You know those idyllic coffee shops you see in advertisements for really expensive jewelry or high-tone perfume? The kind of place where tall windows spill light across hardwood floors onto shiny espresso machines, and where hip customers lean into each other, deep in conversation? Thats the new Analog Coffee (740 17 Ave. S.W.) in a nutshell.
Stepping out of 17th Avenue traffic through the corner door of the former Buy Rite grocery store is like crossing into a slightly amplified — and caffeinated — world. The December light glows golden at midday and the air is filled with the intoxicating aroma of espresso. Buy Rite lives on in its old metal sign letters hung over the coffee bar (Free Delivery is there too) but otherwise the space is fully updated. Herringbone hardwood covers the floors while those light-spilling windows are sealed against winter’s blast. Long black banquettes line the walls and a handful of tables fill the small room.
A long bar hosts a Fratello Slayer espresso machine — one of the best on the market — and a pour-over section for those wanting a longer coffee. For the fly-by crowd on the run, there will soon be larger coffee carafes at the ready for take-out. And for those feeling a bit peckish, there’s fresh baking from La Boulangerie and Sidewalk Citizen. That includes some of Sidewalk’s creative sandwiches built by talented chef Colin Metcalfe.
Analog Coffee is the second shop created by Chris and Russ Prefontaine, the brothers behind Fratello Coffee Roasters. Their first Analog opened in the new Calgary Farmers Market last year and always seems to have a lineup. Now the brothers have taken their concept uptown.
So what is their concept? Good coffee of course, using responsibly grown, direct trade beans (sourced directly from the growers) and a combination of technology (the Slayer) and handmade (pour-over). Combine that with service by baristas who know their product and you get a good cup of coffee.
Then there’s the Analog name, referring to their desire to hand-craft every cup of coffee and serve foods that are equally hand-crafted. Look along the back wall of Analog, under the Buy Rite sign, and you’ll see a long row of LPs, records collected from numerous sources around town. Although Analogs soundtrack is now distinctly digital, they plan to install a turntable and crank out old analog tunes from the disks. Perhaps that will make the coffee even tastier and the light just a little more golden.
John Gilchrist’s new Eat Canada restaurant app is now available at the App Store. He can be reached at or 403-235-7532.
© Copyright (c) The Calgary Herald
In Early November 2012 I had the opportunity to go back to Colombia. This was a great trip, again in Huila, where we focused our attention in the micro-regions of Acevedo and San Agustin (You can view photos on our Facebook page). This was my 5th trip to Colombia and am finally confident in working in these two areas for the foreseeable future. Colombia has always been a challenging country for me to work in for a few reasons.
Reason 1 – Colombia is a huge country and the distances between the coffee growing regions is great. A lot of our past trips have been in cars/planes/buses traveling from one region to the next. Each region is unique in standardized flavor profiles, and It was important for us to know that Huila was our most desired region (Tolima is second for us).
Reason 2 – Even the region (or province) Huila is huge and very diverse with MANY micro-regions, each giving you a different elevations, land scape and coffee culture. The past 2 trips before this one were all focused in Huila as well. Within Huila we traveled to these following micro-regions (keep in mind, this isn’t all of the micro-regions in Huila, but the main ones we visited):
- El Pital
- Quituro
- Gigante
- Garzon
- Suaza
- Guadalupe
- Tarqui
- Agrado
- Acevedo
- San Augustin
Each of these regions offer a “unique profile”, let alone how each coffee producer with in these micro-regions grow different varietals, different elevations and different processing techniques all of which achieve unique cup profiles.
Reason 3 – The average farm size in Colombia has 3 hectares of land. From this, you can typically harvest 20-40 exportable sacks of coffee (152 lbs per sack), twice per year. Colombia and Kenya are unique in the world for having 2 harvests per year due to their proximity to the equator and many microclimates with in their countries.
Our challenge has been finding a coffee producer who is able to consistently produce enough high quality coffee each harvest for us to partner with. The risk with Direct Trade in Colombia is that you do not have much flexibility in choosing different Lots from a single producer. Ideally when working with coffee producers year over year, is the ability to pick and choose specific Lots (areas within a farm) that you want to buy that harvest. Each harvest produces new challenges to the coffee producers, and you are never guaranteed to get the same quality as you did before. Being able to choose different Lots from a single coffee producer creates more certainty in finding the specific quality we desire year over year.
