transcend coffee

Roastery & Espresso Bar

Transcend Coffee Roastery and Espresso Bar is located at 9869 - 62 Ave. in Edmonton, Alberta.

Transcend Coffee is an Edmonton based artisan coffee roaster dedicated to providing the freshest and highest quality coffee possible.  We source our specialty coffee from all over the globe via our trusted importers and a growing number of direct sources to find some of the best coffees on the planet.  We roast it daily to ensure that you get the freshest coffee possible and sell it by the pound or half-pound.  We also operate a sophisticated and inviting espresso bar, where we have exceptionally trained barista's who make coffee like it was meant to be, so that you get to drink it the way it was meant to taste.

You can reach us by phone at (780) 430-9198 or by email at info@transcendcoffee.com

We are open for business on:

Monday - Friday 7:30 am - 5:30 pm
Saturdays 9:30 am - 5:00 pm
Closed Sundays and Holidays

Latitude: 53° 29’ 51.602” N

Longitude: 113° 29’ 35.336” W

Altitude: 659 meters above sea level

Technivorms Expected on October 17th

Our next shipment of Technivorms are expected on the 17th of October.  We appreciate everyone's patience in this regard.  The uncertainty of International shipping is always a bit frustrating, but be assured that unless the boat sinks, or is hijacked by pirates, they will be here shortly.  For more information on the Technivorm Coffee Brewer please follow this link.

Freshly Roasted Kona

Just to let all you fans of Kona, we have just roasted Kona for the weekend and have about 10 (1/2 lb) bags available for sale.  We are limiting sales to one bag per person, to ensure that everyone gets a fair chance at getting some of their beloved Kona; the cost per 1/2lb bag is $18.

Terroir Redefined

A couple of weeks ago, I had the distinct pleasure of doing a wine tasting with the wine maker of Osoyoos Larose, Pascal Madevon.  During his presentation on the winery, he talked about terroir, as I fully expected him to do as he is an exceptional wine maker in the long and distinguished tradition of great Bordeaux's.  The French understand terroir better than most, and I thought I understood terroir too.  And yet, I had the opportunity to be a student that day - my favorite thing - and allow Pascal to redefine for me my understanding of terroir.  Perhaps the word redefined is a bit overreaching, and more accurately should be called an expansion of my previous definition.  Pascal defined terroir as that which includes the place where the vines grow, the soil in which they grow, the environment, and new for me was the people under whose care the vines grow. 

In all honesty I had never included people into my definition of terroir before, and yet with some thought, it became obvious to me that the people who grow and make are essential to the complete definition of terroir.  What is clear is that the soil, the vine and the weather could all be the same, but the people ultimately take the grapes and determine the final character of the wine.  Some will allow the grapes to speak for themselves, and others will want to manipulate and massage to shape the grapes into something more than they would be on their own.  In short, the people can work towards releasing the character within the grapes, and let the terroir speak, or they can work to enhance or minimize the perceptibility of terroir.

As I applied this notion to the world of coffee, it fits perfectly as well.  People are a key ingredient in the process of coffee, perhaps even more so than in the world of wine.  As I reflect on my time in Panama, and all of the people I met, I am reminded of the impact and direction that each individual gives to thier own coffee operation.  They determine what varietal gets planted, and where, at what altitude the coffee gets planted.  They determine when to pick the cherries and who will pick.  They will determine ultimately whether only ripe red cherries get picked (highest quality) or whether the coffee will be something less.  They determine how the coffee is processed and ultimately determine the over-arching quality reflected in the bean.  In short, the people can assist in unleashing the inherent characteristics within the bean, or they can inadvertantly prevent it from ever being recognized.  I met some people in Panama who work at unleashing the bean (the Peterson's, the Berard's, Carlos Aguilera) and when I go back to Panama in January, I know I will meet some more people committed to unleashing the bean, and in turn, understand the notion of terroir even better than I do now.

Beyond Hedonism

I am in Lethbridge for a few days, and away from the hustle and bustle of the shop.  Away from the fray, I always find more time to ponder, do a little reading and typically, I have more time to write.  In fact, this week away is more of a working holiday, than a real time away, as I have much to accomplish.

One of the things I want to do is read and write with a bit of focus.  This morning I started reading Matt Kramer's book, Making Sense of Wine, which has inspired this post.  By the way, it is too early for me to say much about the book, other than I appreciate the wisdom and candor of its writer.  Matt Kramer is my favorite writer for the Wine Spectator.  If I read nothing else in a new addition, I will read Matt's piece as it always offers me something to chew on, more than just information and knowledge.

You may or may not know that I am a into wine almost as much as I am into coffee.  This is why Transcend II will have a wine tasting component to it.  I love to be able to incorporate my passions into my world of work.  It just makes it that much easier to get up in the mornings.  There is a vast landscape in both the world of wine and coffee, and a good deal of that landscape is shared when it comes to the realm of passion and appreciation.  This crossover lends itself to the title of this post - beyond hedonism - in that my work and life has moved from simply an acknowledgment of what I like or dislike, to a place of authentic desire to experience, understand, enjoy, and communicate.  I get called a coffee and wine snob almost daily, and it is a label which I begrudgingly wear, although I would prefer "connoisseur" to be honest, despite the baggage that this label comes with.  Matt writes "the simplest, and perhaps best, definition is that a connoisseur is one who can distinguish between what he or she likes, and what is good.  The two are by no means always the same."

