With a warm purr and a gurgle, the hot dark liquid slides out of the imposing stainless steel hulk sitting atop the bar at Milano Coffee on West 8th. Nearly the size of a V-8 engine, it produces just a dainty cup鈥檚 worth of black gold: Owner Brian Turko鈥檚 own La Futura espresso blend.
Turko takes a small spoon and barely dips its tip into a bowl of sugar, dissolving the crystals into the thin layer of crema floating atop his coffee. 聽
鈥淛ust a touch of sugar,鈥� he says as he stirs, 鈥渁nd it opens up your taste buds.鈥�
The flavours are complex, and intense. There鈥檚 nutty cocoa, hints of citrus and vanilla. There鈥檚 spice too 鈥� cloves and cardamom 鈥� and a sweet toffee finish. Ten different kinds of arabica beans go into this blend, each with its own personality, each a variable in the equation.
Last year, La Futura brought home gold at Italy鈥檚 International Coffee Tasting Competition, beating out espresso blends from around the world.
Turko is one of a growing number of local artisan coffeemakers who are finding success by following their passion for the bean. And like the many different beans in an espresso blend, Vancouver鈥檚 many independent coffee shops each have their own personality.
The Innovator
麻豆传媒映画has always been a coffee town, thanks to the many Italian immigrants who settled in our fair city and brought their delicious traditions with them.
Turko grew up just a few blocks away from the espresso shops of Commercial Drive. Although he was an outsider in the heavily Italian neighbourhood, Turko nevertheless fell in love with the social nature of the coffee shop at an early age.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 where the girls were,鈥� he chuckles.
Before long, he found himself working in the caf茅s he frequented, learning the secrets of the trade.
Turko and his wife Linda struck out on their own in 1997, opening Turk鈥檚 Coffee Bar. Their little caf茅 was the first non-Italian coffee shop on the Drive, and for a time at least, was largely ignored by the community.
鈥淲e were coffee geeks before there were coffee geeks,鈥� says Turko.
But soon word got out, and within months the coffee shop became a Commercial Drive staple. Six years later the couple bought Milano Coffee and its roasting facilities on West 8th, where former owner and master torrefazoni Francesco Curatolo took Turko under his wing and shared with him his craft.
Through a doorway into 惭颈濒补苍辞鈥檚 back room lies Turko鈥檚 laboratory. Here in the roasting room, he oversees every aspect of his coffee鈥檚 production, from the roasting, to the blending, to the packaging, all the while, plucking a tune on a beat-up acoustic guitar.
鈥淭he key characteristics of coffee are its body, flavour, aroma, and acidity,鈥� Turko explains. 鈥淸As a roaster], you have to pair these elements and match it to the tastebuds: Sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and umami.鈥�
The sweet spot for roasting takes place between 200 C and 221 C. Even one degree over can burn the beans.
Darker roasts produce a fuller flavour with more caramelization and bitterness, while lighter roasts produce subtler flavours, with more acidity and more caffeine.
Chains like Starbucks 鈥� which are notorious for over-roasting, if not burning, their beans 鈥� have helped popularize a taste for dark roasts on the West Coast.
Starbucks opened its first location outside of the U.S. here in 麻豆传媒映画at Waterfront Station in 1987. The shop was an instant hit with caffeine-addicted commuters, and today the global coffee chain operates close to 100 locations within the city limits. Until 2012, the intersection of Robson and Thurlow featured a pair of Starbucks shops, right across the street from each other.
Not long after Starbucks arrived on the scene, the Blenz coffee franchise opened its first location at Robson and Bute in 1992. The chain is one of the biggest in BC and聽 now stretches across the Pacific Rim with locations in Japan and the Philippines.
While Tim Hortons holds more than 60 per cent of the Canadian coffee market, Vancouverites didn鈥檛 get to roll up their rims until 1994, when the first BC location opened on East Hastings. But the weak drip coffee the chain offers has never had much appeal to Vancouverites.
鈥淲hat Starbucks has done is popularize European coffee culture,鈥� says Turko.聽
According to the Coffee Association of Canada, more than 65 per cent of Canadians drink coffee daily, averaging 2.8 cups per day.
And while corporate coffee chains of every variety have spent big bucks on advertising to encourage that daily coffee ritual, Vancouver鈥檚 coffee drinkers are growing up, says Turko.聽
And after decades of corporate coffee, Vancouver鈥檚 java junkies are ready for the real thing, and their tastes are expanding: Pour-overs, single-origin, artisan roasting.
Coffee fans are beginning to realize there鈥檚 more to coffee than burnt beans and sugary, milky drinks.
For Turko, his product has finally caught up with his customers.
Three-and-half years ago Gastown location was the first coffee shop in the city to offer pour-overs. Common in Japan, this take on traditional filter coffee is brewed to order using a glass carafe and a specially-designed kettle, producing an exceptionally smooth and flavourful cup of black coffee.