These challenges are also what makes Colombia rewarding for us. Because this isn’t an easy country to source from, a lot of roasters do not go, or have yet to try and establish Direct Trade with any coffee producers. Due to the relationships we have established over the years, we have been able to find some amazing producers who we are confident to work with.
Our newest Direct Trade partnership is going to be with Elias Roa who has 2 farms. One in El Pital called Finca Tamana. Fratello Coffee Roasters purchased 1 Lot of coffee from him last year from Finca Tamana and our goal was to continue to work there moving forward. Unfortunately for us, but starting this year, 100% of all his production is going to Tim Wendelboe now. However; Elias’s other farm is located in Acevedo which continues to be my favorite region for cup quality in Colombia. This farm is called Finca Recuerdo (Translates to “The Memory”) and is located in the micro-region Primavera in Acevedo. I will have a separate blog post on Elias later.
Another very special lot of coffee we are bringing in is from Arnulfo Leguisamo. We are fortunate to be getting Lot #1 which is grown in San Agustin. Arnulfo holds the record in Colombia for highest ranking coffee, as well as most expensive Colombian coffee when he won first place in the 2011 Colombian Cup of Excellence competition getting $45.00 / lb. This is among the best coffee I’ve ever cupped in my life, and we will have this in early 2013.
We are proud to say that we are making big progress in Colombia, and are happy that our hard work is finally paying off. The producers we are going to be working with are 100% dedicated to achieving top quality lots harvest over harvest, so you can be assured that the quality of our micro-lots are only going to improve moving forward.
Happy Holidays from Fratello Coffee Roasters! At Christmas time why not pay special attention to the coffee lover on your list (that is usually most people on the list) and treat them to some great gift ideas from Fratello. We offer all of these items at our roastery, as well as at Fratello Analog Cafe at the Calgary Farmers Market and our new store Analog Coffee 17th Ave. Come by for a demonstration on how to use these items to their full potential.
Here is our list for you. Lots of great coffee, some popular and really neat by-the-cup brew methods and tools for the home or professional Barista are all great options! Any questions call or email us and we would love to help.
Chemex, Hario, EsproPress and Aeropress:
Fratello Coffee Roasters has a fantastic coffee brewing packages for the coffee lover on your list, or for you! By the Cup Brewing is becoming more and more popular in the top cafes around the world. It is also our preferred method at our Analog Coffee locations.
Not sure what this is? Here is a brewing video guide for the Chemex.
If your are looking for a espresso machines, coffee grinders and automatic coffee brewers than we those products as well. We are fanatical about brewing amazing coffee, and we only carry coffee equipment that we would also use in our own homes. This equipment truly brews coffee to the quality you find in your local cafes.
Fresh Roasted seasonal coffee, delivered directly to your door!:
We roast every order fresh when you order from us on-line. We want to ensure that you and your coffee lover get the absolute freshest coffee possible. Choose from a wide selection of Direct Trade micro-lots that each have a unique flavor and story. We are proud of our coffee and work extremely hard at developing each roast profile to bring out the natural flavors found in each bean.
Sure a bottle of wine is the customary host gift during the holiday season, but why not give a bag of coffee this season! Amazing Espresso blends, top tier single origin coffee and Cup of Excellence selections are all in store for you!
Tools for the home or professional Barista:
Fratello has a great selection of espresso tampers, milk steaming pitchers, cleaning solutions and knock boxes for the home espresso enthusiest or the professional Barista alike! If you are looking for that particular product give us a call or come in to see us! We don’t have these items online, but would be happy to help you choose.
Happy Holidays from Fratello! Enjoy your coffee and enjoy your time with family and friends this season. We look forward to helping find that perfect gift!
Well it’s been a couple weeks since I got back from Bolivia on my first origin trip, I went down with a company called Invalsa who sources and exports coffee from Bolivia. The trip was a real eye opening experience, From seeing the coffee farms and their incredibly steep hills, being shown the incredibly labour intensive procedure that goes into milling the coffee after it has been picked and talking to the farmers and hearing how passionate they are about their coffee and how much they invest into making it a better product year after year.
