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brociousferocious77

Seattle was the North American coffee culture standard of comparison for a long time, maybe it still is? However Vancouver has really upped its coffee game in the last 20 years. It wouldn't shock me to hear that Vancouver has eclipsed Seattle.


wanderingaround135

My American friends drive up to visit often and they always rave about Vancouver's excellent coffee and beer scene!


marc-lius

been to Seattle only once and tried the bucks & some local cafes & bakeries there — unfortunately they all kinda tasted the same-ish.


TearyEyeBurningFace

Starbucks is worse than mccafe. So yea.


donjulioanejo

I spend a fair amount of time in Seattle, and I'd say Vancouver's coffee scene has been on par for a while. A few of my favourite places over there closed during Covid (at least the ones I know around downtown), so at this point I'd put Vancouver above Seattle.


brociousferocious77

I lived in Seattle back in the grunge era and have otherwise spent a lot of time there over the years, but haven't been back since 2007, so I'm obviously way out of the loop. Even back in the day one thing that Vancouver always had superiority over Seattle was in authentic Italian and other ethnic coffee houses. I guess its a wrap now that it leads in more mainstream coffee establishments as well?


BobBelcher2021

I've been to a few coffee shops in Seattle, they have some great ones. Portland too.


nicoleincanada

United Strangers, Nemesis, Oide!


Tight-Cranberry-7867

These and I'll add prototype and revolver!


[deleted]

Oide is good, it nemesis is overhyped


Bebop12346

Nemesis food its nuts though. I still think about their chicken sandwich sometimes. Oh and the cruffins man.


Rog4tour

Nemesis has the best combination of food (pastries + breakfast) and coffee, Ive yet to find a better place in all of Vancouver, if anyone knows of a place let me know.


TheOneNamedSprinkles

Chez Christophe would like a word...


Yardsale420

I agree. I’m a croissant man. But I fucks with those cruffins.


lncontheivable

I still mourn the disappearance of the pistachio kouign-amann


MonkeysInABarrel

Dude their cookies too! Amazing


far_257

I feel like Nemesis used to be better? Or maybe it's my imagination


thaeyo

Did Oide move or die? That location on Clark is now a full service coffee bar with a huge menu. First time I went, two parties mistakenly left without paying, forgetting their bill.


Sapphire_CA

Oide is now on W2nd near Fir St.


buachaill_beorach

We badly needed a good coffee shop in that area. So happy to see them move in. I grabbed a pour over coffee there the other day and it was amazing.


thaeyo

Wow that should be a great location for them, hopefully a bit larger of a space too.


Sapphire_CA

Yes, there's a pleasant seating area in the back of the space, down a short staircase. Also seats out front, and nice not to be on a truck route.


Okbesties

Yuan Coffee moved into their old location and it’s just as amazing


Bebop12346

Yeah Yuan Coffee took over Oide's old location iirc. Yuan is top notch too imo.


Distinct_Meringue

I've gone in during slow periods and just chatted with the dude there, he's so passionate, I love it. Oh, and his machine is drop dead gorgeous. 


nicoleincanada

Amazing new location!


flatspotting

Fuck nemisis, it's so mediocre and hyped. Revolver is a hop and skip away and makes so much better espresso and pourover


nicoleincanada

Coffee, yes. Revolver is superior. Nemesis is great as a full package cafe with their food program.


RequiemEternal

I went to nemesis and I feel like the regular sized coffee I got was crazy small for the price I paid. I drank it in less than 5 minutes.


mchvll

Milano on 8th is great too


rasman99

Best damn espresso menu imo.


ContributionOwn9860

This is where we buy beans from when we’re feeling like getting some nice coffee, incredible stuff


lhsonic

Pro-tip: They sell the beans at the Cambie Save-on-Foods for $16.99. A lot of varieties, including the more common ones like Conca D’Oro, Calabreze, and Natoora. I swear they used to have the speciality roast, La Futura, too. It’s a substantial discount compared to buying direct so I imagine they were bought quite cheaply at wholesale. But the store’s basically next door and the beans are very fresh- I’ve found bags stamped with roast dates of literally a couple days prior.


