Kevlar...what do you mean when you say you do a Pemvina run? Do you have the coffee shipped to pembina or do you purchase it in Pembina...I am very curious about this option.

Being in Canada and buying from US roasters poses two issues. First one being that most of the US roasters simply do not ship to Canada. The second being that it takes far too long to ship it across the border. Case in point, first time I ever ordered from Intelligentsia in Chicago it took 10 days to get the order, I can drive to Chicago in 14 hours.

So to fix this I found a place in Pembina ND that I can ship things too and then I just drive down and pick them up. Seems a little excessive I know but I usually time it so that I can fill up the car with gas when I am down there and the amount I save on fuel equals the amount it costs me to drive down there.

Having done this a number of times I can tell you it works very well and I get stuff as quick as two days off roast from Stumptown in Portland with regular shipping.

I am probably going to do a run in the next couple of weeks if your interested in maybe jumping in, shoot me a DM with your email address and we can discuss further.

Popped into Cornelia Bean today to see about 49th and Black Cat. No 49th espresso in stock, but they're expecting a shipment in the coming week. As for the Black Cat Espresso, they had several bags with a roast date of June 2 selling for $16.50/12oz. bag. I don't know if you guys consider this old, but the best shots I've ever pulled in ten years of espresso-loving have all been with that ebony feline, so I bought two, one for the freezer, the other destined for my grinder for tomorrows shots. Can hardly wait.

That's decently fresh but if I order from 49th or Intelly direct I get it three or 4 days off roast not 9. Like I said earlier, if they can get their ordering fixed then I'll buy more from them. The problem has been that I go in there and get some fresh stuff, then when I'm ready for more they still have stuff that is 3-4 weeks old. The last batch of 49th they had was roasted end of April!

When I was in Winnipeg, I used to order from 49th or buy from Cornelia Bean in a pinch. I have been working in Toronto for the last six months and am quite pleased by the options available here. My two favourites are Te Aro (http://www.te-aro.ca) and Mercury (http://www.mercuryespresso.com) both on Queen East in Leslieville.

Te Aro will (apparently) ship free on orders over $40. All their beans are roasted in house weekly on MTW. The Kenya is really nice if you can get it. Mercury gets their beans from George Howell Roasters (Terroir) in Massachusetts. You can order directly from the GH site and believe they will ship to Canada. A little expensive but some really great beans. I have no idea how long delivery takes, shipping costs, etc.

Some others I have come across: Lit on College sells Stumptown; Manic on College sells Intelligentsia; Dark Horse on Queen W sells 49th.

I would Te Aro a shot if you order and are looking for something new. It's quite a great place. I wish Winnipeg had something similar.

Good morning Winnipeggers,

I may have a new source of for fresh 49th Parallel coffee (given that Cornelia Bean no longer carries it). I saw a tweet yesterday morning by Parlour Coffee announcing they had to bring some in overnight as it was selling so well. I popped in there later in the day and picked up two bags of the epic espresso, roasted on the 26th.

Kudos to Nils for opening a nice little cafe in the exchange. He pulled me a couple really tasty shots of the Epic, too. He's only been there for a couple weeks as well. I have no connection with him whatsoever, but I thought he merited a mention here.

Mike

I second Nils at Parlour, he's doing a great job and has been incredibly busy since the day he opened. He's is currently regularly stocking both 49th and Phil & Sebastien out of Calgary. I know that he has plans to bring in some other roasters as well once his retail volume gets going. Great guy, great space and I as well have no connection to Nils other then spending money there.

Good Evening fellow Winnipeggers

I would recommend Red Bird. I am currently working my way through 5lbs of the Red Bird espresso and 5lbs of Blue Jaguar espresso. I had it shipped one day post roast to Neche ND. I let it rest for about 5 days then froze most of it in freezer bags. Cant go wrong with the price at about 54USD per 5lbs including shipping.

I have not tried intelly or Counter Culture. If anyone is placing an order shoot me a pm, Id be interested.

Cheers

Rob

I, too, would be interested in sharing in some of these orders.

Rob,

You wouldn't happen to have a pound or two to sell to a fellow espressohead?

Mike

I'm always surprised, when I visit Winnipeg, that there isn't a much better coffee scene. Until Parlour opened up, it's been pretty dismal.

I've always thought, if I had a partner and some investors, Winnipeg would be ripe for a great roastery/espresso bar. It's large enough and there's enough of an arts/culture/culinary vibe that a great shop would catch on like wildfire and could potentially be quite lucrative. Glad someone's finally taken the initiative and given you guys one great shop. There's room for 5 or 10 more, I suspect.