The first few days we were in La Paz, which is the legislative capital of Bolivia. This is where we did the cupping of the top coffees that Invalsa had. After narrowing it down over 3 days we ranked the top coffees 1 through 20. The top lot came from Gregorian Gonza Mamani from the San Ignacio Co-op who we later got to meet.
Once we were done with the cupping’s it was off to the Caranavi region, which is one of the largest coffee growing regions in Bolivia. (Also where our current offering of Bolivian coffee is from) After five or six hours of the scariest roads I have ever been on we arrived in the city of Caranavi, surrounded by palm trees, parrots and mangos! This was a very nice contrast to the rocky and dry area of La Paz.
The next morning we headed off to the Seven Star Group Co-op, though it took us a lot longer to get there than expected, due to a construction company blowing up the road, the farmers were still very excited to see us. They decorated us with wreaths of flowers and then fed us as they spoke about how they were constantly improving their coffee due to people buying their coffee. Once we ate they took us down to a few of their farms and showed us how they pick the coffee and what they do with it after it has been picked. At this particular Co-op everything is de pulped washed and then dried on Raised African beds.
After we left the Seven Star Group Co-op we went to Cima del Jaguar which was the biggest farm we went to on our trip, just over 5 hectares. After following the farmer up his fields it really hit me how much work would go into just picking the coffee, I was exhausted half way up and that was without carrying any coffee cherries on my back! After a quick tour of the rest of his farm we took us back to his house and fed us supper. I found their generosity amazing from people who have so little to feed these 12 strangers, who come and look around their farms.
The next day we went to the San Ignacio Co-op, which was a very unique experience. As we pulled up we could see an arch way decorated with flowers and the Bolivian flag. As we stepped out of the vehicles we heard a band start playing and many of the families that lived there started heading towards us with wreaths of flowers and confetti. We were then pulled into a large dance number and danced up to an open field with tables and chairs set up. After what seemed to be 20 minutes of dancing (it was probably only 5 but I’m a terrible dancer so it seems to take longer to me) we were escorted to our seats and were promptly served a meal as the farmers once again spoke their speeches. After lunch a few of us went to tour the farms of this Co-op with Oscar? Mamani, the top ranking farmer’s brother, he showed us how they stump the trees (chop them down) so that new trees can grow out of the stumps, they do this after the trees have gotten to old, usually around 6 or 7 years, so they no longer produce as much. He also showed us they new way he was pruning his trees, he said that now that he has this new technique he gets almost 3 times as much as he used to before pruning. The thing I found most interesting about what he said was it was more valuable to have this kind of information and training than it would be to just have more money per pound and not be improving his crop. After another long climb back to the top of his farm we headed back to the Co-op and then were danced back to our vehicles.
Once we left the San Ignacio Co-op we headed towards Coroico, where we stayed for the night. The next morning we headed out to the infamous “Death Road”. Though the road is still open very few people use it now because there is now another less dangerous road which goes from La Paz to the Caranavi region now. As we started up this very narrow road it was amazing to think that this one lane dirt road with 100+ foot drops on it was once the main two way highway. Being empty now it was very easy to take in all the beauty of the country side and the waterfalls that come down right on the road. It was an incredible experience and far less scary than some of the other roads we had been on!
Once we got back into La Paz it was time to say Goodbye to all the amazing people I toured around with on my trip and then head to bed. I had to be at the airport at 3 am the next morning!
I had a great time touring around the country and was amazed how much I learned and continue to learn even back at home about sourcing coffee. I always figured you just went down there and came back with some amazing coffees, but it’s so much more than that. It’s about building relationships with people so when you go back you can keep getting better and better coffees every year. I feel I’ve only scratched the surface with what I know about sourcing coffee and I am very excited to continue learning more!
I would also like to thank Fratello for giving me this chance to go down and see what its really like, it is amazing and I would encourage everyone if they have the chance to go and see it, it is definitely worth it!
Written by: David Schindel, Lead Coffee Roaster for Fratello Coffee
You have probably heard about it, and seen many people promoted/talk about it, but what is direct trade? One of the issues with direct trade, is that it does not have the same meaning to every coffee roaster. It is NOT a certification, it is a purchasing philosophy. Below is our ideas around it and why we do it.
Direct trade coffee is a relatively new term which referring to the purchasing practices of coffee roasters who chose to make a direct relationship with the farmers they buy from. Also known as “Relationship Coffee”.