Today, pour-overs can be found in just about any independent coffee shop in the city.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 follow trends,鈥� says Turko. 鈥淲e follow the art of coffee gastronomy.鈥澛�
The Young Gun
For Revolver Coffee owner and manager George Giannakos, coffee is in his blood. Giannakos grew up surrounded by coffee culture in his parents鈥� shop, The Daily Roast, on the Sunshine Coast. The coffee shop quickly became a Sechelt landmark after it opened in the early 1990s, and still operates today, albeit under different owners.
鈥淭here were no Starbucks around then,鈥� recalls Giannakos. 鈥淚f you wanted a coffee, you had to go to a diner or a gas station.鈥�
While he was immersed in all things coffee-related for years, it wasn鈥檛 until his parents opened Crema Coffee Bar in West 麻豆传媒映画that Giannakos began to take coffee seriously.聽
鈥淭hat鈥檚 when I learned to taste it, to serve it, to really appreciate it,鈥� he says.聽
Before long, Giannakos had left the nest, travelling around the world to sample coffee culture in places like Montreal, Portland, New York, and Japan. What he learned, he brought back to Vancouver, and in 2011 opened on Cambie in Gastown with the help of his family. The thoroughly modern coffee shop has quickly gained a devoted following thanks to its hip personality and devotion to the art of coffee.
鈥淲e wanted to create a super coffee-focused place with great service, tons of options, and if you don鈥檛 want to geek out, that鈥檚 great too,鈥� says Giannakos.
In addition to offering traditional espresso blends and pour-overs, Revolver also features a wide range of single-origin coffees, which contain one type of bean, from one farm or region, roasted one way. The result is a coffee with a very specific and distinct flavour, allowing the shop to offer a variety of different flavours from geographical regions around the world.
鈥淎nd people want to know where their coffee is coming from,鈥� says Giannakos.
That sense of connectedness applies to the store itself. Independent coffee shops are members of the community they serve, and, compared to corporate chains, a greater percentage of their profits stay in that community. And their customers realize that.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a very real personality with each business, and with chains, you don鈥檛 get that same personality and spirit,鈥� says Giannakos. 鈥淎t the end of the day, there鈥檚 a lot of passion in the independent shops, and you can get a unique product.鈥�
For Giannakos, it鈥檚 as much about the coffee as it is the experience. And while Vancouver鈥檚 coffee drinkers are thirsty to explore the creative new world of the independent coffee shop, he understands they are also creatures of habit.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a delicate thing,鈥� he says. 鈥淓veryone has experience with [coffee], so everyone has an expectation of how it should be.
鈥淎nd it鈥檚 easy to come across as pretentious when you鈥檙e doing something different.鈥�
The Rising Star
Barista Cole Trepanier grew up in rural Hope, far away from the coffee scene of the big city. But in a town with not much to do, the local coffee shop was a godsend.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 where we would all hang out,鈥� he says. 鈥淭here wasn鈥檛 a lot of access to anything truly special, but that鈥檚 what we had.鈥�
After moving to 麻豆传媒映画in 2008, Trepanier decided to pursue his love of coffee professionally and train as a barista.聽
Last month, Trepanier took first place at the Western Regional Barista Competition, hosted by Rocanini Coffee Roasters in Richmond, earning him a spot at the Canadian National Barista Competition in Mississauga next month.
鈥淚 love the ritual of making my coffee,鈥� says Trepanier, who pulls espressos for on Main. 鈥淚t鈥檚 such a sensory experience.鈥�
During the competition, baristas give a 15-minute service-oriented presentation, serving four espressos, four cappuccinos, and four signature beverages to the judges. It is a race against the clock as competitors are scored on a complex set of rules that emphasize cleanliness, taste, professionalism, efficiency and mastery of craft. It鈥檚 not enough to have a perfect flavour profile, however. Competitors are also judged on their ability to be personable.
鈥淐ustomer service is such a big part of what we do,鈥� says Trepanier. Of course, technical skills and a highly-refined palate are also necessary. Working an espresso machine is a delicate art that requires constant taste-testing and recalibrating to ensure a consistent product, Trepanier explains.
鈥淭he weather, the humidity, the heat of the grinder, everything goes into account,鈥� he says. 鈥淚f we open the garage doors here, it completely changes the profile of the coffee.鈥�
Trepanier鈥檚 passion for coffee is evident, and infectious. And that鈥檚 part of the appeal of an independent coffee shop.
鈥淲e鈥檙e passionate, but we tread careful ground,鈥� he says. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 want to be pretentious, we just want people to care about coffee the way we care about coffee.鈥�
While Trepanier says there鈥檚 an invisible divide in 麻豆传媒映画between those who only go to the independent coffee shops and those who get their coffee wherever, overall, customers are much more educated and willing to try new things.
鈥淗ave an open mind, try a different roast profile, talk to your barista, and you鈥檒l get to understand the nuances of the flavours,鈥� says Trepanier.聽
And don鈥檛 be afraid to ask your barista any questions you might have.聽
鈥淚t鈥檚 always exciting for a barista to get to talk about coffee with customers and share our passion.鈥� 聽
(All photos by Jennifer Gauthier)
