On Saturday Ianiv & I went to check out the new Wicked Cafe in downtown Vancouver (861 Hornby Street). We sat down with owner Brad Ford to talk about the new cafe. It’d been a while since we had been to Wicked, the cafe on 7th & Hemlock being one of our more familiar haunts when we lived in Kitsilano.

The new cafe has the same great vibe of the other, though admittedly a great deal more modern to appeal to the downtown crowd. The decor is simple, but it’s quite a large long space to have plenty of seating for customers. Always a bonus. Wicked Cafe brews Intelligentsia coffee, which we hadn’t had for quite some time. It was nice to try it again!

The new downtown Wicked Cafe has two Clover machines, perhaps among some of the last that smaller cafes will ever see now that Starbucks has bought out the company. If you’ve never tried coffee brewed on the Clover, it works much like a french press does, allowing for a very specific brew process that can be customized to suit the coffee. At Wicked, they brew a stronger cup of Clover-brewed coffee by using about 20% more beans - this adds more base depth to the cup than the typical light overnotes. Both ways of brewing are very good.

So, go check out Wicked Cafe if you’re ever downtown around the Robson area. And thanks to Brad for taking the time to have us down to the new cafe!

Visit the full set of photos here.

BoingBoing TV has fun video of a recent tour of Intelligentsia

Dunkin’ Donuts is quite entrenched in Spain - more so than Starbucks, for example. It is, however, called something different. It is known as "Dunkin’ Coffee":

All of the chain stores we saw were busy, all through Barcelona and even one in Sitges. The prices were very good for a coffee & donut (under 2 euros), and there seemed to be a mix of both locals and tourists buying the fare.

I have to say I was surprised to see this chain there. Both the coffee and the fare seemed out of place. And yet, it seems to do quite well.

Tags: dunkin coffee, dunkin donuts, spain, coffee in spain, chain stores

My first experience of coffee in Spain was at the Barcelona Sants train station. We were stuck there waiting for a connecting train, so I went to the cafe.

All across Spain, you basically have the same three coffee choices. Café (espresso), Café con Leche (espresso, half and half with milk) either with hot milk or cold milk, and Café Cortado (espresso with only a bit of milk).

I went with the Café con Leche, which is made with whole milk. The whole milk adds a lovely silky richness to the coffee. I actually enjoyed Spanish coffee - it was not as hard of a roast as in Italy or France, and I enjoyed the creamier texture of the whole milk.

Now, I didn’t exactly start off with the ‘best’ place to have coffee in Spain, but I enjoyed it nonetheless!

Tags: coffee, spain, coffee in spain, spanish coffee, barcelona, barcelona coffee, cafe con leche

We’re heading to Spain for 2 weeks. We’ll be in the Barcelona area, and in Sitges, so if anyone has a good cafe to recommend (for coffee, tea, or hot chocolate), drop it as a comment.

We’ll take photos and do mini reviews along the way.

Tags: barcelona, barcelona coffee, spain coffee

Yep, you got it. A mighty pissed of employee started peeing in the coffee pot, and it was all caught on video.

Yep, I’d say that’s why the coffee was tasting weird. Ew!

Via piehole ; Tags: coffee, pee, revenge, urine, pissed off

We spent the weekend in Bellevue for a wedding. Scott Beale was there and on his way back home he made an amusing observation about coffee in the Seattle-Tacoma Airport:

You know you’re in Seattle, when in addition to signs for restrooms, food and cocktails, they also include one for espresso.

Link: Espresso Ahead

Here are the Top 10 Coffee Table Books, as recommended by The News & Observer

1. The Rejection Collection: Cartoons You Never Saw, and Never Will See, in The New Yorker
   
2. Theories of Everything: Selected, Collected, and Health-Inspected Cartoons, 1978-2006
   
3. Pollen: The Hidden Sexuality of Flowers
   
4. Seeds: Time Capsules of Life
   
5. The World of the Polar Bear
   
6. Mandela: The Authorized Portrait
   
7. Ngorongoro
   
8. Historical Atlas of the United States
   
9. A Photographer’s Life: 1990-2005, Annie Leibovitz
   
10. Home: The Blueprints of Our Lives
    

I would also add this one in for pure Entertainment and Joy factor:

BONUS: My Secret: A PostSecret Book (Postsecret)

Tags: coffee table books, books, top 10, book recommendations, books, shopping, gifts, gift ideas, gift list

Last week we were at the Elysian Room and got to taste a new coffee they were sampling, NOVO coffee. Both coffees were made on the Clover.

