A.G.R.O. Roasters

Finding I had about a half hour to kill before my scheduled tour with Bomber, I stopped in here on a quiet Tuesday afternoon.
Immediately I was struck by how deserted this place was (Clark Drive, however, appears to have a lot of light to medium industrial businesses– perhaps they are busier at start of business day, or during lunch?)
Unfortunately, even allowing for post– lunch:
with NO ONE in the store (the lone shopkeeper was in another, well– windowed room), one half expects a tumbleweed to blow across the room.

If you’re fortunate enough to visit when the owner and roasting manager is there, you can use it as an educational experience. These guys know about coffee. I mean REALLY know, from plant to cup. We went for a ‘cupping’ just before they were going to be involved in an international competition so we got to try an unusual coffee. I was totally impressed with the whole operation. And the café is sweet too. I love that it’s in such an industrial area.

Tucked away from everything else, this Agro Café is mainly used for roasting those awesome little beans of glorious mornings. Get a drip coffee and choose between some finely-​roasted, perfectly and freshly ground beans. Have you heard of the Peaberry?
Have a chat with Blake and you’ll soon learn about the magical (and business) properties of ethical harvests and sourcing.
I’ve been to the other Agro Cafés around Vancouver, and I can safely say that I much appreciate the actual casualness of this location. Because it’s not solely a retail location, you’re not immediately hit with a waft of pretentious hipster attitude like in the other locations. I’m sorry, but I DO enjoy having a bit of cream in my coffee.

This (slightly strange) location of the Agro is primarily a roaster, and it’s really obvious when you go inside. It’s almost always dead, with one employee that jumps up from their seat on the counter when you walk in, looking sort of bewildered that there’s a customer.
Maybe because of this, though, the coffee here is really excellent. It’s sort of an uncomfortable place to sit and enjoy your cuppa, since it’s so quiet (save for the music that’s usually playing a bit too loud), but I’ve done it before, so it’s not impossible. They have food and treats available for sale, but I’m sort of wary given that their turnover seems so low.

This cute little annex café opened up on April 26^th. It’s got wraps and a pretty solid list of coffee and non-​coffee, some yummy chocolate chip cookies, and muffins. Finally a nice place on upper Clark Drive…