Union Pacific Coffee Company Sign, originally uploaded by andai.
Keep in mind when you read this, I was only able to sample a very small number of the coffeehouses and cafes in and around the Victoria BC area. I was only there for about two and a half days and that is really not much time to properly check out all the coffee places that Victoria offers. So take this post with a grain of salt and feel free to suggest places I should try out next time I am back in Victoria.
The first thing I noticed when driving/walking around Victoria BC is that the locals really do like their coffee. It seems like just about everywhere you look, there are folks walking along with their espresso drinks on hand or just lounging in some of the plentiful coffee shops you find all over the place… Some of these include the usual suspects in Canada, i.e. Starbucks, Tim Hortons and Blenz Coffee, but there were also tons of smaller independent coffee shops and cafes to try. Now I tend to stay away from the big boys and try to support the indie shops as much as possible. On this particular trip, I was able to sample coffees from the following places;
- Salt Spring Coffee Company
- Serious Coffee
- Murchies Tea & Coffee
- Dolce Vita Coffee Art
- Sounds Like Coffee
Out of the five above, my favorite was Salt Spring Coffee. The rest were decent but I didn’t feel that they were exceptional. But the one coffeehouse that I was really excited about but turned out to be not quite as expected was Dolce Vita Coffee Art. You can check out my posting describing my experience there.
Once thing that I really liked in most of the coffeehouses I checked out was that most of the baristas were really nice and friendly and certainly made you feel like you wanted to come back. I to be honest, I would go back to just about all of places I had checked out, in part to see how they are evolving and improving and on part because they make you feel welcome.
My conclusion about the Victoria BC coffee scene, based on the 2-3 days I spent there, is that they are certainly growing and evolving, becoming more vibrant. I think when you see a city that has that many independent coffee shops, it indicates that the locals are aspiring for better quality, charm and uniqueness that you just cannot get from the likes of Starbucks and Blendz.
After having chatted with the baristas at ‘Sounds like Coffee’ and some of the other places, I realize that these folks are serious about their coffee, their art and the culture and I can only conclude that they are going to really help drive Victoria BC into becoming a city known for having plenty of options for excellent coffee.
I am certainly looking forward to going back and check out some of the other shops I didn’t get to try this time round and any new one that will have popped up by then. I want to see how they stack up.
I’m trying to compare the different types of coffee here in Victoria and your blog is certainly helping.
I think if you want to try a small amount of independent coffee shops in Victoria you’ll have to be here for a few weeks.
Some places you’ll have to try next time you’re here (-: So I know which places are good and which places to avoid
Buon Amici’s Coffee
Solstice Cafe
Bean Around the World
Black Stilt Coffee Lounge
Mirage Coffee
Demitasse Cafe
Moka House
Cafe Fantastico
Paridiso de Stelle
QV
Spiral Cafe
Bubby Roses Bakery Cafe
Discovery Coffee
etc, etc, etc, etc, . . . I think there’s a coffee shop on every almost every commercial street.
Thanks for the heads up Michael.
Since I tend to visit Victoria/Vancouver BB for not more than a couple of days at a time, I simply can’t check out many coffee shops as I would like. I would have to hang out there for a month at the very least and cram in visits to two to three shops a day… I don’t know if I can last more than four days straight of that
I think what really struck me about Vancouver and Victoria in particular is how coffee and coffee culture is really taking off. We tend to think of Seattle as being the gourmet coffee capital of the world, but I think Victoria/Vancouver are getting right up there too.
Anyway I will be back in January for a couple of days so I will certainly get to some of those on your list and let you know what I think
I know Murchie’s makes coffees but I would highly suggest that you try out some of their teas. Murchie’s actually makes teas for the Queen and when I visited B.C. in ’95 I had high tea at the Empress Hotel and was automatically hooked…Their teas and chais are of the finest quality and I can personally recommend both the winter and autumn chai as well as the Empress Afternoon Tea. Simply WONDERFUL! And if you are going for decadent add some sugar and cream!
Thanks Linda… I will certainly check out the Empress Hotel’s high tea. The last time I was there, I opted for the White Heather Tea Room, but I have also been told by quite a few that I really need to check out the Empress…
Looking forward to that sometime this spring…
I think Michael provided a good list…(although I definitely would not include Moka House).
A couple others are Habit (my favourite) and Pure Vanilla Bakery in Oak Bay. It’s too bad you picked five that most locals really into the bean wouldn’t even consider. Better luck next visit. Good idea to put this post out first.
I like your blog. I’m always on the search for the perfect cup of coffee.
It’s true that there are lots of good coffee shops in Victoria. Andai’s list is pretty good although, I’d take off QV – I haven’t been too impressed by their coffee. There are some good coffee roasterys here too like Level Ground, Fernwood Coffee (and like you mentioned Saltspring Coffee) and others that you can try at numerous coffee shops for a taste of real local flavour. We’ve served Saltspring Coffee in the Past and currently serve Level Ground at Ocean Island. Both are great, although Saltspring is slightly stronger and more bitter in flavour. Come back and try some more!