Two Weekends, One City, and too much espresso…well, a lot of espresso

I moved to Vancouver two years ago, viewing it as a coffee mecca and the “place to be” for any aspiring barista. I still hold that view, and am so proud to live in, work in, and experience this city every day. But if there is another notch that every Vancouver barista yearns to etch in his/her portafilter, it is the one that represents the ever famed “seattle cafe crawl”.

I had the privilege of experiencing this my first summer here, and drove over in a two car posse that included the Inkster brothers, Andrew Friesen (formerly of JJ Bean and later Elysian) and Stephen Morrisey (current WBC champion). Needless to say, I was in the presence of greatness. Doors were shattered, my eyes were opened, and it felt as though my coffee world had been expanded into an entirely new and ethereal realm. We hit all the big players at the time; David Schomer’s Vivace, the source and literal embodiment of the massive coffee theories that fed my coffee passion (via articles on internet) while I was still living in Calgary, Vita, and Victrola. We flew back to Vancouver on a cloud marked # nine; I’ve been waiting to go back ever since.

My wait was very much satisfied over the past two weekends. I went to Seattle two weeks ago as part of my wife Annie’s birthday present to me; and last week was Coffee Fest. I have been spoiled.

Though the plan was to “take it easy on the coffee” during my wife’s and my trip, being that I would be on a specific coffee trip the following weekend, we still managed to hit 10 cafes. Both Stumptowns, two Victrolas, Vivace, Vita, Tougo, Herkimer (though it was closed when we went) and another obscure cafe on our way out. Between that trip and the latter one, I saw a lot of the Seattle scene.

I don’t want this entry to be a cafe review. Let it simply suffice as a thumbs up. Two thumbs up. Way up. I am so refreshed by experiencing other peoples’ passion for the same drink that is the object of my affection. It’s so great to see other people advocating coffee as a precious drink, worthy of appreciation, attention, and (sometimes) a lot of money (like the 45$ half pound of Stumptown’s Geisha…which was delicious). I love seeing daily cuppings. What a wonderful springboard for conversations in coffee. I love that all these guys roast their own coffee. I love that you can order a Belgian beer at the same place you have your morning cappuccino. I love the low-profile, minimalist bar set-ups. I can’t even utter enough praise for the fact that these shops are pressing all of their steeped coffee! No drip brewers. I had to kick myself in shin to make sure that I wasn’t dreaming when I saw this. I also noticed that the Anfim trend has not caught on in Seattle, (or, judging from others’ pictures of Oregon, San francisco, and LA, in the southern west coast either). I must admit that it’s somewhat refreshing. I love that this new “clean dose” trend has resulted in cleaner bars and, more importantly, less hard work (and wonderful coffee) in the garbage. But there will always be something to that inescapably unique signature of the barista dosing by hand. A truly beautiful thing to watch.

Though there were thousands of coffees and shots that I’ve experienced between my first trip and these later two, I still love Seattle and all of it’s uber-ristretto glory. I can’t wait till next year.