Visitors to the Island and residents can now follow online trails to some fine daily grinds instead of just following their noses to good cups of coffee.
Josh Gillingham, of Nanaimo, has set up the Vancouver Island Coffee Tour, a website that lists dozens of independent coffee roasters across the Island and Gulf Islands. The website directs users where to go and even reviews the brews.
Gillingham said he never was a big coffee drinker until COVID came along, but over the last couple of years heB次元官网网址檚 gotten into coffee in a big way.
B次元官网网址淚 really got interested in where itB次元官网网址檚 being sourced from, origins, different brewing methods, extraction methods, that sort of thing,B次元官网网址� Gillingham said.
His research lead him to discover about 50 independent coffee brewers from Victoria to Port Hardy and just about every community in between.
B次元官网网址淎 few of the ones that first inspired were French Press [Coffee Roasters] in Qualicum, [which] is great and youB次元官网网址檝e got Fernwood [Coffee Company] down in Victoria and it was just kind of an idle thought, B次元官网网址業 wonder how many coffee roasters there are, just out of interest?B次元官网网址� and I started looking them up and I started finding more and more and more,B次元官网网址� Gillingham said.
With so many establishments grinding daily, Gillingham realized knowing where to find the best cuppa joe could be part of any coffee loverB次元官网网址檚 travel itinerary.
B次元官网网址淚 thought, wouldnB次元官网网址檛 it be cool if I could just create a little map where, if youB次元官网网址檙e going to the north Island or going out to Sooke or Gabriola, is there any local coffee?B次元官网网址� Gillingham said. B次元官网网址淪o thatB次元官网网址檚 kind of where it started and it spun out from there.B次元官网网址�
GillinghamB次元官网网址檚 coffee tour website notes that the B次元官网网址淰ancouver Island Coffee Tour is a treasure map of sorts, a self-guided quest for seekers of flavour and meaning. Here you may discover cups of bliss in your local community that you never knew existed.B次元官网网址�
The site is live and active, if basic, Gillingham said, but heB次元官网网址檚 adding more features in the run-up to its official launch over the Victoria Day long weekend, May 21-23. It already offers tips for better brewing at home, reviews of featured local roasts and interviews with coffee roasters. He also plans to launch a quarterly coffee publication to highlight new roasteries to hopefully bridge the IslandB次元官网网址檚 coffee community.
B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檝e got a few contributors working on articles for the site B次元官网网址� The primary goal of the website is to get people to discover local coffee roasters in their community, but I also want to provide some supports [for] people who are interested in coffee, want to get into coffee,B次元官网网址� Gillingham said. B次元官网网址淔or example, I did an article on three ways to brew coffee on the beach. A lot of people just take instant coffee on camping trips because itB次元官网网址檚 easier, but you donB次元官网网址檛 need to much equipment and if you know what youB次元官网网址檙e doing or have some helpful tips, you can actually brew a really good cup of coffee and, let me tell you, thereB次元官网网址檚 nothing like waking in a place like Mystic Beach and having this really perfectly brewed cup of coffee as the sun rises. ItB次元官网网址檚 a Vancouver Island experience that people who travel here should really have.B次元官网网址�
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