This for me is the heart of what we do at Transcend.  It is true that we are intense about our coffee, that we cajole and taste and poke and prod, and that we are rarely satisfied.  It is true that we can talk ad nausea about coffee, and that we use words like terroir, finish, body, palate and a myriad of other descriptors.  Yet despite all of this, we simply endeavor to enjoy coffee (or wine) more and more each day and at the same time, we desire to infect others with that same desire.  We want to educate our customers about where coffee comes from, the bean, the soil, the people (terroir) so that others too, might begin to move beyond hedonism.  We can all state with certainty what we like or dislike.  It takes a connoisseur (budding or accomplished) to state that while they may not personally like this or that, they can say with authority that it is good nonetheless.  In the world of Walmart and "made in China" it is becoming increasingly important to give voice and recognition to quality wherever we find it.  While I may not be the biggest fan of Merlot or coffee from Costa Rica, I need to be able to set aside my own preferences and be able to recognize and acknowledge quality in both when it is present.  And more than that, I think that the journey towards connoisseurship is simply stated a journey where we take time in our crazy busy lives to look around, and enjoy the scenary.  Or as Matt says, let's be more than tourists of life, zipping by on its road, only looking out the window at the blurry things we speed by.  Instead, let us endeavor to walk the road of life; we may not get there as quickly, but when we do finally arrive at our destination, we will be able to say that we experienced the country-side and more than that, we enjoyed the journey along the way.   

Change: Always a disruption

While change is inevitable, and is more than not, a good thing, it is always disruptive.  No matter how positive change is, it always disrupts routines and patterns of our existence.  Transcend has undergone a lot of change in a very short period of time.  Our team, expanded by the joining of Chad Moss (Canadian Prairie Regional Barista Champion) in March, underwent more change as he got married in July, followed recently by Andrew just 10 days ago.  Added to this huge change is the departure of one of our barista warriors, Troy Archie, who has now moved to Vancouver and is now slinging shots for the Elysian Room.  Schedules are further disrupted as Chad trains like a madman for the National Championships in October, adding 4 to 5 hours to his already long (self-imposed) days.  And Andrew is planning to venture out of the shop to try his hand at selling coffee for a few days a week, and this is all just for starters.

I am constantly dealing with change, both in terms of overall scope, business development, business demands, economic changes (a bit scary right at the moment) coffee profile changes, coffee supply changes, customer changes in demands and expectations.  Changes that are both self-imposed, self-created and than those which are instigated from forces beyond our control.  All of this to simply say that change is both constant and disruptive.  For the most part I like change, as it brings with it new challenges, and frankly, I have never been one to fall in love with routine.  Having said that, I must admit that the constant reality of change is often exhausting.  So much of my mental energy is consumed with managing both real and perceived change; wondering and planning on how to adjust and meet new expectations.  Honestly, some days it would be nice to just have a few of those days strung together with NO change (but only a few).

Perhaps that is why I like coffee as much as I do, in that it too, is always changing.  The truth is that it is hard to get the same shot of espresso at Transcend two days in a row, or two hours in a row for that matter.  This is not to say that we don't work extremely hard at consistency, but there are just too many factors at play outside of our control.  Humidity changes, temperature changes, the coffee changes too, barista's change, all of these and many more elements play into the instability of both yours and my perception of Transcend coffee.  Add this to the mix of us intentionally changing our coffee, constantly striving to make it better, constantly working to source better green, and the bottom line is that change is both inevitable at Transcend, and to a greater or lesser extent, will always be disruptive.  But then as the saying goes, variety is the spice of life.

Oh, by the way, we just got in a new coffee from Panama, Lot 87 from Finca Santa Teresa.  This is one change that is full of promise, and one change around the shop which you must avail yourself of, as soon as possible... really it is that good.  Well until the weather changes (after all we do live in Alberta) I will sign off and get some much needed sleep... perhaps it is my exhaustion that leads to these rambling and strange philosophical diatribes?  And then again, perhaps nothing changes?

Hot New Coffee on the Way

I am excited about a new arrival soon to hit the back door at Transcend.  We are about to receive a new Kenyan which we think is one of the best coffees that we have tasted in a long time.  I personally scored this coffee 90 plus points (out of 100).  For more information on this offering, and to pre-order your first bag or two, click here.

The fun begins

We just finished part one of Andrew's betrothal weekend. We covered Andrew with much paint and now we are into the food. By the way we are closed at 1pm on Saturday for the wedding.

New Links for Transcend

Transcend has a few new places where we are being promoted.  Well, in fact, only one of the sites are brand new, and the coffeecrew.com site is just featuring a new banner.  Why do you care?  You might not, but we are always looking for places and people who share our passion and are willing to cross-promote not only our product but tell our story as we tell theirs in turn.  The other new site featuring our banner is www.sifteverything.com a great blog dealing with innovation in the market place.

Transcend Part II with SMIBS TV

The second installment of the Smibs TV feature on Transcend is now available.  In this segment we actually get down to doing a cupping with host Peter Urban.  They also have a short blog post on branding over on the Smibs blog.

Transcend featured on Smibs TV

Today, a locally operated WebTV, Smibs TV, released the first of a two part series featuring your's truly.  If you want to learn a bit about the history of Transcend, it is a great watch.  We are really pleased with the broadcast and are happy to plug Peter and his crew and the new work they are doing in the world of small business in the city of Edmonton, and hopefully beyond very soon.  So check out tv.smibs.com and watch the broadcast.  They are releasing Part Two (cupping on WebTV, cool!) on Wednesday.