One of the most frequently asked questions I get via email is “where is the best coffee in Vancouver”. I’ll usually send a pre-written response with a bunch of links and info that I’ve collated over time… until recently that is. In the last few weeks I’ve been telling them about a new festival, organised by Mountain Coffee, where ALL the movers and shakers of the Vancouver coffee world will be demonstrating their wares. In a very discerning market, Beanstock Festival knocks it out of the park.
We arrived at the 2pm showing and the whole venue, a warehouse in Railtown, was totally packed with very caffeinated people. A huge percentage of Vancouver’s best roasters were in attendance, pouring coffee from a variety of devices, from V60’s, to Chemex to Aeropress. I even saw a siphon in there, for those roasters who like a challenge keeping up with the enormous demand! A particular highlight was from Nemesis, who bought along a hopped nitro cold brew because, y’know, infusing just regular coffee with an extremely volatile gas is way too easy!
The organizers, the volunteers, the roasters, the baristas, the sponsors and any of the other people I’ve forgotten should be tremendously proud, as this festival was an amazing contribution to the coffee scene. It was awe inspiring to see just how many people turned up, which goes to show there is huge demand for specialty coffee in Vancouver. Here’s to hoping that this festival starts many people on the path I took many years back, to break away from chain coffee shops and go searching for a better, local brew.
Here are a selection of the photos that were taken by the ever patient Mrs Vancouver Coffee Snob. If you have any of your own that you want to promote then chuck them onto social media with the #BeanstockFest hashtag, as I know the organizers would love to see them (if you want me to host them here send me an email)