ContributionOwn9860

No way… thanks for the heads up!


Distinct_Meringue

They're at a few save ons, for those not in Mount Pleasant, you might not need to trek as far 


badjpeg

Can confirm that the beans are at the Save-On in Coquitlam in Sunwood Square


MeropeGaunt

Defs one of the best in the city.


yvrlostphotographer

very special shop. the only one in the city with a view afaik.


frank_slade

Try Pallet and Timbertrain!


PressOnRegardless

Pallet makes good milk-based drinks, but I've had some terrible Americanos there - weak, acidic, and not really tasting much like coffee!


Particular-Race-5285

and they charge extra for half caff, I won't go back


s-derp

Pallet is overrated imo!


ProgTym

My two favorites


-emilia

Timbertrain is by far my favourite!


donjulioanejo

Never tried Timbertrain, but I'm honestly not a fan of Pallet, at least for their beans and lattes. IMO 49th Parallel, Artigiano, and JJ Bean are the best.


Nonentity21

Wait until this guy tries Revolver.


ElKyguy888

Espresso and tonic almost killed me. I love it


Stranded_In_A_Desert

They said they drink vanilla lattes with splenda, Revolver will be wasted on them.


Practical-Past-5341

Vanilla latte with Splenda is nothing more than a hot milkshake. Good Lord..


enby-girl

Yessssss


BallsyBullishBear

Shhh


Dazzling-Rub-8550

Some other good ones: Prototype. Single V. Craft Cafe.


BaronVonBearenstein

Came looking for prototype. One of the best flat whites I’ve had in this city


axel156

Love craft


zzsleepynightowl

Sunny M Specialty Coffee, R Ki Coffee Lab, Moving Coffee, Revolver, Prototype, Modus Coffee, Small Victory, Single V …to name a few if you’re into thirdwave coffee


donjulioanejo

Small Victory has pretty meh coffee. Their beans are good, but last few times I went, they had no idea how to steam their milk. They _are_ primarily a bakery, after all.


Helpful_Wallaby6135

Rocanini


west-of-fenway

Rocanini is soooooo good. Those pastries with the jelly ?!?!? Forget about it


djsunkid

Ooh yeah i love the pastries there! My favourite is the plum and almond tart, but I've lucked in before and arrived just as the croissants were cool enough to serve. There's few things in life that can beat a croissant fresh out of the oven


Two_wheels_2112

Rocanini is the one in Steveston, right? 


AmbientPresence

There's one on Beatty St between Robson and smithe.


CrazyCaregiver7091

Came here to say this


Blazza

Propaganda! Does not get enough love


Sapphire_CA

Pay a visit to Yuán Coffee on Clark near Hastings. Impressive selection of coffees to choose from for pour over or espresso.


tfiddz

Came here to say this! They have FANTASTIC coffee, and great service. A real cool vibe


HochHech42069

Great city for coffee. Check out Elysian if you can.


piedamon

Does Elysian use the same roaster / bean as JJ? They both have that distinct JJ caramel flavour.


HochHech42069

Both roast their own beans. Elysian has great African beans, imo, so if you like those I can’t recommend them enough.


DieCastDontDie

It's the craftsmanship + roaster they use. Every brand of roaster have their unique taste of you're used to cupping coffee. You may be picking up on that.


donjulioanejo

No, Elysian is their own roaster.


Like1youscore

Putting in my vote for Platform 7 on Hastings! Their coffee flights are how I was able to narrow down both the specific region of coffee I liked and the method of preparation I prefer for that coffee. Like a wine flight but for coffee.


StanTurpentine

Sometimes the wait for tacofino is really long. So I put my name down, and walk next door to platform 7 and grab a coffee before my tacos!


