Pallet Coffee Roasters have recently opened their 6th venue, an amazing roastery in Railtown which is their new head quarters.  We were lucky enough to be invited to the opening and the size of this newest addition is astonishing as is everything inside from the staff to the coffee and roasting machines.  It is definitely worth a visit as the coffee is truly spectacular - parking not so much.

Established in Vancouver in 2014, Pallet is a team of experienced and passionate coffeelovers, with a drive to showcase, educate and inspire their customers about specialty coffee. Pallet pride themselves on being a locally owned and community- minded coffee company, and stand above the rest with an unwavering dedication to providing our community with an excellent product and love for specialty coffee.

At Pallet they believe that much of this begins at the ground level; Pallet's coffee is a direct link to the relationships they have fostered with farmers and producers, who now have become like family to Pallet. Through ongoing collaborations with these amazing people, Pallet hope to continually build sustainable long term relationships and showcase the passion, hard work and dedication of the farmers, families and communities behind each cup that they serve to their customers daily.

Providing a flavour profile of juicy strawberry with sweet caramel & milk chocolate.

Roger Antonio Domínguez Márquez owns several farms in La Paz, Marcala, including the 4.23-hectare plot called San Francisco. He grows Catuai on the farm, and has about 18,000 coffee trees. After picking, the cherry is de pulped the same day, dry fermented in tanks for 18 hours, washed three time, and dried on raised beds for 12–15 days on average. He is interested in planting different varieties in the coming years, as well.

The washed processing on this coffee highlights orange and cane sugar with  a smooth chocolate almond finish

The Zelaya family has been growing coffee for over 100 years and four generations. This renowned family owns farms throughout Guatemala and grows one of only a handful of genuine ‘Antigua’ coffees (coffees grown in the Antigua valley area bounded by three volcanoes – Agua, Acatenango and Fuego). Finca Santa Clara is located on the fertile southern slopes of the Volcán de Agua in the Antigua Valley at 1,600-1,830 metres. Ricardo Zelaya has managed the farm, which was bought in 1974 by his Grandfather, since 1988 and is the 4th generation of the Zelaya family to have produced coffee at Santa Clara. Since taking over the farm, he has increased the size from 17 hectares of coffee plantations up to 95 hectares as well as building a wet mill, drying patios and a greenhouse to improve the processing of the coffee.

At Prototype they like to source a wide variety of exceptional coffees all at once, and showcase all of them in their tasting room. Prototype give sourcing preference to small unique lots sourced through their importing partners who build healthy and long-term relationships with the producers at origin. In terms of roasting style,

Protoype feel like each coffee has its own story to tell, so they tailor each profile to maximize sweetness, balance, and versatility across brew methods while trying to avoid roasty notes. The goal is to use roasting as a way to give the coffee a voice without getting in the way too much. Prototype don't want to add flavour to the coffee; they want to let it speak.

Providing a flavour profile of mango, blueberry and ginger.

Bedhatu Jibicho is in her 80’s and going strong, has been growing coffee for over 40 years and continues to manage the operations on her farm in the village of Banko Gotiti. This is the third year in a row that Prototype carried coffee from her farm, and this year there are two different lots from her farm, one washed and one natural processed. This roast is from the natural process.

49th Parallel are the ultimate coffee professionals who have an unbridled passion for their coffee, providing you with the very best roasts achieved through extensive samples cupped every year.

They value the process from soil to cup and care deeply about how the product reaches you. Working directly with the farmers, they visit each partner multiple times through the year to gain a better understanding of the challenges they face and work together to overcome these obstacles. This process ensures they have a strong partnership and upside of this is they get the best possible coffee for you.

A light filter roast from El Cedral, mountain in Honduras, Miguel Enamorado is working to produce some of our favorite coffees in Santa Barbara. Having purchased land at the very top of this mountain, the higher elevation is taking his coffee even further in quality and quickly becoming a substantial portion of his harvest. This year, Miguel has been experimenting with more resistant Parainema coffee varieties with excellent results.

A blend of Pacas and Bourbon lots, selected through blind tastings, in Los Robles you can expect notes of nougat, nutty sweetness and syrupy body.

