Back in Vancouver
I made it back to Vancouver for the school year as of Saturday. I'm living on campus but in an apartment style residence, which makes for an interesting transition to wholly independent living (well, at least day-to-day living). Already, I am feeling the entirely different vibe of the industry here as compared to Calgary.
There are people in this city who care about coffee (warning: understatement). I definitely feel as if the four months I had in Calgary have set me behind the times... I think the scene here has even opened up a bit, with more open discussion between people. It's all quite incredible.
That being said, I haven't been off campus much for coffee. I've been ridiculously busy getting everything set up and such so that I can live comfortably in my new place. I'm almost done all that, so I'll be out getting myself back and drinking coffee soon. One of the first cups of coffee I drank was a microlot Nicaraguan from Intelligentsia (not sure which of the two) from the Clover 1s. It was a great cup of coffee, but my palate is noticeably out of touch with the subtleties that accompany a cup of coffee like that one. The day after that, I toured a couple shops with Nick of JJ and Matthew of Elysian. We tried all three Cup of Excellence offerings off of the Clover at the Hornby Artigiano. All three were excellent coffees with quite diverse profiles. (This was several days ago, so don't bother me for notes....) Then, we head off to Prado, where Amy (I believe that is her name... someone please correct me if I am wrong) served us three excellent macchiatos. It was an impressive little coffee crawl.
But, more exciting than all of this is that there is a place for good coffee on campus now. Or, at least, way better than any previously available coffee. The Boulevard is a student owned shop in the UBC dentistry building. They have awesome decor, with the menu projected onto the large wall behind the dual La Marzocco FB70s. Prices seem to be pretty reasonable too. Though I've yet to go for an espresso there (they use a Swift), the latte and americano I have had were both very good. I've yet to see art, but that seems to be a goal of the folks there, with microfoam milk being the standard. Just watch out for the "traditional" cappuccino. It's really a standard American wet capp, with foam spooned on. Mind you, the one I had was reasonable.
So there you go, an update from Vancouver.
I start at Wicked on Saturday afternoon for another year of caffeinated goodness.
There are people in this city who care about coffee (warning: understatement). I definitely feel as if the four months I had in Calgary have set me behind the times... I think the scene here has even opened up a bit, with more open discussion between people. It's all quite incredible.
That being said, I haven't been off campus much for coffee. I've been ridiculously busy getting everything set up and such so that I can live comfortably in my new place. I'm almost done all that, so I'll be out getting myself back and drinking coffee soon. One of the first cups of coffee I drank was a microlot Nicaraguan from Intelligentsia (not sure which of the two) from the Clover 1s. It was a great cup of coffee, but my palate is noticeably out of touch with the subtleties that accompany a cup of coffee like that one. The day after that, I toured a couple shops with Nick of JJ and Matthew of Elysian. We tried all three Cup of Excellence offerings off of the Clover at the Hornby Artigiano. All three were excellent coffees with quite diverse profiles. (This was several days ago, so don't bother me for notes....) Then, we head off to Prado, where Amy (I believe that is her name... someone please correct me if I am wrong) served us three excellent macchiatos. It was an impressive little coffee crawl.
But, more exciting than all of this is that there is a place for good coffee on campus now. Or, at least, way better than any previously available coffee. The Boulevard is a student owned shop in the UBC dentistry building. They have awesome decor, with the menu projected onto the large wall behind the dual La Marzocco FB70s. Prices seem to be pretty reasonable too. Though I've yet to go for an espresso there (they use a Swift), the latte and americano I have had were both very good. I've yet to see art, but that seems to be a goal of the folks there, with microfoam milk being the standard. Just watch out for the "traditional" cappuccino. It's really a standard American wet capp, with foam spooned on. Mind you, the one I had was reasonable.
So there you go, an update from Vancouver.
I start at Wicked on Saturday afternoon for another year of caffeinated goodness.
posted by Peter at 11:17
3 Comments:
woo hoo - looking forward to seeing you there again Peter. You get to work for Arthur! :D
Sounds like good times. I plan to come out that way soon. Meanwhile, Halifax has surprised me with it's coffee. Steve-o-reno's is actually quite good (well, depending on the barista it seems) and they tell me here of another 3 places I should check out that roast there own beans as well. Hopefully I'll be able to get another barista job soon...
It all sounds great Peter. Now start taking notes on some of those CoE's would you. ;-)
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