First Bites: October 2021 - Caffine Fix
Community Coffee
Cà Phê Coffee House is an “accidental business,” says Minna Van, a Vietnamese immigrant who grew up in Vancouver’s Chinatown. It stemmed from her desire to bring the coffee she grew up with from Vietnam. Along the way, she wondered how she could combine this personal passion with something that would give back to her community. Thus, Cà Phê was born as a social enterprise employing women newcomers to Canada and encouraging the support of Chinatown greengrocers and other community businesses. Located in The Network Hub, a Vancouver business centre and co-working space, the café offers Vietnamese coffee to stay and several at-home kits, with Vietnamese phin filters with modern graphics. Proceeds of coffee sales go to a scholarship fund supporting students in tech careers.
“Robusta tends to be looked down upon. But our goal is to highlight it and make it a superstar,” says Van of the bean that, because of climate and geography, is pervasive in Vietnam. Cà Phê roasts the beans with butter and rum, resulting in a smooth blend with hints of chocolate flavours. It’s stronger and more caffeinated than standard Arabica and served with just a touch of condensed milk.
“People who are used to Arabica beans may get a jolt,” Van says. The menu reflects that, listing it as “very strong coffee.”
Cà Phê also offers a weekly dessert box called Báhn Box, collaborating with chefs of different cultural backgrounds to put together the boxes. Proceeds from the dessert boxes go to a fund that helps support underrepresented artists through funding for material costs and creating spaces for the exhibition of their works. Van sums it up as follows: “It’s about appreciating where we come from and where we are now, and paying tribute to both.”
Cà Phê Vietnamese Coffee House
160 – 422 Richards St., Vancouver
caphecoffeehouse.com | @caphecoffeehouse
Some Coffee with Your Hotsauce?
“We’re not the jam people think of for their toast in the morning,” says Melanie Mulherin, jam maker and owner of Saltspring Kitchen. She says customers are more likely to reach for one of her jars when putting out a cheese or charcuterie board. But breakfast is exactly where you might want to enjoy the company’s Morita Espresso Chipotle Hot Sauce. “I like it with breakfast on eggs or potatoes, but it’s really great in a Mezcal Caesar.”
When asked how she arrives at her flavour combos, Mulherin explains that the company often goes in with an idea, but things often change once they start testing.
Mulherin explains, “This sauce is one I actually found challenging to get the right level of heat. Like all our sauces, it has lots of layers of complexity.” That complexity comes from chipotle peppers and the less smoked version of a chipotle, the Morita, which lends a fruity flavour. It’s combined with espresso roasted by Mount Maxwell Coffee, another Saltspring Island producer that roasts its coffee in a yurt.
Mulherin, who admits to being “hot-sauce crazy,” offers the sauce on its own or as part of a collection that includes two other sauces, Habanero Curry Orange and Pineapple Turmeric Achiote.
Saltspring Kitchen Co.
saltspringkitchen.com | @saltspringkitchenco
Find it at: Les Amis de Fromage, Benton Brothers Fine Cheese, Stock Home Designs, Welk’s, Lakehouse Home Store, The Okanagan Table (Kelowna)
Coffee Kaleidoscope
“When I drink coffee, I see colours,“ says Ann Hnatyshyn, head roaster at House of Funk Brewing Co. She explains that she has synesthesia, a perceptual phenomenon where stimulation of one sense causes experience through another sense. Her extraordinary senses inspire her coffee and its unique packaging in a series of brightly coloured cans.
“It’s a fun experience for me,” says Hnatyshyn. “I’m always chasing another colour.”
There’s also a practical element because as a microbrewery and roastery, House of Funk has the equipment for packaging beer cans, so it was easy to adapt their 750-ml “crawlers” as unique vessels for coffee.
What goes inside the can may challenge the expectations of those enjoying it with a host of unique flavours. House of Funk brings in many smaller lots from farms that, like the roastery, are also experimenting and pushing boundaries of traditional production. These include Ice Ice Baby, the berries for which have undergone ice fermentation, and Childish Campino, whose flavour is reminiscent of the yogurt strawberry candy of the same name.
That said, Hnatyshyn also offers what she calls “user-friendly brews” to get people started. She recommends Mellow Caramelo for a balanced filter coffee with caramel notes, or Technicolour, an espresso version that she says “tastes of your favourite chocolate bar, just melted.”
House of Funk Brewing Co.
houseoffunkbrewing.com | @houseoffunkroasting
Find it at: 350 E Esplanade, North Vancouver; Revolver Coffee, Vancouver