Fratello Coffee Roasters is choosing to work directly with our coffee growers for a few reasons:
This allows us to work with the farmers at origin to produce flavor profiles which are unique and stand out from what is available through the open market. Through working directly at the farm, we are able to find unique coffees before it is mixed in with other coffee at Cooperatives. Cooperative coffee has its place in the market (Eg. Fairtrade Coffees are Cooperative coffee), and most roasters only have access to this type of coffee. Often this is considered “commodity coffee” due to its pricing being based on the commodity market versus agreeing to a price with the farmer. Cooperatives buy coffee from many people, blend this coffee together and sell to mills/brokers/greenies. Brokers then sell this coffee to roasters. We find that the end result produces a “Style” of coffee instead of a “Profile” of coffee. When you are working with a famers, or a single estate, you are able to pick specific areas of the farm which is being harvested a specific way, growing a specific varietals of coffee, and then processed a specific way. Each of those choices are equally important and produce a unique flavor profile in the finished cup.
Fratello is able to go to the farms/Estates we work with to see the impact our purchases make. One of the issues we have always had with certifications that “give back” is that we were unable to follow the extra money we paid for coffee to see the impact, and ensure that it is being used properly. Its not that we disagree with those certifications, we just feel that there are better ways to impact the communities we want to work with. Through going to these farms, and paying these extra funds for the coffee, we impact those farmers, employees and families immediately. As a roaster, this takes a lot of extra effort as well as a lot of expense due traveling, but the value our partners receive is well worth it.
We can ensure that their staff are cared for and that they are following proper environmental practices. One of the key things we look for when visiting our farms, is that the owner of the farm is doing what they can to help the community around them. We look to ensure that there is health care for the workers, that there is adequate food and shelter provided for the employee’s, that the employee’s are paid well for what they do, and that the workers families are taken into consideration. Often woman on the farm will need to bring their children, so it is important that they are never exploited, and that they have care and access to education.
We get to work directly with farmers who are passionate about growing coffee, and who want to produce the best coffee they can. We agree to pay them premiums for this quality. Really its comes down to quality green coffee when you are doing what you can to roast the best tasting coffee. We will pay our partners more money for better quality green. What many certifications will do is pay the farmers more money for environmental practices (which are important!!); however, the taste of the coffee seems to come second. We want to work with farmers who are as passionate about coffee as we are. We are choosing to work with farmers that are 100% dedicated to growing coffee, not farmers who merely look at this as a secondary cash crop they can grow beside their bananas. We grow the best coffee needs constant care, so we work with farmers who are artisan’s at this craft. We want to work with farmers who are following their green coffee not only through the growing and harvesting process, but who take that same care and attention at the wet and dry mills. It is only this care and attention that can guarantee the best green coffee available in the market today.
Fratello’s direct trade partners receive approximately 25% (and up) more money for their coffee than what Fairtrade’s published rates. It is going to be an on-going process to expand our relationships to more regions and greater selections from within the regions we already work.
Our goals are simple. Financially reward the coffee producers we work with for the quality they produce, in order to bring you better quality coffee each year with the hopes of establishing a long lasting relationship.
Since 1991, we have been importing Nuova Simonelli espresso equipment from Italy, as well as a selection of other commercial coffee equipment. Our core business is roasting and supplying coffee houses and new cafes in Calgary and Edmonton with the training and consultation they need to run a successful business. We are eager to work with people that share our dedication to coffee.
We want to share our passion with you and help you learn to present coffee at its finest in your business. Fratello has been roasting coffee for over 27 years, but we are more than just a coffee roaster. Our consultants are experienced professionals that will guide you in all aspects of your business. From initial consultations around opening a new location to getting into the details of selecting products and equipment for your business, you will have access to our team of coffee professionals.
Fratello Coffee Roasters has made the choice to represent a select group of top quality equipment for your coffee hourse or restaurant. In stocking brands we know and trust, we are able to offer expert service and advice as you look at setting up a new business and cafe, or replacing equipment as needed.
From your large equipment needs such as an espresso machine, coffee brewers and grinders right down to the details, we offer the right products. Please browse our commercial equipment section to get an idea of the range of products offered. We look forward to meeting you to offer a personal consultation.
We know the best coffee needs the best people and the right equipment. Call us today for more information.