And then we met a man name Bradley who had a bike. He wanted to help us deliver coffee. We thought, “it can’t be done! The beans are too heavy! The loads are too large! These bike couriers are all crazy!” But then we saw it. The Bullit. We were sold.

Reasons we’re digging Bradley’s bike:

• it’s pretty hot. If you’ve seen it around town you know what we’re talking about. She’s a real beaut: sleek, shiny, and classy. How can you say no to that?
• it’s way efficient. Bradley’s brilliant piece of bike engineering allows him to carry an impressive and surprisingly sizeable amount of stuff. This is not your average bike courier cruising around with a couple of envelopes on a little fixie—Bradley’s Bullit can haul up to 120 kg of cargo. And this Danish-made cargo bike isn’t even any wider than an average bicycle, so Bradley can dodge streetcars and gridlock and get our customers their coffee STAT.
• it emits nothing but awesomeness. We’re always working to reduce our carbon footprint and to ensure we’re an eco-friendly business. The less we drive, the better, and now that Bradley is our main mode of delivery, Te Aro’s even greener.

Our customers are loving Red Riding Goods too. When Bradley pulls up on his majestic red steed, it’s pretty much like Santa’s sleigh on Christmas, bringing gifts of fresh-roasted coffee beans, Te Aro tea, and joy.

Thanks Bradley, and your trusty bike, for getting our deliveries where they need to go and keeping the air clean. Check him out in the near future at: http://redridinggoods.com/

It’s been a great year at Te Aro and we wish to thank all our customers and wholesale partners for helping to make this possible!

In the spirit of giving we present to you our all-new, very seasonal Holiday Blend meant to evoke memories of family, fireplaces, sugarplums dancing in your head and mistletoe. Available only during the holidays, this coffee is a valiant attempt to cram as much joy and berries and mirth and spice into one cup as humanly possible. Not only that, but every bag sold sends a gift of one dollar to Coffee Kids, a non-profit organization that works with coffee-farming families to improve their lives and livelihoods.

Please visit www.coffeekids.org for more information or to donate.

This is a blend of Guatemalan Finca La Bolsa, Colombian Huila Los Naranjos and Ethiopian Sidama Natural Ardi.

We hope you enjoy it!

Happy Holidays from all of us at

The gift that keeps on giving!  Choose from a 3, 6 or 9 month subscription and we’ll send the subscriber a hand-selected 12oz bag of coffee each month.  It may be a Cup of Excellence coffee, an exclusive micro-lot or one of our favs that we are drinking at the cafe!  We can include a note with your subscription (Sent out with the first 12oz bag), just add this into the comments section.

2.  Te Aro’s Holiday Blend

Notes of Warm Spices, Sugarplum and Chocolate….and $1 from every bag sold being donated to Coffee Kids .  Available at Te Aro, Crafted and Online starting the week of December 8th.

3.  Grind It!

We all know that a grinder is an integral part of making good coffee at home.  We have a variety of grinders to choose from, including electric and manual.  The Hario Slim and Skerton are ceramic hand mills, while the Baratza Vituoso Preciso and Maestro Plus are beautifully designed burr grinders that offer a professional level of performance.  These are available online and at Te Aro.

4.  Barista Training

For new or experienced baristas + coffee enthusiasts – we can teach you how to perfect your skills.  We offer barista training on a biweekly basis.   Join in on one of our wholesale training sessions or enjoy a session on your own or with a few friends.  Enquire by emailing info at te-aro.ca .

5.  Coffee Brewers

We’re always encouraging our customers to try out different brew methods.  At Crafted, we offer the Aeropress and the Pourover on our coffee menu – and while no brew method is best, it’s fun to experiment!   Manual pour-over brewing is an inexpensive and relatively easy way to make a great coffee.  Getting a good cup from the pour-over involves a good pace and pattern in how you add water to the coffee.  The Aeropress makes a clean and sediment-free cup and all you need is ground coffee, hot water and a cup.

