By Alison Hobbs
Coffee connoisseurs of Lowertown are lucky. Three years ago, a Lowertown Echo article by Peter Gould described the variety of congenial coffee outlets in this neighbourhood; since then, some of those businesses have closed, but new ones have taken their place.
The Spa Café, the Boulanger Français and Mantovani 1946 on Murray Street, La Bottega and Lollo on George Street, as well as the well-known Café 55 and Le Moulin de Provence at the Byward Market, all serve coffee imported from Europe, the taste of which gives a momentary illusion of being there. Casa di Moni on York Street offers a Swiss blend sourced from the Peruvian rain forest (supplied by Morala Trading of Centretown). This coffee is also served in government offices on Parliament Hill.
Discerning customers increasingly demand coffee that’s grown without damaging fragile eco-systems or exploiting the harvesters; for such committed environmentalists, Lowertown offers a range of options for guilt-free and enjoyable drinks from compostable (paper) or reusable (ceramic) cups, and not a plastic spoon in sight!
I Deal Coffee on Dalhousie Street bakes its own scones and doughnuts daily and roasts directly traded Guatemalan and Honduran green beans on its premises. Their supplier is the Happy Goat company, one of whose direct outlets is on the corner of Rideau and Cumberland Streets.
The Happy Goat owners are proud of travelling to their coffee’s country of origin, meeting the individual farmers and negotiating a fair price. If you’re curious about the name, read the “Legend of the Goat” whichtells how an Ethiopian imam first discovered the magical drink.
Famous for its lavish desserts, Oh So Good on York Street serves organic, ethically sourced coffee from North Brew, which donates some its income to Ottawa’s charities and homeless shelters.
Bridgehead outlets on Dalhousie and in the Rideau Centre sell fair trade, certified organic coffee, sustainably grown in shade. Their buyer visits the coffee plantations to choose varieties that taste especially good when milk is added. None of Bridgehead’s waste goes to the landfill; if you want compost for your garden, they give away their used coffee grounds.
HQ on Clarence Street buys its coffee from the Bluebarn Coffee Roasters in Wakefield, another source of sustainable and ethical produce, and a new kid on the block, Opulence Café on Dalhousie, is also worth noting for its environmentally friendly credentials. Apart from an occasional hot chocolate made from just two ingredients—dark chocolate and cream—coffee is all it serves.
Four times a day, green beans are freshly processed in a micro-roaster at the café to make a unique dark roast. The beans have been organically grown at 1,600 metres above sea level by farmers of the Rainforest Alliance in Peru, who receive decent healthcare, housing and education in water management from the Canadian Humaniterra Foundation.
Planet Coffee has been in the Clarendon Lanes courtyard since 1994, sourcing its coffee from small-lot farmers who make use of “fluid coffee roasters” with solar-panel-generated electricity as their source of power. These farmers are paid 60% more than the average fair trade prices, ensuring their survival in a competitive world.
A further reason for stopping at Planet Coffee is to eat the treats baked on site, daily, from local ingredients. This winter, outside their shop, you could find straw bales to sit on, plus complimentary blankets. It was almost like visiting Sweden.
Sampling coffee of such quality in our neighbourhood gives you the incentive to make a habit of it. At the same time you can feel glad to be supporting not only those distant coffee harvesters, but also the local business owners and their dependents.