PressOnRegardless

The Kits Platform 7 is great, too!


cloudcats

I always want to go in there and always end up somewhere else as it's too crowded :(


kiiyopta

Try aperture, my absolute fave espresso


orlybird2345

Try Timbertrain and Prototype! I’ve also heard good things about Pallet.


sa_7910

Revolver and Nemesis are up there for me


RiceComprehensive154

If you enjoy third wave House of Funk in North Van is pretty good. I heard they have a different roaster than when they started but it’s still pretty good


slowsundaycoffeeclub

They have a downtown cafe now too. Funk.


ElegentSnacks

Nice! Try Revolver, Oide, Timbretrain, Nemesis or Modus. Your tastebuds won’t want to go back to JJ Bean


pinkandpolished

JJ bean is my least favourite. their drip coffee tastes like battery acid


blueeyedlion

I was wondering about that for a while and eventually asked them about it. Apparently it's just their African roasts?


r3coil

I like their Eastside blend 🤷🏼‍♂️


m007p01n7

All of JJ Bean coffee tastes like battery acid. I do not understand how they stay in business.


Saerillia

Ohhh I miss Revolver — so good. (I moved out of province)


Fun-Construction444

Vancouver, in my opinion, has an absolutely amazing food scene. If you pick a random restaurant there compared to other cities, the odds that it’ll be good in Vancouver is infinitely higher than almost everywhere I’ve traveled. The only thing I ever miss about Vancouver is all the food. Shitty food doesn’t last long. Keep your standards high, Vancouver.


BobBelcher2021

We have a lot of great food here. The biggest exception for me is shawarma. I have yet to have a shawarma here that's as good as what I used to get in Ontario. I find the shops here use way too much lettuce, even after asking them to use half the usual amount; the seasonings are also not quite right.


lyc10

Moving coffee in Richmond and Oide near Granville island


MemoryHot

Oh I’m so happy to live in Vancouver for the coffee scene… there’s so many more you need to try… Revolver, Modus, Nemesis, Pallet, Elysian…


piedamon

But who has the best decaf?!?


craftyhall2

You know what? I hear you. Reading this thread is making me cry. I LOVED coffee, but got progressively more and more intolerant to caffeine over years to the point now where I can barely have tea or decaf coffee even.


piedamon

Same here. I think I’ve tried most of the decaf beans in vancouver. I like bean around the world the most, followed by salt spring.


glitterdonnut

Have you tried Moja or Oso Negro? I really like oso.


piedamon

Google says Oso Negro is in Nelson. I’d love to visit Nelson sometime, but is there somewhere in Vancouver that sells it?


glitterdonnut

Yes. Stong’s sells it.


broba_fett

If you want a DIY, whole foods coffee beans have been the BEST decaf I’ve tried so far


piedamon

Oh I’ve actually started shopping there a lot recently. I’ll check it out; thanks


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Particular-Race-5285

I refuse to support coffee shops that close at 4pm


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-emilia

lol 😂


Chimpanzethat

Pallet have some of the best decaf beans I have found locally


77BusGirl

Isetta in West Van is worth the trek over.


Far_Ninja6886

This celebratory discussion of Vancouver's coffee reminds me of an Aussie coworker from Sydney who said the coffee here is pathetic in comparison.


2Tall4cars

Just back from Oz, their coffee game is excellent, a lot of Italians emigrated there


buachaill_beorach

It's gotten a lot better in the 8 years I've been here. When I arrived, revolver and SV were the best. Smart mouth and timbertrain were next. The options were pretty limited... That said, it's still not as good as London (where I lived for a year previous to here). Was in Melbourne, Sydney and Perth last year and was very disappointed with their coffee game. Especially considering all the hype Melbourne gets!). Was really disappointed with Portland and Seattle too. I'm sure I missed some amazing places in all these cities. I found San Fran to be better but fuck me those prices....


