continuing on my tour d’americano in the main street triangle area, my next stop found me at our town cafe at the corner of kingsway and broadway. our town is a pretty cool coffee shop. everybody there has nice asymmetrical hair and writes punchy, politically sensitive poetry. they also have some of the cutest barristas in town and they happen to make a really nice americano. so what sets our town out differently then its 6 (six!) peers in the area? well, obviously, it’s the americano. our town is the only place i know of in vancouver that does the self pour americano. what that means is that you, the coffee drinker, has the power to pour their own water into the cup. see the picture below for more details.
Anyway, this is cool for two reasons: first, the responsibility to create a perfect americano is placed firmly on whatever hipster is having coffee. and second, it brings that very same hipster a closer connection to his or her brew. myself i love the power of having the pour, and i can feel that i have somehow paid to contribute to the production of this coffee rather than just be a typical consumer instead.
6 responses so far ↓
mishel // June 11, 2008 at 12:57 am |
Listen Aaron,
Our Town’s coffee is junk. I’ve tried it on more than one occasion, and it is right up there with the crap at Blakes in Gastown. Albeight, both afore mentioned cafes get kudos for their establishments, they DO NOT get kudos for their fares. Maybe you need to re-test your taste buds?
daniaaron // June 11, 2008 at 1:51 am |
you are of course entitled to your opinion. you may feel that their coffee is crap and i won’t deny you that. however, i was more importantly commenting on their unique take on the americano viz. the self pour. having not yet tried blakes, i am wondering if it will be similar to our town or not. that said, our town uses cup of joe beans so perhaps this is what is used at blakes as well? if so, then perhaps you are simply not inclined towards cup of joe. that said, i challenge you to find me a place thats meets your exacting standards so i may review it in this blog. or perhaps, instead of simply trashing an establishment, you can suggest another?
mishel // June 19, 2008 at 8:25 pm |
Ha! Mr. Licker, I wish you would have read my comment more thoroughly, I specifically stated that I don’t “hate on the businesses” only their coffee. So to put it in layman’s terms, I am not “trashing an establishment”. I am a fan of Prado’s, Gene’s, and Soma’s americanos, though it does depend on who is making it. I’ve been tipped off that Farfala on Cordova, in the Koret loft retail spots, has great coffee. Maybe you can test the water s for the rest of us, and then we can challenge you to your tastebuds once more!
2B // September 26, 2008 at 10:59 pm |
I’m not a coffee drinker, but I’m pretty sure they changed their beans recently when Starbuck’s and Gene went in.
The wireless network could do with some work though
none of yours // January 20, 2009 at 8:55 am |
cuppa joe.
the espresso was changed to our own special blend picked by the owner and tested by regulars and staff alike.
wireless has been fixed.
as for the fares- reasonable AND matched to direct competitors
the cafe it’s self supports the local arts community, has fresh HOUSE made food, and lots of vegan options.
i
ot // June 17, 2009 at 11:33 pm |
the coffee WAS the Songbird Espresso roasted by Cuppajoe – a shade grown, organic and fairly traded bean that was very popular. now as ” i ” has pointed out above, the espresso has been changed to our own special blend that is still organic and ethically traded.