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The Thursday Night Throwdown made a splashy comeback last week as Vancouver-based coffee equipment retailer Espressotec and Seattle coffee roaster Caffe D’arte hosted their fourth latte art competition at Espressotec’s showroom on Clark Drive. The competition roster, which filled up within 36 hours of the event announcement on Instagram, comprised 20 of the city’s most talented baristas keen on claiming the title of Latte Art Champion — and some handsome cash prizes.This time arou …

Shopping for a lover of all things coffee this season? Want to give the gift of specialty coffee at home? THESE are what coffee-lovers are asking Santa for this season: BONAVITA VARIABLE TEMPERATURE GOOSENECK KETTLE (1L) — $129.95For the greatest control over water temperature and pour accuracy, this kettle is ideal — not only for coffee-brewing, but for other culinary and craft applications, too. Hosting larger crowds? Upgrade to the 1.7L for greater brewing capacity. RO …

If you’ve visited our showroom on Clark Drive anytime in the last few months, you probably noticed some new shelving and a bank of 40-odd coffee grinders in the southwest corner. Or maybe you noticed a sudden increase in the number and variety of coffees for sale on our website. Perhaps you even attended or read about the launch party we held at the culmination of all these developments. Well, the time has come to fill in the gaps and tell you all about Roaster Central, our bra …

Maybe you’ve seen them in  one or two cafes in Vancouver. Maybe you’ve even tasted espresso extracted from one of their iconic group heads. The experience is pretty unforgettable — custom-made just outside Amsterdam,  Kees van der Westen espresso machines are the epitome of precision and panache. That’s why we’re so thrilled to become a distributer and service centre for Kees van der Westen espresso machines in Western Canada! This development is excellent news if y …

Choosing between semi- and superautomatics is often the first of many decisions made on the hunt for a home espresso machine. But what’s the difference between them, and which is better? These are two of the most common questions our customers ask us as they prepare to jump into the home espresso game. Let’s address the second question first. We stand firmly behind all of the espresso machines we sell, semi- and superautomatics alike — we would never recommend a poorly-made machine. …