Single V Coffee
I’ll be honest, I don’t really know what South Burnaby is. I once made the mistake of going to Metrotown only to find it’s the Canadian equivalent of a Vegas Casino – once you’re in there’s no bloody way out of the place. I’m pretty sure it’s the bastard love child of an MC Escher painting and the 1980’s movie Labyrinth. RIP Bowie. After several minutes in the fetal position, I ended up having to ask a grown up to help find an exit, lest I burst into tears.
I honestly don’t know how you Burnabarbarians tolerate that place.
So when I heard there was a new coffee shop that had opened even more south of there I may or may not have not spent some more time in the fetal position.
Good news though, I braved the nightmare that is rush hour Kingsway, to visit Single V Coffee; Burnaby’s incredible new coffee shop.
Coffee
Single V Coffee are part of the Siply app, which I’m unashamedly promoting right now because I got bills to pay damn it! They are also the only coffee shop in BC that exclusively serves Cat and Cloud coffee, all the way from California. (Side note, Cat and Cloud are currently being sued by Catterpiller diggers, in the stupidest lawsuit of the century). They’re almost certainly going to catch some flak from not choosing a local roaster, but I’ll leave that aside and tell you about the taste instead.
Latte
Price – $5
Price with Siply – $3.90
Beans – Cat and Cloud “The Answer”
The beans are the standard espresso roast from Cat and Cloud, highlighting some caramel notes. A teeny tiny bit of fruit from the Yirgacheffe beans in the blend added a lighter taste. The whole thing was a delicious caramel and honey, smooth and silky experience. Outstanding.
Cappuccino
Price – $5
Price with Siply – $3.90
Beans – Cat and Cloud “The Answer”
Here we go!! This was getting much more towards my end of the strength spectrum as the rich espresso flavours really shone through the milk with this drink. Complex honeycomb and caramel notes with a chocolate finish, this was definitely my kind of cappuccino. They serve it latte-style with expertly steamed milk.
Pour Over
Price- $5
Price with Siply – $3.90
Beans – Cat and Cloud Keyna
Cat and Cloud have a focus on more accessible coffee, so this came in at about a medium roast level rather than a high acid fruity light roast. That being said, even when this was piping hot, it was really juicy and fruity. As it cooled it mellowed out in a big way, allowing the more toasty flavours to come out. I’d say this is a bang on example of a mid-range coffee that will please those that like the lighter stuff all the way to those that are graduating from the chain coffee style dark roasts. It’s going to be perfect for the demographic in the area.
In addition to the above, you can also get assorted teas as well as buy bags of beans to take home.
Food
Single V is focused mainly on coffee, so whilst their food items are fairly limited, they were really tasty.
Roast Beef Sandwich
Price – $7
OK, OK I know this doesn’t look especially fancy, but let me tell you, this was quite simply a truly outstanding example of a simple beef sandwich. Supremely tender meat, rich melted swiss cheese and Japanese mayo, wrapped in light fluffy bread in a triple layer stack. The pictures don’t do the taste justice, just trust uncle Vancouver Coffee Snob, you should give this a try!
Cranberry Scone
Price – $3
I took this one home, slathered it in salty butter and it was a delight. Soft and crumbly but very buttery (even without the pound of butter I added). The cranberries were tart and balanced out the sweetness.
Venue
White walls, natural wood and leather adorn this place. Not leather in that kind of way you kinky bugger, weathered brown leather seats and stools. The fixings added a retro feel to the place, mixed with modern aesthetics. It’s a really nice, relaxing place to sit and hang out, with some chilled beats playing (seriously you need to go listen to music from Super Duper, it’s, well, super duper).
You know by now that I love a good communal table and Single V Coffee had one right in the middle of the shop. In addition, there were some tables and sofa seating scattered around. The communal table had a wireless phone charging point, which was a nice touch. I’d expect the seating to increase in the future as they inevitably get more and more popular. I’ve seen it a million times – ‘less is more’ gets superseded by demand. It’s a great problem to have and I’m sure it’ll happen soon!
Location
I’m torn – on one hand, it’s South Burnaby and it scares me. On the other hand, it’s got heaps of parking, all free, a bunch of buses that stop by and a Skytrain station (Royal Oak) about a 5 min walk away.
Bathrooms
The single bathroom at Single V Coffee is clean, spacious and nicely designed. The mirror is an especially interesting part of the room, as it’s pretty bloody fancy!
Staff
I was fortunate enough to get talking to the owner, Jason, and his brother, Ben. They were both extremely friendly, letting me go behind the bar to take all sorts of close up photos. They know their products inside out and are very passionate about coffee. I felt fully at home despite the fact I was almost certainly annoying them with my incessant questions about coffee!
Conclusion
Look, I know I was pretty tame in this review but I was worried about being sarcastic to people from South Burnaby. Honestly, they scare me a little. This is because I’m a soft Brit and people from that part of town are considerably tougher than my doughy exterior. Hopefully, they’ll become less terrifying of a horde, now that they have Single V Coffee in their hood.
In this snobs opinion, Single V is one of the most exciting coffee shops for a huge distance so they can’t be anything other than successful. It’s exciting to see Gastown quality shops appearing in such distant lands to my house, as it only strengthens the overall coffee scene. OK enough reading, get out there and at least try their sandwiches!
The map ID you have entered does not exist. Please enter a map ID that exists.