DISCOVERY COFFEE BLOG

Cafes de El Salvador

Wed, 14 Dec 2011 15:18:24 -0800

Last week we received a shipment of coffees from El Salvador that we’re all really excited about. We’re usually excited about new coffees, but this one marks our first ever directly purchased lot, where we got to travel and experience the journey of the coffee from seed to cup, as well as the people and passion that brings it here.

Ernesto Menendez is a man whose passion is responsible for the beautiful coffees of fincas Las Brumas, Alaska, La Ilusión, and Los Andes. He is a certified Q grader, cup of excellence award-winning producer, and producer of the coffee that Alejandro Mendez used to win the 2011 World Barista Championships.

This spring, we got the opportunity to be in El Salvador and expand our coffee knowledge by tasting coffees with Ernesto and going to some of his farms.

We’re extremely proud to be able to carry coffees from Las Brumas, as well as Ernesto’s Grand Reserve, the cream of the crop, and cascara from across the four farms.

Cascara is a tea brewed from the dried and removed skin/pulp of the coffee fruit. It brews a very pleasant tea with a honey-like sweetness, and fruit aroma. We will be selling it behind the bar as a tea, as well as part of a gift package with the Las Brumas coffee. Look for it to be released soon!

~ Kyle

Discovery James Bay

Wed, 28 Sep 2011 09:24:00 -0700

With the new James Bay location only days away here’s a little sampler of what you’ll see.

Thank you everyone for your continuous and encouraging support. We’re almost there.

See you soon on the corner of Menzies and Michigan, James Bay.

PARTAAAAY! Friday Aug 26th!

Thu, 25 Aug 2011 14:28:20 -0700

You’re all invited to our For the Love of Coffee Welcome Party.

Victorian food tour for travelling foodies

Wed, 24 Aug 2011 15:21:00 -0700

For all you foodies from around the globe coming to Victoria, BC for the For the Love of Coffee show/Western Region Barista Championship here are some of our favourite places to eat and drink -

Red Fish Blue Fish - 1006 Wharf Street, Downtown.

Hours - Mon-Sun 11:30am to 7pm

An absolute must! Delicious fish tacones, fresh seafood, fish burgers, deep fried pickle. Amazing!

http://www.redfish-bluefish.com/

Hernandez Cocina -735 Yates St

Hours - Mon-Sat 11:30(ish) to 9pm

Amazing burritos, tacos and other Mexican delights. The powers bars are to die for!

http://www.hernandezcocina.com/

Pig BBQ Joint - 1325 Blanshard St, Downtown.

Hours - Mon-Sun 11am to 10pm

The name really says it all, but pulled pork sandwiches, pulled pork poutine, corn dogs, corn bread and beer. Perfect if you’re overcaffeinated.

http://pigbbqjoint.com/

Bubby Rose’s Bakery - 1022 Cook St

For the most delicious cinnamon buns, peanut butter choc chip cookies, apples yums and anything else your baked goods heart desires. This place is the most perfect combo of Jewish North American food. A short drive up Cook St is Bubby’s Kitchen, perfect for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

http://www.bubbyrosesbakery.com/

Pizzeria PrimaStrada -230 Cook St, Cook St Village

Hours - 11:30am to 10pm

Pizza, pizza, pizza! Imported Italian floor and fresh, local ingerients.

http://www.pizzeriaprimastrada.com/

Mo:le - 554 Pandora Ave, Downtown.

Hours - Mon-Fri 8am to 3pm, Sat-Sun 8am to 4pm

The best pesto potatoes in town! This place is great for basic breakfast but also has tasty fancy delicacies. Great for vegans and vegetarians.

http://www.molerestaurant.ca/

The Village - 2518 Estevan Ave, Oak Bay.

Hours - Mon-Sun 8am to 3:30pm

“Blending traditional Jewish breakfast dishes and West Coast breakfast favorites”

Definitely worth the drive for amazing Bennies, omelettes, latkes, blintzes, sandwiches and desserts. A breakfast must!

http://thevillagerestaurant.ca/

Costa Rica Coffea Suarez - our very first microlot.

Thu, 28 Jul 2011 09:49:09 -0700

We’re thrilled to have received our first shipment of this coffee. It is our very first, very own microlot.

This coffee comes from the Suarez family. They own a beautiful farm in Grecia, Alajuela region of Costa Rica. This coffee is 90% Caturra and 10% Catuai varieties, grown at 1596 metres above sea level. Grown in fertile soil formed from volcanic ash this coffee will be juicy and fruitful.

We look forward to sharing a cup of it with you. Stay tuned for its release.

James Bay updates…we have floors and walls and skylights...

Wed, 27 Jul 2011 08:25:37 -0700

James Bay updates…we have floors and walls and skylights and everything!

Farmer to consumer - bridging the gap

Tue, 21 Jun 2011 13:33:48 -0700

Over the last couple of months a few of us had the amazing experience of spending time in Central America visiting coffee farms. We have many stories to share with you and will soon host an evening to bring everyone together. For now, check out our Facebook page to see some photos

http://www.facebook.com/discoverycoffee

Kyle got to hang out in Costa Rica, you can read more about that here.

John and Anya spent some time in El Salvador and we were able to establish some great relationships with producers and we hope to be working more closely with them in the coming months. We have a much better understanding of how to create a balanced relationship with farmers where, very importantly, they’re able to maintain a sustainable and high quality product as well as a safe, happy community and we bring you delicious coffee.

We are so honoured and grateful to have gotten the opportunity to learn from these amazing people without whom we wouldn’t have this wonderful product that not only tastes great but brings people together.

