Movember!

Discovery Coffee Supports Movember

Movember is the month formerly known as November where men start clean shaven and commit to growing a Moustache. That’s right, we are bringing back the Moustache this November to raise funds and awareness for men’s health – specifically prostate cancer.

The idea for Movember was sparked in 2003 over a few beers in Melbourne, Australia. The guys behind it joked about 80s fashion and decided it was time to bring the moustache back. In order to justify their Mos (Australian slang for moustache), they used their new looks to raise money for prostate cancer research… never dreaming that facial hair would ultimately lead to a global movement that would get men talking about a taboo subject – their health.

It’s amazing, the power of facial hair.

Black Coffee Blues

Friday, October 30, 2009, 7PM at Discovery Coffee House (across from Paul’s Motor Inn), 664 Discovery St.

Spoken Word at Discovery Coffee is proud to present author, punk-a-billy bassist and playwright, Cliff Syringe. Syringe is the author of “Burning Planet” and will be our featured reader after the open mic session.

The spoken word jam is open to all levels of writers regardless of genre; Newjacks and established authors alike. Come down and sign up for the open session at 7pm, enjoy a cup of locally roasted coffee and relax.

On Tap

Today, for those of you hunting for a nice, welcome to Kenyans sort of Kenya, we’ve got the Kenya Nguvu on tap this morning.

Expect caramel and nut notes with delicate citrus acidity. That big Kenya tell-tale grapefruit note is muted, sweetened and chilled right out.  If you find Kenyas a little too much in the morning, or if you’re looking for a Kenya that’s not going to punch you in the face with citrus and yell I’m a Kenya! this is it, baby.

Post Mobbery

Phew. Wow. Thanks to everyone who showed up at Disco on Disco for the Carrot Mob event, and thanks to those who couldn’t make it but came to hang out with us at the nature booth in Centennial Square. We had a rockin good time, made lots of coffee, listened to a lot of Zep and generally had a grand ole time.

If you missed the fun, one of the mobsters has some great photos of the event  here.

CarrotMobbery

We need your help!

For not a little while, we at Discovery have been thinking it would be nice to have a professional environmental assessment of our roastery and cafe, and then be able to implement the changes the assessor suggests. Well, now we have the chance to do just that, but we need your help!

CarrotMob is a group that selects a company to, erm, mob. A certain percentage of the money the company raises during the mob goes to make the company more eco-friendly. Perfect!

We’re going to donate 100% of the money raised in the mob, but we need to get selected first. If you want to help us out, click here to go to the carrot mob blog and vote for us!

THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO VOTED! We won the selection and the Carrot Mob is coming to get us on Saturday! Eeeeeek!

T-Giving Hours

We are open for all your pre and post turkey needs on thanksgiving (in both locations!) from 8:00 to 3:00.

Party Time

Discovery Coffee Oak Bay Grand Opening Shindig

Saturday 11:00 to 11:00

Coffee! Face painting!

Led Zeppelin!

1964 Oak Bay Ave

Phone: 250 590 7717

Tinkering

We got the COE coffees a few weeks ago, and a surprising and delectable Indonesian along with them. And, for the last few weeks the pressure’s been on in the roastery as we try to do justice to these tremendous coffees and the farmers who produced them.

Well, we think we’ve nailed the Takengon, so next time you’re in the store, you’ll probably see a little sign board and some bean set aside underneath it. If you want to have a little taste of the Takengon, you can get a french press of it to mull over.

As for the COEs, well, they’ve been a bit harder. We think we’re near to having the COE El Salvador “Lotte Laguna” just about a sweet and juicy as we can get it. You can get it on the Clover right now, if you want to have a taste of what we’ve been doing behind the scenes. As for the beans, well, they’re not coming up for sale yet. Not yet. But soon. I promise.

The fact is, we love to tinker. So we take our time with it. It’ll be worth the wait in the end. Promise.

Takengon

The Takengon is coming up to the cafe this week. Let me just prepare you for the awesome that’s about to smack down on your palette.

Takengon

Region: Ache, Sumatra

Process: 100% washed

Varietal: Mixed

Farm: Multiple gardens

Tasting Notes: Fig and cedar with a big, heavy body and a velvety finish.

About the coffee: Coffee is grown all over Indonesia in tiny back-yard farms, most of which are smaller than an acre. These coffees are grown, nurtured, picked and processed in the semi-autonomous province of Ache in north western Sumatra.

Once the beans are harvested, the farmers start the washing process, then hand the beans over to a local miller who completes the process. This two-step process produces a distinct Sumatran oakiness. Sometimes this flavor can really overwhelm the cup, but this Sumatra has delicate flavor profile and a surprising and pleasantly clean finish. This is a wonderful, warming coffee to snuggle up to in the waning days of summer.

And Now, the News

Our new store in Oak Bay is open!

There are a few things you need to know about the Oak Bay store to really enjoy it. The first is that it’s open from 7 to 7, 7 days a week (and if that’s not lucky, nothing is). The next thing you’ll want to know is the Oak Bay store has the first halogen bar in the city, so if you want to go see Science In Action (it’s educational! Take the kids!), head on down and sit at the syphon bar. The last, and possibly most important piece of information is this: The  code name for this store is “Old Ben Kanobi”. Oh yeah, and here’s where it is:

View Larger Map

The Western Regional Barista Championships happened last weekend (I didn’t say the news was new, just that it was topical). For those of you who didn’t hear, Kyle Straw, of Cafe Atrigiano is now the Western Canadian champ. Reg Barber put on a spectacular weekend of fun and competition. Elbows were rubbed, the beautiful and famous were there, and coffee was made. If you missed it, hit it next year. It was one heckuva good time.

The Takengon (Sumatra) is almost ready to hit the shelves. Coming in with notes of fig, honey, and a ridiculously smooth, creamy body, this is one coffee that’s not going to hang around waiting for people to notice it. I’d like to drink it all myself, but I’m told I have to share. A little.