Oughtred Roasting Works is a second generation, carbon neutral, craft coffee roasting company dedicated to fostering the growth and awareness of specialty coffee through education, relationships, quality and sustainability. With their establishment of the Oughtred Origin Works back in 1973,

Oughtred has been directly sourcing some of the finest specialty grade coffees from around the world from both farmers and millers who have a proven commitment to quality coffee production and sustainability. From seed to cup, the Oughtred’s commitment to sustainability can only be matched by their multiple awards for quality including the 2018 | North American Roaster of the Year as well as being recognized as the most decorated Canadian Roaster at the North American Golden Bean Roasting Championships since 2015.

4 times Golden Bean Medal Winner Providing a flavour profile of peach with caramel and tangerine this is a medium roast bean which has been washed and sun dried. Is suited to both a filter brew or espresso methods.

From the Hoja Blanca region in Huehuetenango. Coffee beans originate from Juan and Milton Martinez who manage their family run farm.

6 time Golden Bean Medal Winner

Providing a flavour profile of chocolate, toffee and syrup.  This is a medium roast, each component carefully processed and selected for its ability to produce a flavour profile that is sweet, well balanced and has a excellent mouth feel.

This is Oughtred's best selling espresso and is comprised of coffees that are directly imported from their growing partners in Huila, Colombia, Lintong, Sumatra and Minas Gerais, Brazil.  The beans have been  washed harvested & sun-dried in 2019 from small lot producers. 

Modus is a Canadian coffee company geared towards simplicity. Their coffees are straightforward and uncomplicated to inspire appreciation for the many hands involved in the coffee chain, including quality focused producers doing good. It’s impossible to make great things with not great ingredients so Modus look to source wild coffees from purposeful producers, forming consistent long-term relationships along the way. Noticing that it isn’t easy to find coffee that was light, sweet and balanced, Modus started to take form in early 2015 out of an obsession to enjoy coffee that’s honest to origin and terroir. It’s difficult to describe the idea of a specific taste, but describing their coffees as uncompromised works. Accepting the seasonal inconsistency of coffee, Modus have designed a line up that’s consistent, approachable, and delicious.

Providing a flavour profile of apple pie, marshmallow and milk chocolate. Excellent as an espresso or drip.

Produced by Jorge de Jesus Zuleta Castneda, who has worked in the coffee industry for 53 years. His father Camilo operated plantation with Arabica beans. Jorge started working on the plantation waged 15. Planting in volcanic soil 17,000 metres above sea level he does not use any type of herbicide or chemical which could harm the environment. Growing coffee is a way for Jorge to provide for his family and working together with roasting companies this enables these farmers to bring an exquisite cup of coffee to the customers. Jorge is paid a premium for these beans to ensure future quality and to keep these farmers from the selling at 'C market' pricing.

This latest version of Hiro comes from Ethiopia and brings with it a winey and tropical taste profile. The tasting notes bring out flavours of Christmas cake, Jamaican rum and plum.

Located West of Ethiopia bordering Illubabor and Wollega and close to Bench Maji. There is a Unesco protected forest, rich in honey and in endemic plants and birds. Sheka Special Fermentation, an anaerobic processes, where coffee after being cleaned and selected, sits in Stainless steel tanks for 60 hours and is then dried on elevated African beds. This process produces strong fruity and winey character.Natural anaerobic, Heirloom varietals, 2100m, 60 hours in fermentation tanks, 14+ screen, dried on raised beds. Sourced by Dustin @ Mountain.

Agro Roasters is an artisan specialty coffee roaster and café located in Strathcona, Vancouver. Locally owned and operated by Dusty Smith and Marina Castro, Agro buys, roasts and sells organic coffee that is ethically sourced and of top-quality. Dusty's experience in the coffee industry is extensive.

As one of only 20 licensed Q-Graders in Canada, the equivalent for coffee as a sommelier for wine, Dusty knows how to evaluate and most of all source top quality green coffee beans.

Agro Roasters are commited to buying, roasting and packaging the finest organic coffee in the world.

Organic coffee beans roasted to provide a delicate body, the beans are processed naturally which is a drying method suited to dryer climates such as Ethiopia.

The coffee beans are harvested and dried in the sun over a few weeks. This roast brings out fruity flavours of blueberry, strawberry and cream.

Organic coffee beans roasted medium/dark giving you a full body and rich cacao aftertaste. This roasts brings out flavours of blood orange, hazelnuts and sugar for you to enjoy.

The beans have grown at an altitude of 1100 to 1700 M, processed using the washed/wet hulled method which is a popular method for speciality coffee in Indonesia The hulling process removes the parchment from the bean and then the mucilage by washing the beans.