Timothy Barretto-Burns, coffee master at Canada’s first Starbucks Reserve Coffee Bar, uses a siphon brew to make coffee. The priciest drinks cost close to $10 per cup. Heather Botham, Centretown NewsCanada’s first Starbucks reserve coffee bar, offering state-of-the-art coffee at as much as $10 a cup, has opened in the ByWard Market.
Open since Nov. 3, the new location boasts the use of top-notch coffee beans from small farms, prepared using techniques such as the siphon brewing method.
During the siphon process, coffee is brewed in a machine composed of two pots stacked up on top of one another, connected by a narrow glass tube.
The ground coffee is placed in the upper pot while the water fills up the pot beneath it.
During brewing, water is heated by a torch under the bottom pot and becomes vapour.
The vapour rises to the second pot holding the powdered coffee, changing back to liquid due to the drop in temperature and mixing with the powder to become coffee.
So far, Ottawa seems to be curious about the reserve bar concept, said Tim Barretto-Burns, a “coffee master” at the 62 York St. location.
“Opening weekend was awesome — it fully exceeded our expectations,” he said. “It was super bustling…everyone who was out in the market was checking out our store, especially the reserve bar. It’s the first of its kind in Canada, so we got the exclusive here in Ottawa.”
Ottawa is a good place to test out the company’s reserve bar concept, Barretto-Burns said. “In Ottawa, there is such a great coffee culture, and with this new store, we’re nurturing that coffee culture.”
Currently there are only a handful of reserve bars open to the public.
In October, Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz announced the company’s plans to open 1,000 new locations, worldwide, by the end of 2017.
The reserve bar idea isn’t just benefitting coffee connoisseurs and small bean farms, but also local independent coffee shops, said Alex Dhavernas, co-owner of the Ministry of Coffee, an independent coffee shop with locations in Centretown and Hintonburg.
“We’ve been using small, micro-lots and independent farms as the basis of our business for years,” he said. “But we’ve had to show and educate people about the benefits of using beans from small farms. So for Starbucks to come in, most (competing) shops like it because Starbucks can spend tens of thousands more on marketing and education… kind of like they’re doing a lot of the work for us.”
Barretto-Burns said Starbucks’ coffee masters take pride in their work, and have been extensively trained in coffee types, tastes, quality, brewing techniques and history. “We’re offering that elevated experience,” he said.
“We take these small-lot, rare coffees and handcraft these beverages. We’re sharing our own pride as baristas and we’re also honouring the farmers that made these beans for us.”
Barretto-Burns said the layout of reserve bars is similar to that of a regular Starbucks, just slightly larger to accommodate the bar, which is separate from the normal counter.
“The Byward Market started as a lumberyard,” Barretto-Burns says. “Inside our store, it’s all handcrafted wood, and that is to honour the lumberers and the carpenters that came before us… We’re honouring the Byward Market, and we’re honouring our own history as a company.”
Many independent coffee shops credit Starbucks with encouraging people to pay a premium price for their coffee, and understanding what they are paying more for, Dhavernas says.
“Starbucks kind of re-invented the whole coffee market by doing higher-end drinks and stuff like that,” he said. “Starbucks created that realm, and independent coffee shops now do niche things within that realm.”
Coralie Charles, an Ottawa-based lifestyle blogger, was invited by Starbucks to check out the new location the day before opening. “It was an awesome experience,” she said. “The design of the store itself is beautiful and the coffee was great, of course.
“We were invited to see the new space and try out the reserve bar, which is really an experience,” she said. “All of the baristas there have been trained as ‘coffee masters’, so they definitely know their coffee, and we got to watch the different brewing processes and learn about how they are done.”
She noted that the expensive niche Starbucks is carving out with its reserve bar won’t be for everyone.
“I’m a student, so I definitely understand that if you’re just looking for a quick coffee to take to class it’s kind of expensive,” she said. “But if you’re into coffee and the experience, it’s definitely worth it.”
Said Barretto-Burns: “The idea behind this store is that we’re meeting the customer wherever they are in their day, wherever they are in their coffee journey.”