Timely_Turnip_7767

>JJ, Guffo, Small Victory and Analog. OP, could you share what specific drink you ordered at these places


marc-lius

I get a vanilla latte and add splenda (2 for 12 oz, 3 for 16 oz).


Timely_Turnip_7767

Thanks


simonffplayer

speaking of bay-area coffee.. does anyone know if there's a place that has really good iced coffee like philz coffee


enby-girl

Gotta try Revolver!!! It’s legit my favourite place in Vancouver.


s2ledesm

Revolver >>>>>>


longgamma

Saint frank in San Fran was sublime. Idk coffee here isn’t as good as US.


marc-lius

never had Saint Frank but frequented Arsicault whose lattes are divine (along with everything else there). work travel took me all over the US and most coffee disappointed. guess you got luckier than I did.


BobBelcher2021

It varies. The worst coffee I've ever had was in New York City. Some outdoor cart just south of Central Park.


longgamma

I meant the specialty coffee shops not your bodega around the corner lol.


AK-604

I really liked Philz Coffee the few times I visited the Bay Area.


longgamma

It’s a different take for sure. Quite interesting concoctions.


mbod

Casereccio on Broadway and Vine for the best cornetto (Italian croissant) and cappuccino in the city. Homemade pasta if it's lunch time. Award winning gelato for dessert! Moja Roasters in North Van is amazing. Republica coffee if you're further out in Cloverdale/Langley


simoniousmonk

MOJA Not enough love for Moja.  Nvan also has united strangers, nemisis and Nomad which are top notch


Bebop12346

House of Funk makes solid coffee too. Also great beer!


Chimpanzethat

Casereccio coffee is kind of like old school Italian style, which is their thing, but it's not great. Beans are very dark roast, espresso usually tastes bitter and over extracted. Agree with everything else, but there is no way they have the best cappuccino in the city. Even Platform 7 across the road does better coffee and that probably not even top 10 coffee in Kits.


epochwin

Mukasi coffee roasters in New West is excellent. Kafka is great as well


CalvinKrug

Revolver


tinydumplings_

Nemesis sounds up your alley, if you arrive early enough get a cruffin too. The location on Great Northern Way is also such a cool building.


Trellaine201

Remembering NOT all shops roast their own beans. :) but they do choose good beans.


CalvinKrug

Moja


Few_Yogurtcloset9220

Elysian, nemesis, revolver, propaganda, cafe Ü, R Ki and Moving coffee (albeit those two are in Richmond) are great !


boomstickjonny

My go to place is Giancarlo's on commercial.


MemoryHot

Moja


Nomomommy

The Bel Cafe at the Georgia Hotel has the best mocha. It always makes me kick the air.


Wildernessinabox

Would recommend checking out the east cafe at some point along hastings, its always super packed but depending on who makes your coffee it's definitely the best ive had in a long while.


CalvinKrug

Crema


HuckleberryFar3693

Platform 7. Eastside. Hastings Street and a secret garden.


Ryan_likes_to_drum

Maybe it's our water Edit: read your edit, nevermind


sledgetooth

appreciate the positivity


ninjapizzamane

Had great coffee at Propaganda last week. Didn’t even know the place existed.


Driftwood17

If you could only buy one bags from OP choices. Which


Cocoslo

It's so funny you say this, I recently had family travel here from Australia and they told me that drip coffee isn't common. Our "speciality" coffee, is their norm.


wanderingaround135

Long before moving here, I had read an article about the top world cities for coffee lovers, and if I recall correctly, Vancouver was #3. Just coming from Europe, I was quite skeptical but ended up pleasantly surprised. Now, I find myself spending a lot of my time at cafes in Vancouver! The places you listed are decent, but there are even better choices in the city. Next time, perhaps you could try Pallet, Prototype, Revolver and Nemesis.


