Canadian Color - The unmeasureable hipness of Habit Coffee · Saturday October 18, 2008 by colin newell
I sat in Bubby Roses Bakery Cafe this morning and chowed down on a spectacular serving of Challah French Toast – a half-order in fact. Baker-owner and Socratic master, Mark Engels and I mused… “I wonder what the average age of your clientele is?”
I continued, “I figure there is a big block of kids in their mid-twenties… a gap… lots of 50-somethings and then those over 60s-young and beyond…”
Mark injects, “I wish I knew that information…”
Truth is, there are some remarkable looking young people that hang out at Bubby’s on Saturday morning. A young lady in particular stands out – she has the face of a child and is obviously in her twenties – her buff stud dude has biceps twice the size of my legs and they cuddle in the warm October Sun. They are a picture of youthful and unspoiled purity – at least on some perverse level…
Flash forward a few hours. If Bubby Roses is the sanctuary to youthful maidens with gorilla sized gentle giant boyfriends, Habit Coffee and Culture is a missing chapter out of a modernized Hunter S. Thompson novel. Habit Coffee and Culture oozes an impossibly rich sap of hipness and has caffeinated beverages brewed to heighten already jaded slackers to unheard levels of awesomeness.
As a reasonably jaded 40 something on the eve of my 5th decade on Planet Earth, I watch with muted amusement the funky social dance performed by these naive critters of the Z and Millennial generations. We are on the leading edge of an economic crash – where we will pass from an era of excess and endless employment opportunity – where a slacker job (high paid) incorporates chill time, face book time, spa time and, well, simply not showing up for work if they do not feel like it… and like whaddya gonna do about it anyway?!?
The Z’s and Millennial`s fail to realize that once this current bubble bursts, they will be ill equipped to deal with the realities that us 30-somethings and 40-somethings survived so well 10, 15 and 20 years ago.
I laugh. Ha. Ha.
Kids these days remind me of growing up on the farm in the 70’s and eying giddy fatted and rambunctious lambs gamboling from one stump to another…
moments prior to the slaughter. They have no idea. None.
Pass the mint jelly.
Fall Colors Canadian Style - Specialty coffee in a failing marketplace · Monday September 29, 2008 by colin newell
The last few radio appearances that I have done have focused on one thing – Specialty coffee consumption during shaky financial times.
“What do people do when their financial portfolio starts to shrink? How does it effect their consuming habits?”
Interestingly, specialty coffee, like lattes and cappuccinos are the first to go in times of money trouble.
“Why is that?” Well – Coffee… the good stuff that is, is largely considered a luxury item… a treat, if you would… and people, rich and poor – regardless of how wealthy or poor they are, generally cut back on the coffees, the cupcakes, the muffins, the lunches out and so on. It should not be too surprising that coffee is near the top of the heap when it comes to items than can be trimmed…
“Why?”
Because it is easy to sub in the caffeine somewhere else… cheaper… and still get that kick without the kick in the pocketbook. I mean, it would be nice to have a great cup of coffee everyday – but if there is a crunch, there is always way to make a cheaper cup and achieve the primary objective…
“Which is…?”
Brace yourselves folks… The clear majority of North Americans drink their coffee for the caffeine kick. And you can find that kick in Folgers, many cheaper grocers brands, super-store coffee at $1.99 a pound and yes, even the dreaded instant coffee.
In summary, the specialty coffee marketplace in North America is totally at the mercy of financial fluctuations – we have seen what happens to the megalith Starbucks when the tides turn. And that was months ago.
In late September of 2008, we have not hit the bottom of the barrel on Wall Street and Bay Street – we can, however see the bottom of a drying coffee pot.
Fall Colors Canadian Style - Boom or Bust in Coffee World · Saturday September 27, 2008 by colin newell
The local TV station, CHEK News arrived on campus on Thursday to have a chat with me… about coffee culture in Victoria.
I am not that much of a TV person. I mean, who is? But I did my best.
On Friday past, there were 25 or 30 local cafes that gave away mugs of coffee to downtown employees between the hours of opening and 10 AM. It was kind of an appreciation day.
The downtown Victoria business associations point was two-fold – express appreciation to Victoria residents that work down town, suburban residents that work downtown – and to make an eco point about people toting their mugs with them everywhere. The free coffee, after all, was for people with their own travel mugs. Good thing.