]]> http://tearoroasted.com/2011/12/05/5-holiday-gift-ideas-for-coffee-lovers/feed/ 0 tearocoffee Christmas2011 Subscription Sticker_Holiday GrindIt TeAroGuide-04 aeropress1_400x601_large HarioV60Dripper_large http://tearoroasted.com/2011/11/16/water-filtration-at-home-bwt-water-jug/ http://tearoroasted.com/2011/11/16/water-filtration-at-home-bwt-water-jug/#comments Wed, 16 Nov 2011 14:33:47 +0000 Te Aro http://tearoroasted.com/?p=720 ]]> Ask any coffee enthusiast if the type of water matters when preparing their coffee and they will all say YES.   Coffee, after all, is nearly 100% water and therefore clearly has an impact on the taste of the end result.

Most cafes have sophisticated water filtration systems built into their water lines and hot water towers, but for the home coffee connoisseur, this is not usually possible.  There is bottled water or tap water available.  When choosing between these two there are not only health effects to consider, but taste too.  If your tap water has an ill taste, then your coffee will too.

Recently, we were given a Brita-like water jug from the water filtration company that we work with.  We’ve been using this at home for the last month and have been pleasantly surprised by the results.  So much so, we are now selling these water jugs at the Cafe.  Unlike the traditional Brita jug, the BWT Tea and Coffee Water Jug enriches the water with magnesium, which greatly improves the taste of the water and becomes apparent when you use this to make coffee at home.  Essentially, it adds more body to your water and to your coffee.  Lead and Chlorine are removed as are scale-forming elements (like lime scale, which is a killer for home machines), making it great to use for any type of brewing method or on your home espresso machine.

Come in and ask us about them or flick us an email to andy at te-aro.ca if you have any specific questions.

There were 15 competitor this year that had placed in the regional competitions and each competitor prepared and served 12 separate espresso beverages: four espresso, four cappuccinos, and four signature drinks of their own creation, and presented them to a panel of judges in a 15 minute period.

Tyler delivered a solid performance, showcasing a coffee from Colombia (Arnulfo Leguizamo’s Primavera), roasted by Te Aro’s roasting team a week before the comp. Unfortunately, he didn’t make it through to the finals and the top three were all from Alberta this year.  Josh Hockin, of Transcend Coffee, took home first place and will be representing Canada in Vienna in the World Barista Comp.

We were really excited to be part of the competition this year, and it was noticeable that Ontario really stepped it up this year in terms of the skill level of its competitors.  We are really proud of Tyler  – he has only been in the industry for a short time + worked really hard to make it into the Nationals.  Also really proud of the whole Te Aro team (and extended Te Aro team).  The Roasting Team did an exceptional job helping Tyler with the coffee + the training, Sameer from Fahrenheit coffee (and a Te Aro wholesale customer) also donated his time to help, and Tyler’s incredibly dedicated girlfriend Jasmin (and who we consider part of Te Aro’s team) spent a huge amount of time on the comp, and we were lucky enough to have her out in Vancouver with us.

Here are some pics of Tyler’s performance:

You’ve probably noticed here at Te Aro we don’t like to be idle. Whether we’re setting up a new café, learning the newest innovative gadgets, competing in and judging national competitions, traveling to origin, creating new roasts–we keep ourselves busy. We’ve been quietly and fastidiously working on our latest project behind the scenes, and now we’re ready to proudly announce…wait for it…Te Aro’s very own line of premium loose-leaf teas!

We’ve delved deep into the world of Ceylon, Darjeeling, Sencha, and Rooibos. We’ve put our palates to work trying all sorts of combinations with the same dedication we give to selecting our green beans and perfecting our roast profiles. We’ve come up with a full spectrum of deliciousness, from classics like Organic English Breakfast and Masala Chai to rich indulgences like Lemon Pie and Pear Cream to healthful Ginger Root and Chamomile. Our perfectly balanced, complex, and aromatic blends are made with the highest quality natural herbs and spices, and pieces of real fruit and nuts.

We’re no less into our coffee, don’t worry. But we’ve got lots of love to go around, and you’ll taste the same quality, care, and depth in our tea as in our roasts.

You will find out teas available for purchase at both Te Aro and Crafted within the next couple of weeks.  They will also be available through a number of our wholesale partners and on our website.