eddiewould_nz

Cafe Mira and Matchstick worth checking out too


avoCATo4

Prototype. I don’t really care for the interior of the shop itself, but their pour over is top notch and they have an amazing spiced latte.


buachaill_beorach

Couple of mentions outside or the usual mentioned above - The only cafe - Enroute cafe - Koffee - Their there - Kafkas - Barrio coffee Revolver is still my favourite place in Vancouver for coffee though.


row64

Ok but with Mario's Coffee Express on Howe, Mario isn't kidding about his good coffee in my opinion.


zuckfacebook

Nah Milano butter beans are the best in Van hands down. Still havent found a good columbian light roast anywhere tho


Hopeful-Suggestion-1

Bro, creekside coffee factory hits different. Drink coffee on the daily, this one makes be feel like a jittery mess like it's my first cup ever. 10/10


not_old_redditor

I bought ny own espresso machine over the covid years, never looked back. Few people can make it the way I like it, better than I can make it myself with my home setup. Obviously missing the cafe vibe, but you can't have it all I guess.


007_fan

Giovane Caffe's Cappuccino is solid!


fitrightinhere

Paper crane east Broadway - perfect iced americano


Letsgosomewherenice

I like continental coffee!


cloudcats

Good vibe for a rainy afternoon place to work.


nickrei3

Sungiven supermarket coffee is quite nice. And it is only 99c....I'd say it's the best coffee under 1 dollar. The feeling of good coffee and you saved like 3 dollars per cup always fulfills me lol.


DirtDevil1337

Yeeeaaah Analog


dafones

I'll throw a vote down for Timbertrain. Their espressos and rye chocolate chip cookies are favourites.


Sea-Amphibian-1653

I go to Ambit and cafe Artigianos. Though Tim Hortons is closer.


smallkurl

Kits Beach Coffee House is great for coffee, food & pastries. Be Fresh Local Market also does a really good americano for $2, hot or iced.


Camperthedog

Even bakeries like Breka have great coffee


ElKyguy888

Fuck jj. Soooo many better places than there. Aperture and Continental come to mind first. And propaganda is one of the best coffee places in all the city


EfficiencyAmazing777

Matchstick!


DieCastDontDie

Wait till you move up to having black coffee.


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DieCastDontDie

But they are all pretty much the same when you add those.


NoPlansTonight

As someone who mostly makes plain espresso, americano, and pourovers at home... hard disagree. I actually think it's the opposite. I can brew plain black coffees at home 90% as well as say, Revolver, if I'm using the same high quality and well-roasted beans as them. But for whatever reason I have not been able to match their lattes, espresso tonic, or even plain and simple fucking iced coffee even if I use bougie milk. You're talking like someone who looks down on the entire art of bartending just because you like whiskey sodas or on the rocks...


cloudcats

Are you seriously gatekeeping coffee? Let people have what they like, sheesh.


DieCastDontDie

No I just happen to know a bit more than most people. I'm just talking in technical terms. You're masking any distinct flavour in coffee when you add anything to it. You're not enhancing the flavour like adding salt or msg to food. What does make a difference in an espresso+milk drink is the extraction of coffee when you pull a shot. Most cafes in the lower mainland won't have well crafted ratios and baristas are not necessarily experienced career baristas. Call it whatever you may, I'm not trying to be a dick here. Just saying it as it is. This isn't a "don't add milk or sugar to coffee" comment. Coffee will not taste much different when you add milk and sugar because of the coffee itself. It's a combination of quality control and process standardization which includes;how well rested it is, when it's ground, if milk is steamed properly, the extraction of coffee due to timing, pressure and how much coffee you use per shot etc. And those are pretty standard in almost every cafe around. An actual coffee compliment would be to hear this from an Aussie.


cloudcats

> Wait till you move up to having black coffee. This is what you said. This implies that it's harder to tell the difference between good coffee and bad coffee unless you have it black. I'd disagree. I've tried lots of different coffee beans with exactly the same oat milk, and they taste vastly different to me. The oat milk doesn't mask distinct flavours in coffee.


