When I was in Victoria last week my cousin's sweet, wonderful hubby realized he had a partner in crime when it came to his addiction love for delectably tasting coffee.
I am a coffee snob, I will admit it (I'm an Italian red wine snob too but that is for another post! :Þ). To me, there is nothing worse than crappy tasting coffee, let alone coffee that is grown with methods that are less than environmentally friendly and harvested under slave labour conditions. I'm a huge believer in 'voting' with my dollar and I make conscious decisions to spend my money with businesses who are honest, ethical and supportive of those who are giving them what they need to actually create the product they want to sell.
There are a lot of great local cafes on Vancouver Island who roast and brew tasty coffee that comes from sustainable and eco friendly sources, but it was Discovery Coffee that caught my eye enough to actually dedicate a post to them and feature them in our Friday Finds. ♥
First of all the coffee at Discovery Coffee is D.I.V.I.N.E. OMG when Dave (my cousin's hubby) gave me my latte I thought I had died and gone to coffee heaven. I had never, ever had a coffee that delicious. Ever. Not only was it mouthwatering, they also swirled in this sweet little heart on the top out of the foamed milk. Amazing coffee infused with some good juju. Loved that! *happy sigh*
Then I walked out the door of the cafe to get in the car and somehow lost my grip on my 16 oz cup of heaven and dropped it on the sidewalk. :o( I was sad and Dave was completely mortified shaking his head that I dropped this masterpiece (that he also so thoughtfully treated me to) on the ground. I quietly slunk back into the coffee shop, hanging my head in embarrassment that I had been so careless with my ethically harvested cup of absolute perfection. I was fully prepared to pay for a new latte of course, but these sweet barristas (one of whom I believe was also the owner) must have taken pity on me and without a second thought, kindly offered to make me a new latte for no extra charge (btw, thank you boys! ♥).
While I was waiting I had the chance to take a closer look around and see first hand how much Logan and Aaron (the owners) and the entire staff truly cared - not just about the global community and where their coffee beans come from, but also the local community as well. Standing at the counter I could see the countless pictures of them on their travels meeting and staying with the coffee bean farmers. It was very obvious that they cared enough to connect with these growers and get to know their families, and their communities who were growing and harvesting the coffee they were bringing back to roast and serve in their two Victoria cafes.
It seems Discovery Coffee goes above and beyond fair trade and purchase what is called "Direct Relationship Coffee". Direct Relationship Coffee is grown on sustainable farms that the owners themselves have developed a relationship with to ensure the coffee beans they choose are grown responsibly in an environmentally friendly matter. Sounds pretty similar to Fair Trade right? The difference it seems between Fair Trade and Direct Relationship is more about the direct benefits to not just the farmer but also the consumer, especially when it comes to taste.
With Direct Relationship the farmer/grower benefits because they establish a long term direct relationship (hence the term) with the person/broker who is buying the coffee. Thus the coffee farmer has the opportunity to earn more per pound on their crops because the buyers/roasters (who are seeking a direct relationship with them) are willing to pay more (often a lot more) to support the grower/farmer (and thus their families/communities) in the pursuit of excellent boutique quality coffee.
From a consumer perspective, Direct Relationship Coffee usually means the customer is getting an absolutely exquisitely tasting coffee that isn't just found in every cafe. The buyer of the coffee beans (in this case Aaron and/or Logan of Discovery Coffee) is able to pick and choose which coffee grower they can work with to provide the best tasting coffee in addition to ensuring the beans are coming from sustainable farms that they can regularly inspect. Win for the coffee farmer and win for the customer.
After checking out the pics and seeing first hand how far they literally go to find that perfect coffee and farmers they can work with and support, I happened to glance over and notice a little display beside the cash register with some funky looking greeting cards. I flipped over the back of the card and read this:
It seems these unique little cards were made by two of the staff (Kat P. and KT) at Discovery Coffee and local Victoria artist/photographer Al Smith. The collection is called Monsters (click the link there to view them, they are so cool!) and this is the funky little 'monster' that caught my eye!
It seems Kat P, KT and Al got together and used unwanted bits and pieces from around the cafes and literally turned them into pieces of art. From there the upcycled 'monsters' were photographed and turned into greeting cards that could be sold to raise money in support of local causes. The proceeds from the card I bought went to P.E.E.R.S Night Outreach (a wonderful and very important non profit agency in Victoria dedicated to improving the safety and working conditions of those in the adult sex trade industry and also providing assistance and support to those who are trying to leave it).
I was so unbelievably impressed to say the least. There are a lot of lovely local cafes that specialize in ethically grown, great tasting coffee. But Discovery Coffee had something special on top of the transcendent brew they serve. To see first hand the amount of care and love that goes into their two (soon to be three!) cafes, their customers, their staff, their community and the lives of the coffee growers who provide them with those tasty little beans, was truly heartwarming.
I'm back in Calgary now jonesing for a latte from Discovery Coffee and I'm also on the hunt for a local Calgary cafe that can match what Discovery Coffee has to offer - not only to me as a coffee aficionado, but to the local AND global communities as well. I've yet to find anything that comes close (although I will say there are a few out there that are sincerely doing their best and that counts too).
If you are ever even close to Victoria promise me you will pop in for a visit and have a cup of their ethically grown decadence. I guarantee after just a few sips, and a look around the cafe you'll see why my heart belongs to Discovery Coffee.
I hope you are all having a fabulous weekend like I am!
Better and better ♥,
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