More Than the Coffee

In light of CBC’s Information Radio hosting a competition for the best cup of coffee in the city, I want to talk about what exactly constitutes ‘the best cup of coffee.’ For me, someone who doesn’t drink a lot of coffee, I believe that it has a lot to do with the unique environment that a good coffee shop is able to create and sustain. Thom Hiebert, owner of Thom Bargen Coffee and Tea on Sherbrook agrees!

“Service and experience are just as important as the cup of coffee itself. I really believe that I can give the best cup of coffee to a costumer and they can have a terrible experience with the space and with the people and not only will they not come back, they will probably say that was a terrible cup of coffee to their friends. I don’t even think the quality of the coffee is the most important thing that we do here.”

I really appreciate a tasty green tea, not overly steeped, not too bitter, but I could find that in my kitchen. When I head out to Thom Bargen, Cafe Postal, Parlour, or any of the other local coffee shops in Winnipeg, I’m there for another reason. Something special and nostalgic, that lives in the coffee shop environment."

In a time when social media allows us to communicate opinions and ideas rapidly, institutions like the coffee shop are among the few remaining destinations where the process of conversing is brought down to a much more natural and anecdotal level.

“The coffee shop is definitely a place for people to come to share ideas.” Says Louis Leveque Cote, a barista at Café Postal on Provencher. Sometimes two costumers will be talking and then another costumer or one of us who works here will just jump in."

When I scroll through my Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram feeds, the content is very much reflective of my interests and opinions. I think most people would say the same about their social media identities.  It’s when we branch away from what is familiar that our own perceptions on life begin to expand and become more complex.

“We have a bike polo group that comes into Café Postal. I never used to know anything about bike polo and from talking with them, now I do. There is a church just down the street and on Sundays people stop in for a coffee after the service is over. You really get a sense of all the polarizing view points that are out there.”

So as you make your way around the city trying out all the local coffee shops that made it into the final five of Information Radio’s Best Coffee Competition, make sure you put away your smartphone and pay careful attention to your experience. A cup of coffee is special in its ability to attract people from all walks of life.