I tried the Ethiopian (Sidamo, HACHE).

From high in Sidamo where people live longer than in all of Ethiopia, locals wrap themselves in beautiful woven blankets for comfort in the cool mountains. Hache is hours deep on the rough road into Sidamo. Nearby giant waterfalls and cool running rivers enhance the peacefulness of Hache Coop, run by the keenest deep-country accountant we’ve ever met.

It was like a breath of fresh air. We have been drinking the same coffee from Intelligentsia, the Honduras, and I’ve been keen on something new. Ethiopian coffees have always been in my top favorites, and this was no exception. It had such a beautiful soft taste in the mouth and a great finish. I would love more of this one.

Ianiv tried the Sumatra Tawar

From the Lintong and Aceh regions surrounding Lake Tawar, the gigantic and beautiful beans of the Novo Tawar display intense, syrupy, spicy earth flavor and a lengthy, sweet finish.

Flavor Profile: sweet, spicy, fragrant earth

His had a more tart taste, but not really tart. It was just more of a sharp taste than a full bodied one. Had lots of flavor profile to it. Very good as well.

NOVO Coffee is in Denver, and the Brodsky family has been roasting there since 2002. For more, read here.

Tags: novo coffee, coffee, ethiopian coffee, sumatra, tawar, sidamo hache

I am at a conference today in San Jose (BlogHer) and the combination of lack of sleep with intense concentration and networking has left me yawning.

Over the course of the day I’ve had four cups of coffee and it seems to have stopped working. Trying to see if tea can give me a jump, although my comfort association with tea might just put me to sleep.

Do you ever have those days where caffeine just doesn’t seem to work?

Tags: coffee, caffeine, tired

Today we ran out of milk and both of us were too busy/lazy to run to the store for more. So I opted for soy milk instead of no milk.

Oy, so different. Way more tart. Doesn’t let through the coffee taste at all.

Now, if it were a superb Americano, I could go black. No sugar or milk. But with the French Press, no matter how fabulous the beans, I still like my milk and sugar.

I do like Soy in some things. Love soy milk alone. Love it in an iced coffee from Starbucks (why not, the coffee is not great to begin with). But not in good coffee.

Today I’m not having a good cup of coffee. Note to self: get milk for tomorrow.

Tags: soy, coffee, soy milk, milk

Cappuccino Art, brought to you by the Elysian Room

We were married on April first. During the planning process, we found ways to infuse almost every aspect of the wedding ceremony and the reception with elements of who we are.

One such element, obviously, is coffee.

Our coffee-themed elements included:

• Our wedding favours: chocolate covered coffee beans (Java Beans) from JJ Bean
• Our wedding cake: hazelnut sponge cake with chocolate ganache and espresso flavoured butter cream (the strongest flavour, as per our direction)
• Wedding breakfast: no hotel coffee for us! Coffee delivered with breakfast from Trees

We took the coffee theme just about as far as you can take it, and those guests who know us appreciate that we connect with our wedding so closely. It was really "us".

Plus, we have to say, it was really delicious :)

Tags: wedding, coffee, wedding favors, chocolate, wedding cake, blogaholicswed

This post on BoingBoing links to a few self-portraits taken using a shiny french press. My press has the dull black plastic top, so you’ll be spared from seeing my face, after I woke up, before I drink my coffee. I think she’s had too much coffee already :)

Me and my girls enjoyed a fabulous breakfast the morning of the wedding, all brought in from Trees. Mexican-origin coffee. Scones, muffins and croissants.

I had been waiting 6 months for that scone (no carb diet), and I have to say it was worth the wait.

Meanwhile, Ianiv went to Denny’s with the groomsmen. He was  scheduled for De Dutch, but their website time did not agree with the actual opening time.

I think my breakfast was better :)