And CHEK TV’s questions? What is it about Victoria B.C. Canada that makes it such a hot-bed for coffee consumption?
Several things. Victoria is a government town. Victoria is a University town. Victoria is a college town. And it rains in Victoria – not a lot compared to Tofino, Ucluelet or Vancouver – but it rains. And rain makes great coffee.
We love our coffee. But why so many good and really good cafes? It cannot be just the weather – because the weather is not that bad. Seattle, to our South is arguably the coffee hot-bed of North America. Heck, they invented the latte.
Apparently we invented the London Fog – a beverage of steamed milk and Earl Grey Tea. Invented in Victoria no less. Now that is ironic.
Part of it, I think, is because Victoria B.C. Canada is one of the most desirable places to live in this country. You could say the same for Seattle… or Vancouver. We are a happy lot – perhaps happier… and coffee, generally the better coffee, makes people happier. And more alive. Even sexier perhaps… if I can be so bold.
I sat in Bubby Roses Bakery cafe this morning as the weather turned from gray to sunny and mild. I was chowing down on the best Challah French Toast and I noticed that everyone was ebullient, smiles on all the faces, everyone flirting with everyone else… couples smooching coyly in the line up for coffee, bakery and breakfast. It was contagious. Why today? Why here?
Currently, we are on the eve of a potential financial melt-down in international markets… And yet on Vancouver Island, there are more jobs than people, more hope than sadness, more optimism than pessimism. It is really an Island.
And what I was trying to introduce… before I was distracted by my own effervescence – was the fact that we are in the middle of our own caffeinated gold rush. If you have any interest in working in a cafe… or owning or building a cafe… now could be the time.
If anything… to our far flung readers that have always wondered about here, here being Vancouver Island… well, come on out for a visit. If you come to Victoria as a result of reading this blog, coffee is on me!
Oh yea. And the TV News interview? When they asked me why I live in Victoria?
“It’s the coffee, stupid!”
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Fall Colors Canadian Style - Chris and Steven let us down · Monday September 22, 2008 by colin newell
About a month ago we got a call from the CBC asking us to come to Toronto to appear on the Steven and Chris show – and like every other media outlet, newspaper and radio station, we bend over backwards to get the message out about specialty coffee. After all, it is our thing. The more we talk about the World of Coffee, the better it is for the people that actually work in the fields, on the farms, the coops and the processing factories – to bring you that cup of Joe that you love so dearly.
It is about the 12 million family members that grow coffee. Not us. Them.
That said, you had better make it worth while to travel several thousand miles to appear on a TV show for three minutes… which is why I deferred the task to the lovely Sara Lee Spector of Every Day Gourmet Coffee – because the CBC does not have a penny for guests who travel from places like Victoria B.C.
Anyway. Sara was somewhat apprehensive about this task because it would mean taking 4 to 6 hours out of her busy day – Along with her hard working staff, Sara is the production back-bone of Every Day Gourmet Coffee.
But that is OK. The CBC and the producers of the Steven and Chris show (like virtually every TV show I have ever dealt with…) promise the moon in exchange for some of our precious time. In Chris and Stevens case, their producer and videographer, Barbara, guaranteed a mention of Every Day Gourmet Coffee and the CoffeeCrew website for our trouble. Hey, I even blogged the event further back in my archive giving Chris and Steven a good dollop of free publicity.
Me being the perpetual cynic, I figured… “Sure, whatever…” TV shows on the CBC with their paper thin budgets will make any number of promises to get the volunteers they need – and we cannot fault them for that – especially when we expect this kind of cheesy treatment.
Anyway – it still burns me up a bit. I contacted the producer today and she said… “Well, this season we are not keying in credits during the show…”
Uhm. Hello. I watched the episode. You were keying in the name and credentials of the guests. What was so difficult about giving credit where it was due?
Oh wait. I know. At the end of the Steven and Chris show, they were giving away Tim Horton’s coffee to everyone on the show.
Tim Horton’s. After a wonderful lecture from Sara on what coffee is all about… We get an ad for Tim Horton’s.
Something smells here, and it isn’t good coffee.
Steven and Chris. You guys can do better than this.
Colin Newell lives and dreams in Victoria B.C. Canada on the West Coast of Canada. He believes in good food, good coffee and great friends. And this is the first in the Fall series of blogs on Food, Drink and Fun for the Fall.
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