Two new coffee cafes provide great rush
Fresh beans, live music, a friendly atmosphere--I believe I am smitten
BY SCOTT MCKEEN, EDMONTON JOURNALJULY 15, 2009
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Phil Greet, owner of Axis cafe on Jasper Ave., makes a terrific Americano. Axis is open from 7 a. m. to 5 p. m. Monday to thursday; 7 a. m. to midnight Friday; 8 a. m. to midnight saturday; closed sunday.
Photograph by: Shaughn Butts, The Journal, Edmonton Journal
I love coffee and I like to drink it every day and today I drank a lot of coffee because I'm writing about coffee and you need to sample lots of coffee and then you get, like, a caffeine rush and lots of energy and you can't sit still and you talk fast and yet you're supposed to sit down and write a column about coffee so I better do that right now.
OK, so there are these two new coffee shops downtown but you don't call them coffee shops anymore because they're cafes or espresso bars and they serve really good coffee--I should know because I just drank a gallon of it--and the name of these two new ones are Credo and Axis.
Credo is on the 104th Street just south of Sobeys in the first Icon tower and it's hip and cool and the owner Geoff Linden is married to Joanne and he's a total coffee nerd who dreamed for years of opening his own cafe even though he was in the machinist trade and boy does he make a great cafe Americano that has a dark and creamy froth on the top and I had one after I had some other coffee.
Then I went over to meet Phil Greet who is married to Linda Beth and they opened Axis on Jasper Avenue and his Cafe Americano is also great and there's local art on the wall at Axis, too, and a garage-style door that opens the place up to the sidewalk at 10349 Jasper Avenue and they use a Vancouver coffee roaster called Milano.
Could you excuse me because I've got to jog to Sherwood Park and back? (Roughly 10 minutes pass).
OK, I'm back.
Let's return to Credo, which is located on downtown's hippest stroll, 104th Street. The new cafe, first off, is totally euro with its clean lines, vaulted ceiling and open, uncluttered space.
Geoff Linden takes his coffee very seriously. He researched roasters and came up with one that tours coffee farms to ensure high quality and fair trade.
Fresh beans are delivered weekly to Credo to preserve freshness. Every cup, be it espresso based or brewed, is prepared individually. Every cafe latte comes with a leaf pattern poured into the foam. The coffee is rich and delicious. Linden can tell you which ones have notes of chocolate, or citrus.
Axis is a stone's throw away, on Jasper Avenue. Phil Greet isn't quite as much of a coffee geek. He and his wife were motivated more by a philosophy of creating a place for people to connect--a living room for the community.
People are naturally drawn to places where they can socialize over a drink, be it wine, beer, tea or coffee. Axis offers all of the above, including Rooibos-tea-based "red" cappuccino.
Axis also includes a lofted boardroom, available to community groups by the hour. Downstairs is the listening room, where local musicians play evenings on weekends.
Greet even reached out to connect with other businesses in the area. One 104th Street business, C'est Sera, makes use of the Axis boardroom on occasion.
In return, Kelly from C'est Sera comes in to help serve at Axis on Fridays.
Back at Credo, Linden explains how temperature is critical for making the perfect cup of coffee. If milk is steamed to the right temperature, he says, the fats convert to sugars. Heat milk too much, though, and it scalds.
"We're not coffee Nazis, but it's our job to serve the best we can," says Linden.
It will take their best for Credo and Axis to survive against the giants in the coffee world. Starbucks, Second Cup and Tim Hortons are niche killers.
But Greet thinks people are growing bored with the contrived and replicated culture. They crave unique, local experiences.
"Quantity tends to lose out to quality," he says.
I pray he's right. Credo and Axis are completely unique. There's no other place exactly like them in the world.
Yes, they're more expensive than Tims. But they 'feel' special, like a vibrant local painting come to life.
And the coffee is far superior. Quite a kick to it, in fact.
Now if you'll excuse me, I need a nap.
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