Fresh Cup Magazine, providing specialty coffee and tea professionals with unique insight into the trends, ideas, products and people that shape their world.
Issue link: http://freshcup.epubxp.com/i/43236
FROM THE EDITOR Epicenters everywhere from the convention center, I began walking toward my desti- nation. In those three blocks, I strode past three cafés. Later in the day I took another walk, where I passed no fewer than five coffee shops in the half-dozen blocks I covered. It is no exaggeration to say that—at least in the portion of it that I frequented during my time there—Victoria has a café on every corner. This month's "Nine Bars" (p. 50) delves into the details of For I the Love of Coffee and touches on the enthusiasm that Victoria has for specialty coffee. But what has stayed with me since that visit is simply how vibrant that scene is for its relatively modest size. Victoria is rarely mentioned when people discuss North America's top coffee towns, but the number of micro-roasters and specialty shops there rivals that of many bigger cities. With specialty coffee continuing to flourish, we're seeing repeated instances of high-quality shops succeeding in unex- pected locales, and it's a recurring theme of this issue. In Café Crossroads (p. 24), Dan Leif profiles Three Ravens Coffee House, which is thriving in the 300-person town of Tierra Amarilla, N.M. On a larger scale, the article "Seeing Red" (p. 20) tells of a recent coffee event in Russia that helped promote that country's burgeoning specialty coffee scene, while "App- ing Into the Recent Rise of L.A. Coffee" (p. 22) looks at a new piece of technology intended to encapsulate all the happenings of Los Angeles' suddenly coffee-crazy environment. The cause for coffee's growth in different locales will of course vary according to the circumstances of each place. In Victoria, it's helpful to start at the source—or at least close t was late August, and I was traveling via double-decker bus through downtown Victoria en route to the For the Love of Coffee festival. After de-boarding a few blocks to it. Ryan Taylor is one of Victoria's coffee pioneers, having launched roaster-retailer Caffe Fantastico in the early-1990s. From the start, Taylor was interested in sourcing and serving the best-quality coffees possible, and he was engaging in then- unknown practices like putting roast dates on his beans. So how did someone seemingly in the middle of nowhere fig- ure out how to navigate the uncharted waters of high-end cof- fee? Not surprisingly, he took inspiration from other pioneers. "Probably one of the biggest influences would have been David Schomer with Vivace," says Taylor, who used Vivace's coffee in Fantastico's initial year, before roasting was folded into the business model. "He certainly was into roast freshness, and I learned about latte art from him too." Taylor says he also had some conversations at trade shows with well-respected pros like Ernesto Illy that helped push him down the path of spe- cialty coffee. "He really inspired me as far as quality and where you can go with it," he says. When looking at Taylor's story, one can gleam some insight into how specialty coffee has touched the far corners of the world. Taylor's business grew from the process of sharing information, and with today's technology, it's easier than ever to compare notes and get advice. Learning about Schomer's espresso theory might have required a personal relationship in 1994; now it only takes a Google search and some time spent in front of the computer. The coffee scenes in Victoria and beyond are growing—and inspiring similar scenes to blossom in new areas. With more information flowing freely, it's certainly exciting to ponder where we'll be in another few years. Maybe your town is the next Victoria. Maybe your business is the spark. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Fresh Cup welcomes letters to the editor at comments@freshcup.com. Letters must be 250 words or less. Authors must provide verifiable phone number and city and state of residence. Chris Ryan Editor 12 Fresh Cup Magazine freshcup.com MIKE STRUMPF