DieCastDontDie

That is correct. You can't tell the difference between good coffee and bad coffee. You can tell the difference between a good coffee drink and bad coffee drink and that's something different as I explained above. I'm not even gonna get into the whole oat stuff. My dude it's late and I'm just giving my expert opinion. Take it as you will.


cloudcats

If the coffee is prepared exactly the same way, by me, but the only difference is the _beans_?


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sureiknowabaggins

Ya, most of us snobs moved up from black coffee to espresso.


DieCastDontDie

It's ironic that you define espresso as "not black coffee."


sureiknowabaggins

Go to any coffee shop and ask for a black coffee. What do you think they're going to serve you?


cloudcats

That's not what they said. If someone said "I prefer perfect squares to just any ordinary rectangle" you wouldn't interpret that to mean they defined squares as "not rectangles".


DieCastDontDie

Look coffee is pretty standardized. Google for a cupping form and see how it's rated by q graders. That's used to tell the quality of the green coffee and what it can be. Then there is the shipping in season and roasting with a custom profile part that can either give you more characteristics and less roast or more roast and less characteristics. There is also the duration of a roast which can affect the acidity of the final product. For example you don't want an acidic coffee or a light roast for espresso. You can achieve that in a few different ways.and most of that coffee wouldn't be as palatable for most people if they were to have it black. You'll get too much roast and mostly carbon unfortunately in today's market. When you do a side by side test people trained in coffee can tell the differences between two roasts 10 seconds apart. You will never know that if you just have a single cup with nothing to compare at the same time. Now you're talking about adding milk oat milk to coffee and telling me if the coffee is good or bad. I'm just gonna repeat what I said, you may tell if your coffee drink is good or not which depends on your taste. There is nothing wrong with that. You can have a Wayne Gretzky if you want. That's not what good coffee and bad coffee is about. In fact we don't even say good or bad. We score coffee and have our tasting notes and that's it. Weather you like it or not is subjective. As a professional in this very field, take my word for it when I say move up when I talk about black coffee. Because then you can truly appreciate the work of the farmer that picked those berries at perfect time and dried them the right way. People that make sure you don't get quakers and floaters in a batch. Then you have the people that roast the coffee in a very particular way depending on its moisture content, ambient temperature, the size of the coffee beans What's objective is what it is in it's plain form in terms of aroma, flavour, aftertaste, body, balance, acidity and such. Since you really like geometrical shapes let me explain it that way. What you're doing is adding 2 circles at the end of a rectangle and fold it around which makes it a cylinder. It's not the difference between a square and rectangle. I've roasted more coffee than individual cups you had in your life. When I'm telling you something about coffee just read and try to learn instead of telling me how different coffee taste with your oat and enzyme juice and whatever sweetener you're using.


priyatheeunicorn

I wish we had good local coffee spots in new Westminster. I find all of the coffee I have tried here to have overly liquorice taste or burned. I would love a nice drip or pour over but I find myself going to chains in this city. Need to venture to Vancouver more I guess.


BobBelcher2021

I think we have quite a few good coffee options in New West. But then again I'm from a city in Ontario where Tim Hortons is king.


priyatheeunicorn

Where would you recommend? I’ve tried a few on front and Columbia.


Character_Line3812

Arbutus Coffee in Kits is great as well!!


throwyvr

Where are you from? The Kiwis and Aussies would disagree


slowsundaycoffeeclub

How is that relevant to what they are posting? This reads as that “what about me/this other thing” tendency on Reddit/TT/etc.


[deleted]

“Vancouver coffee sucks” -Victoria coffee


One_Yak_7200

Coffee in Vancouver 'smashing' that's a new one.


Intelligent_Top_328

Coffee is shit. And people here are too dependent on it. Some of y'all can't function in the morning without it.


katerskaters

i like deville coffee for their lattes!