Brewing a better life for women
Bean & Barrel brings craft coffee to Niagara
Lisa Javor drank a lot of lattes in university.
They were usually amped up with two extra shots of espresso. Sometimes Javor would change up her java jolt, trading in her usual frothy, milky joe for a regular cup with a single espresso shot.
The caffeine got the St. Catharines woman through her late night study sessions at University of Guelph while earning her science degree. Mostly, though, sipping on a hot cuppa provided a bit of a reprieve from the demands of higher learning.
“It was not only a method to stay up and study until two in the morning, it was also about taking a break and re-energizing,” Javor recalled. “If anyone told you the amount of coffee I drank in university, I would be hooked up to an IV.”
These days, coffee provides Javor another kind of escape. It’s enabled her to give up her corporate 9-5 job to launch Niagara’s newest independent coffee roaster, Bean & Barrel Coffee Roasters.
It was a leap Javor was compelled to take earlier this year after attending Coffee Fest, a hepped-up trade show in honour of its namesake, in Chicago last fall. As she took in the exhibits dedicated to one of world’s most popular beverages (tea is actually tops), Javor fell in love with the entire process of getting java from bean to cup.
The master of drinking coffee was fascinated by every step: growing it to processing it, roasting it to pouring it.
“And how every stage in the process affects flavour. It’s very similar to wine in terms of the process … to get a final product,” she explained.
Next, Javor headed to Ithaca, N.Y., to sample the work of coffee roasters there and experience a culture where joe is more than a beverage. It’s a social outing, she said.
“It’s the social culture of coffee that drew me to coffee. From there I learned how to appreciate a good cup of coffee from a great cup of coffee.”
The difference is in the taste and complexity, she explained. Is it smooth and bright? Fruity or filled with cocoa and malty notes? There are even beans suited to drinking at certain times of day, or hot or cold, she learned.
Javor was eager to bring that craft coffee culture back to Niagara. The region already had St. Catharines-based wholesaler Signal Coffee Roasters, she noted, while The Black Sheep Lounge in Welland roasts its own beans for their brews.
There was room for more locally roasted mocha, however. Room for Javor to live her passion of preparing and selling high quality beans at the Niagara-on-theLake Farmers Market and as the espresso supplier to Ludology Board Game Café in St. Catharines.
Bean & Barrel beans, including a fruity wine barrel-aged brew that pairs well with dark chocolate and strawberry jam, are also available at The Main Bakery & Café in Welland and at Niagara Food Co. in St. Catharines.
“It’s very prevalent in the U.S. and in Toronto, but the craft coffee scene hasn’t really trickled down to Niagara yet,” Javor said.
In the process of keeping the region caffeinated, Javor is changing the world one bag of locally roasted, single-origin, organic and fair trade beans at a time.
Bean & Barrel bills itself as a Niagara-based, female-centric small batch coffee roaster that enhances opportunities for women by sourcing beans from female coffee producers in South America through Café Feminino Foundation. The non-profit helps women in coffee communities take on more leadership roles, own the land upon which they farm, and earn a premium for the beans they produce.
Javor also plans to donate some of the money she earns this year from Bean & Barrel to support foundation grants to improve life for everyone in coffee communities, be it by building libraries and early education centres, or providing funding to keep young people in school.
“It’s the empowerment of women in centres where they don’t typically have positions of power. It also improves community life, not just for individual families,” Javor explained. “Even though it limits the types of coffee I offer at the moment, I’m very passionate about how it empowers women. I believe any business has a responsibility to the community they’re in as well as respecting everywhere in the supply chain. Whether it’s women or other farmers, they deserve respect and acknowledgement for their products.”
Closer to home, Javor will support local women’s charities with some of the proceeds from sales of her beans that come from Brazil, Mexico and Guatemala. All the while she’ll encourage people to make drinking coffee more than just a perfunctory act to perk us up.
“Coffee should be a treat,” Javor said. “It can be part of your day-to-day routine but it should make your day better.”
Tiffany Mayer is the author of “Niagara Food: A Flavourful History of the Peninsula’s Bounty.” She blogs about food and farming at timeforgrub.com. twitter.com/eatingniagara