We eschewed sleep, this 1st whole weekend back from a month in Hawaii, to hang out with foodie Don Genova and his lovely wife Ramona. We have been corresponding for some time now – and considering we are taking some cooking classes with Don – well, we thought it was a good idea to meet up and catch up.
Photo right – Don’t diss the gurus. Geir Oglend (and company) at Drumroaster Coffee knows his stuff. So, sit, listen and learn newbies…
So over a pot of Bunn Trifecta brewed Ethiopian coffee (the Trifecta was a completely new experience for me…) Andrea, Ramona, Don and I compared pleasant stories about our recent time in Hawaii – Like, what is more fun or almost as fun as going somewhere? Answer: Spending an hour talking about the highlights – and talking about future trips.
Let me say this about Drumroaster Coffee – one place on the Island that has that special edge. Like several other Victoria area cafes and bakeries, The DR has that rare quality of making every customer feel like family. It could be the intense attention to detail, greeting every familiar face, the owners and staff table surfing and taking that extra moment to find out what happening with folks.
It took me a long time to figure this out. Guess I was looking in the wrong direction. Owners Geir and Pat Oglend (and their coffee active family members – Courtney and Carsen) have played critical roles in shaping the Island coffee scene; co-creators of Serious Coffee, Broadwalk Coffee, and the first espresso carts ever added to Victoria.
My point is: When the Drumroaster people talk, listen… Listen if you want to learn something about coffee culture. Same applies to Habit Culture and Discovery Coffee… even Cafe Fantastico. When folks like Mark Engels talk about food and coffee culture at Bubby Roses Bakery, it is the straight goods. These people have been doing it right for a long time.
And the other thing I learned is – there is no “pecking order” in food and drink knowledge locally. We all know who has the most knowledge (named above) and that is not going to change. There is always going to be the elder statespersons in the local scene. Their knowledge is never going to be irrelevant.
This little rule (for me) applies here… in Vancouver, Seattle and beyond.
So shut up and learn.
That, folks, is my thinking today.
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Events of the year - new coffee shops 2010 · Friday December 31, 2010 by colin newell
2010 saw an infusion, a near cavalcade of new coffee places in Victoria – and a surprising exodus and hand-changing of a few others.
Expansions included HABIT coffee and culture which branched up to the Yates and Blanshard Atrium property. Sharing space with the B.C. Ferry Group, Zambri’s restaurant, PIG BBQ and Cook Culture Kitchen Supply and culinary school (Andrea and I are enrolled in a class in March with Don Genova.
Photo below – Habit Coffee Culture at the Atrium during an increasingly rare quiet moment.
Ryan and Kristie Taylor of Cafe Fantastico set their sights on a new Humbolt Valley location that promises food service and a liquor license.
Mark and Valerie Engels (and partners) are unveiling a new Bubby Roses Bakery in a new Cook Street Village building near the corner of Cook and Oscar; bigger space, more food and baked options, expanded coffee service – bubby better than ever!
Doug Crothall of Black Stilt has sold 2 locations to Mocha House – will be interesting to see which direction Mocha House takes these 2 thriving businesses.
Bill of Cairo Coffee is closing down an operation that has been in business in Victoria since 1922. His Deidrich roaster has been in the window on the 700 block of Fort Street since the 80’s and was on Douglas near the Bay in the seventies. At a youthful 75 years of age, Bill is moving to the next chapter in his life; spending more time with grand-kids, mountain climbing and sailing.
Derek and Gina Lucas of Buon Amici Coffee on Tyee quickly sold off their cosy operation on the West side to a new venture. Not too much buzz on the new owners. Rumor has a new Buon Amici operation rising from the ashes in the Uptown Center.
Credits for helping me move forward in my coffee learning curve include:
Geir, Pat, Carsen and Courtney Oglend for their inexhaustible support and sharing! Thanks for all the Hario Kit this year. Hario V60 reshaped my brewing experience completely.
Reg James and the boys of EspressoTec.com for their continuing support and access to the EspressoTec inventory. Thanks for the entire HARIO hand grinder product line samples!
Logan Gray and John Riopka at Discovery Coffee for keeping me on top of the scene when I could not do it alone.
Shane Devereaux and the gang at HABIT for a never ending stream of sharing, learning and support.
To Mark and Valerie Engels for their support and solidarity – and keeping us all supplied with great coffee and bakery from Bubby Roses Bakery!
Fall Fun and Food Follies 4 Bringing home your baker · Saturday November 6, 2010 by colin newell
I have always thought that the best time to savor a cup of great coffee is early. Preferably after you have had a light breakfast. Dumping caffeine onto an empty stomach is never a good idea. Unless you are made of stone of course.
Which is what I said to Mark Engels, of Bubby Roses Bakery, while sitting in the window at the HABIT COFFEE AND CULTURE Atrium location – Yates and Blanshard.
On a damp Saturday November morning we make a note of the ebb and flow of serious coffee drinkers around us. Habit owner/team leader, Shane works the counter with the skill of a master. While ordering my single origin mug of wonder, Shane commented that his shift is the “fill in where needed” and “normal is not a word or reality that appears in his World.”
Sitting with Mark and getting in an full cup of wisdom is rarely undisturbed – because Mark is the Baker Mayor of the Cook street village area. And everyone knows the Mayor. In the space of 3 minutes we meet and greet friends and fans of the Bakery.
Friends of the Baker.
You need the Baker. Especially when the Baker is putting bread on your table. And bringing a special social energy to your community. Your neighborhood.
So between all encompassing impressions of Victoria cafe and baking culture and sips of coffee, Mark gives me the snapshot of the lowdown in his life as he plans the latest bakery game changer.