Send your resume to jessie@te-aro.ca or drop it off at 983 Queen St East.  Thanks!

During Columbia’s Cup of Excellence Auction this year, there was one coffee in particular that received an exceptional number of bids.  The farmer responsible for this lot is Arnulfo Leguizamo.  Not only did his coffee win First Place, it also achieved the astonishing score of 94 points.  Scores this high are rarely seen in the coffee world, and through this win, Arnulfo Leguizamo’s small quarter hectare crop fetched over US $100,000.  Can you imagine the emotion when Arnulfo found out he won?  From Wired Magazine’s Frederick Kaufman, who was at the ceremony:

“When I finally get the champ’s attention, I ask what will he do with all that dinero heading his way, and he looks over the teeming crowd, eyes moist with emotion. Perhaps he is recalling how, high in the mountains of Teruel, he harvested his Caturra, washed the cherries with cool spring water, and dried them in the sun, as did his father, as did the ancients.

“Thank God and the Virgin Mary,” Leguizamo says.”  

We were fortunate to acquire some of the this lot and are excited to not only share the results of Arnulfo’s hard work and dedication with you, but the amazing story behind it all.  We have been supporters of the Cup of Excellence since we first opened our doors, not only purchasing/bidding on COE coffees, but by participating on the international jury for the last 2 years.

We have a very small quantity of this coffee, and this will only be available by pre-purchasing your half pound for $35 at Te Aro/Crafted or online.  Once it’s gone, it’s gone!!

Notes on this exceptional Farm as well as Tasting Notes:

Mr. Arnulfo Leguizamo is 46 years old, son of a coffee farmer born in the municipality of Teruel, Huila. In his youth he studied several mechanical activities and after doing a lot of work in an urban environment, he decided that his future was in the field – dedicated to work with coffee. He started by planting half of a hectare in the property of his father in Teruel. He traveled to the municipality of San Agustín 23 years ago, in order to know the mystical sculptures at the Archeological Park. Nevertheless, the climate, the warm people and mainly the wealth of earth caused him to fall in love with this municipality where he met Mrs. Aura Rita Bolaños his wife and the mother of his four children: Mayeli, Joh Edison, Diego Felipe and Hamer Duvan. He began with 1 hectare, an inheritance of his wife, and after a while he bought 3 more hectares that he planted little by little with coffee. His farm is called “Primavera” and it is located in the village “El Tabor” at the municipality of “San Agustín”. Is cultivated with Caturra varietal and is being renovated to integrate the variety Castillo.

He has been a Rainforest Alliance Certified farmer for 4 years, and he is committed to the protection to the environment. He is protecting springs and birds, he is recycling trash, and he doesn’t spray out chemical products. These principles are because of his sons – he wants to keep his place at least without contamination or pollution so they can live and eat there in the future in a healthy way.

His principals for the production of coffee are based on the quality; he says “I have to do things with love, dedication and with the support of my wife and my children. The advantages of this land where my farm is located are a secret but mainly because of the high altitude and the right temperatures we produce coffee with the best attributes for its taste. It is important for us to harvest only ripe-red cherries and process on time. We have to wash coffee well with clean water and dry it under sun and air for that we use the system: ‘Casa Elda’.”FARM:  Primavera

FARMER:  Arnulfo Leguizamo

REGION:  San Agustin, Huila

ALTITUDE:  1841 m

VARIETAL:  100% Caturra

PROCESSING:  Washed

NOTES:  Jasmine, tamarind, apricot, wild honey, lime blossom, cherries, vanilla, sugar browning, elderberry blossom, vibrant, red fruits, floral, wine, caramel, floral, bergamot, lemongrass, lychee, raisins, tea-like, kaffir lime, tea rose, tropical fruits, passion fruit acidity, stone fruit, white peach, effervescent, creamy lingering, syrupy, notably sweet from beginning to end, persistent

* $2 Iced Americanos and $2 regular Americanos

* Free cupcakes from Desmond and Beatrice

* Facepainting by our lovely and talented barista, Kate!

* 25% off all beans and coffee equipment

See you on Saturday!

Meghan, Kate, Ashoka, Scott, Norah, Jessie, Andy