There are more coffee joints in Victoria than car dealers and, let me tell you Bernice, they all want to sell you something. Trick is to find what you are looking for.
Personally, I look for the people that know what they are talking about (in a way that makes sense to my pearl sized brain), people that believe in what they are doing, and lastly people that do not give me the crazy-creeps talking about coffee in a way that I just do not get!
Sam Jones, Victoria’s ubermyster coffee god, holds court at 2% Jazz on Douglas Street (adjacent to the Times-Colonist building). Surrounded by the finest in coffee-espresso hardware and only the finest baristi that the city has to offer, Sam takes the bean to levels that other cafes can only daydream about.
The thing about Sam is, he cultivates leading-edge ideas in the kind of positive environment that offers genuflection (courteous acknowledgement) to everyone in the coffee-chain, from the farmer to the cup.
As Dave Anderson (of Ottawa) and I sat in 2% Jazz, the other day, it became readily apparent that every single body coming through his door was a little wiser about the caffeine bean than the average schelp that walks into Starbucks looking for their Vente whatever.
Sam is a teacher, a damn good teacher. He believes his gospel and when he starts to preach the good word, you cannot help but listen.
I could not help but gaze in wonder as he led Dave, by the hand (Ok, stretching here) up onto his raised pulpit behind his glistening Synesso espresso machine. I could almost hear the choir as Sam coached Dave through the fundamentals. Dave, who is a seasoned coffee-nerd from Ottawa, came away exclaiming “That was the best coffee I have ever had in my life!” Where else in Victoria would you actually become part of the espresso experience?
Only at 2% Jazz, that is where!
If you want real coffee and the best espresso that the city has to offer, drop your pretense and your double-cupped swill take-away and get your feet down to 2% Jazz.