New ideas. New locations. Fresh ambition. Finding downtime. Nailing down balance.
Mark talks about finding new strength and restoration in getting away from it all or stepping away for brief periods of time.
We are distracted for a moment by my Carrot and Bran muffin.
Baked things distract Mark – it is an industrial hazard. I come to expect it.
And even I ask, why here in the Wet Coast of British Columbia a muffin at HABIT COFFEE is called a “Nantucket Morning Glory” muffin.
Like, what local bakery would give a local muffin a name like that? It should be called the Sooke River Morning Glory muffin.
Little things that rile up a baker and a coffee web maker.
Mark and I wind down the conversation/coffee date with opinions on why social networking tools, like Twitter and Facebook are actual limiters of taking business and ideas forward. My feelings on that will be explored in more detail in a later edition.
In the meantime, I have a pile of modern coffee gear to plow through, write and review.
Because the Universe abhors decaffeination.
Colin lives and works in Victoria B.C. Canada and tries to write about it from time to time. Sometimes, Social Networking gets in the way!
Summer Food Fun and Drink Number 9 Hipster Universe · Sunday July 11, 2010 by colin newell
The Victoria B.C. coffee scene is pretty unique to the Planet Earth. We have the best possible beverages prepared in every imaginable fashion.
Espresso coffee? It’s hard to beat. Like your drip? We have that too. In Victoria you can get Synesso coffee, Aeropressed coffee, Hario V60 coffee, Siphon coffee – heck you can even get instant coffee if you ask politely.
And it really is some of the best coffee anywhere in North America.
I would happily and confidently put my local baristas against anyone on this caffeinated Planet knowing that they would place well.
And it is not like we have some special corner of the market on the beans – because we do not.
We have some mighty fine roasters – and some of the best folks who know how to import some mighty fine “already roasted” beans if necessary.
We have a cafe for every one and every taste.
If you are a fan of the single origin bean (like an Ethiopian Sidamo or a Mexico Malinal) then Cafe Fantastico might be your java joint? Their roasters Derek and Ryan are top in their game and know how far to push a green bean to get the best out of it.
Black Stilt coffee (two locations) takes the environment so seriously that they discard about one garbage bag of refuse a week – The coffee is good and their Hillside location is popular with University and College kids.
For the “Too Cool for School” set, there is HABIT COFFEE AND CULTURE – Owner Shane Devereaux’s laid back style is an odd juxtaposition in a space that is hipper than a Kerouac novel – and the coffee is bad ass however it’s prepared. I do the Press when I am there – it is always perfect and the sugary selection of baked goods is always enticing.
Looking for the Zen of coffee? Consider Discovery Coffee (2 locations) – maybe not as happening as HABIT, but the turntable is just as likely to be blaring The Stones or Creedence Clearwater Revival and the coffee is never less than leading edge.
Want to drive a few extra miles? Drumroaster Coffee on the Island highway near Cobble Hill and the Cow Bay turn-off is the home of coffee senzei’s Geir, Pat and Carsen Oglend. Geir is the great grand-pappy of Island coffee and you are assured of no less than a perfectly transcendent cup of mud.
Tell them I sent you!
Summer Food Fun and Drink Chapter 6 Hario V60 · Saturday July 3, 2010 by colin newell
While at the Drumroaster Coffee Roastery with my dear wife, Andrea – and affable host Geir Oglend – partner and coffee Übermensch – we brewed stunning cups of Ethiopia Sidamo coffee with the Hario V60.
No visit is complete without cups of great coffee, stimulating conversation… and coming away with a bag of coffee and a pile of information that I did not have before.
Today was no different.
Geir brewed a Hario V60 drip pot of Ethiopia Sidamo with the Hario V60 dripper and Hario kettle (photo below).
Here is the deal:
To really excel at drip coffee (and it is, in my mind one of the most superior methods of brewing an individual cup.):
-You need a precise amount of carefully ground coffee
-A supply of hot water just off the boil in a suitable container (not all kettles are created equally…)
-A suitable filter holder (like the Hario 60 above)
-A timer, maybe a scale and one steady hand.
Weigh out the dose. A digital scale is very important here – and no home kitchen should go without one. A 60 grams (coffee) per liter (water) is more or less ideal. A 12 ounce serving (medium sized mug) is about .35L – or around 23-25G of whole beans. Select your grind that yields a total brew time of around 3 minutes – 3 minutes and 15 seconds tops. Like any other gravity brewer or filter holder (like the Melitta #4) the V60 is not flow restricted… so your instincts are critical!
I Preheat all components and rinse the paper filter with about 100ml of hot water. Does it make a difference? Don’t know. But it doesn’t hurt.
Water should be just off the boil. Boil your water and count to 10. You should be in the ball park.
0 to 30 seconds: Add the ground coffee to the cone. Use your index finger tip to make a small indentation into the middle of the ground coffee. Start your timer (at ZERO) and pour in just enough water to saturate the bed of ground coffee (about 15 seconds worth of pouring). Pour in increasingly concentric rings. Avoid the sidewall of the filter. A Hario kettle (see photo) really makes the difference in precise control of the water.
30 seconds to 1 minute: Watch and wait as the water saturates the ground coffee – there may or may not be any coffee dripping at this point.
1 minute to 1 minute 30 seconds: Begin pouring again, in concentric circles out from the middle until the cone is nearly full. Coffee is dripping into your mug.
1 minute 30 to 2 minute mark: Repeat the water delivery to just keep the filter cone topped up.. Good stream of coffee brewing into the cup now.
2 minutes to 3 minutes: By now you have used up your water quota and you are watching the latter stages of the brew cycle. Do not wait for the last drips as you approach 3 minutes as the coffee will be approaching over extraction.