We aim to help bridge the gap between farmer and consumer by continuing to educate ourselves and sharing our knowledge with you. This is Discovery Coffee’s first steps in a new and very excited direction.

Our first harvest!

Thu, 26 May 2011 12:22:05 -0700

Meet Hank…

Hank was our first ever coffee tree and he’s finally flowering and growing cherries!

3 cherries! Count ‘em! 3!

See kids, this is why it’s so important to water your plants.

Pamenar. Kensigton Markets, Toronto. We’re proud to be...

Tue, 17 May 2011 11:55:29 -0700

Pamenar. Kensigton Markets, Toronto. We’re proud to be working with these awesome people. Pop by and say hi!

Discovery James Bay

Fri, 29 Apr 2011 10:00:57 -0700

Discovery James Bay

Sneak peek Discovery Coffee James Bay

Fri, 29 Apr 2011 10:00:25 -0700

Sneak peek Discovery Coffee James Bay

Kyle and Phil Adventures suntowertimes: Some recent photos of...

Thu, 21 Apr 2011 15:51:05 -0700

Kyle and Phil Adventures

suntowertimes:

Some recent photos of the visit Phil and I did to Finca Gloria, Ataco Mill, and Finca Nejapa, thanks to Luis Ventura and his gracious hosting to his and his mother-in-law’s farms. It was really great to see Finca Gloria, as it is a recently converted farm; we learned a lot about what most lower-quality farms do to maximise quantity over quality, and how to work a farm towards a more comfortable balance of yield and cup quality. Spacing of the trees is important, as well as forming the coffee plant itself, by bending it and creating a root system that supports multiple shafts. We also got to see the Ataco mill, a mid-range processing plant. It was interesting to compare the mill with the one at La Candelilla and on Santa Ana, as each one is unique and on different scales in terms of input and output. This opportunity to yet again taste and go to the origin of some of El Salvador’s best coffees was wonderful, and has solidified my opinion that El Salvador has been my favourite country so far.

Say hello to Discovery Coffee James Bay.

Thu, 14 Apr 2011 11:37:36 -0700

We’re proud and excited to announce Discovery Coffee #3!

Introducing Discovery Coffee James Bay. In the upcoming few months hard hats and sledge hammers are replacing tampers and portafilters.

We’re aiming to open doors mid summer 2011.

What can you expect at the new store? *SPOILERS AHEAD*

**Passionate over caffeinated people, delicious coffee and records, of course, but also we’re thrilled to team up with Hudson Jones Baking for an amazing range of baked goods and meals. Though we cannot provide you with a menu just yet, the samples we’ve had have been amazing and we couldn’t be more excited!

**We are building a stage for various shows and events.

**Last but not least, what do you get when you mix Discovery Coffee with a liquor license? We don’t know yet, but we’re looking forward to finding out. We have a team of our favourite mixologists helping us out so expect the unexpected.

Photos, more updates and more surprises coming soon.

Walk a Mile - Discovery Style

Tue, 12 Apr 2011 11:46:21 -0700

Discovery Coffee will be participating in this year’s Walk a Mile in Her Shoes!

On May 14th, your favorite baristas will throw aside their coffee-covered sneakers and dawn high heel shoes for a one mile walk around downtown Victoria. The annual event is dedicated to raising awareness and much-needed funds for the Victoria Women’s Sexual Assault Centre. Men from around the city will literally walk a mile in women’s shoes to show support for ending sexualized violence and promote a culture of respect and accountability.

Walk a Mile allows people of all genders to walk together, side by side, to show the community of Victoria that we can all educate ourselves and do our part in raising understanding and awareness while raising money for a great cause!

You can join us, watch and laugh or simply make a donation if you want to support!

BIG NEWS!

Tue, 05 Apr 2011 10:19:01 -0700

Project Monster Photoshoot

Sun, 03 Apr 2011 13:10:06 -0700

Project Monster Photoshoot

Throwdown for Relief: Japan and NZ

Wed, 23 Mar 2011 08:10:46 -0700

Dear everybody,

We invite you to come down to Discovery Coffee Dowtown for a super fun throwdown fundraiser for victims of crazy weather across Japan and New Zealand. As always it’ll be a super fun event and for a great cause!

When: Friday March 25th

Time: 6-8pm

Cost: $5 buy in to compete, all proceeds to to Red Cross Japan and Christchurchcafe.com

We hope to see you all there!

Jagasilk in the NY Times!

Fri, 11 Mar 2011 10:15:26 -0800

Jagasilk, our beloved tea supplier, got a fantastic write up in the New York Times blog. Check it out here.

Jared and Miyuki, we’re so proud to be working with you!

DISCOVERY WINS GOLD AT EXCEPTIONAL EATS!

Thu, 03 Mar 2011 14:30:00 -0800

We would like to thank everyone for their love and votes in the Eat Magazine Exceptional Eats Reader’s Choice Awards. We could not have done it without you and we really appreciate the support.

We’d also like to give a shout out to all the winners, we’re proud to work with many of them. You can check them out here.

Thank you all!

Kyle in Costa Rica Pt 2. La Candelilla Micro-Mill

Wed, 02 Mar 2011 08:22:54 -0800

Kyle in Costa Rica Pt 2. La Candelilla Micro-Mill :

suntowertimes:

After we came back from the farm, the second lot of the morning was about to be processed at Candelilla’s mill, which we went to watch. The morning’s harvest is brought in by a truck, where it is measured.

The measurement determines the workers’ wages for the day, and gets documented for…