New Single Origin Coffee Available Now El Tambor, Guatemala is a stunning coffee — it’s a clean, lively cup with focused structure — and comes from a producer new to us, the ingenious Victor Calderon. Victor represents the 5th [ … ] Read More
Introducing the Classic Blend Series, with Mocha-Java
New Coffee Blend Available Now Single origin coffees are special because they express sense of place. But a unique combination of these coffees, roasted and blended just right, creates a complexity and harmony rare in a single origin. The [ … ] Read More
Taste Coffee At JJ Bean July 2017
Taste some of Vancouver’s best coffees at JJ Bean Taste coffees at JJ Bean, learn about the specialty coffee selection process and what professional coffee graders look for in great coffee. Tasting coffee (cupping, in coffee lingo) is linked [ … ] Read More
Coffee guide
Coffee seems complicated: innumerable factors influence the aromas, tastes, and structure in a cup before it’s even roasted. We want to make you smarter about coffee and help you to choose coffees that you will enjoy drinking with this [ … ] Read More
How to taste coffee
Our guiding principle is “the best taste wins.” But when we taste coffee, what are we tasting for? There’s plenty of jargon in coffee tasting, but these basics help discern what you want and what you don’t. Ultimately you [ … ] Read More
New Coffee – June 16, 2017
New Coffee Available Now! Los Naranjos, Colombia from 15 small farmers in Huila, Colombia. Los Naranjos is a very pleasant, sweet coffee that we offer almost every year, produced by fifteen small coffee growers from the areas of La [ … ] Read More
New Coffee – June 9, 2017
New Coffee Available Now! Othaya by smallholder farmers in Nyeri, Kenya. This coffee is a combination of three of our favourite lots from the Othaya Farming Cooperative Society (FCS) in Nyeri County, Kenya. The coffee grows on the eastern [ … ] Read More
New Coffee – June 2, 2017
New Coffee Available Now! Kochere, Ethiopia by smallholder farmers in Yirgacheffe, Ethiopia. When you buy this special coffee, $2.00 from every pound goes directly to build a Kindergarten in Ethiopia through our imagine1day project. Kochere is sourced from family-owned farms [ … ] Read More
Taste Coffee At JJ Bean June 2017
Taste some of Vancouver’s best coffees at JJ Bean Taste coffees at JJ Bean, learn about the specialty coffee selection process and what professional coffee graders look for in great coffee. Tasting coffee (cupping, in coffee lingo) is linked [ … ] Read More
JJ Bean X imagine1day Building A Kindergarten In Ethiopia
UPDATE: #tipyourbarista on Friday July 21. Your baristas and bakers are donating all tips on July 21 to support the school build project. We’re matching all donations up to $15,000USD. We’re always blown away by the generosity of our [ … ] Read More
Taste Finca El Injerto’s Reserva del Comendador 2017
Taste Finca El Injerto’s Reserva del Comendador with JJ Bean on June 1st and 2nd, 2017. Join us for a rare opportunity to taste some of the highest quality coffee in the world and experience the different varietals from [ … ] Read More
New Coffee – May 19, 2017
New Coffee Available Now! Gold Coffee by Gold Coffee Collective from the community of Patalito in Huila, Colombia. Gold Coffee is a collection of farmers from the community of Pitalito in Huila, Colombia. This is not an official cooperative but [ … ] Read More
Taste Coffee At JJ Bean May 2017
Taste some of Vancouver’s best coffees at JJ Bean Taste coffees at JJ Bean, learn about the specialty coffee selection process and what professional coffee graders look for in great coffee. Tasting coffee (cupping, in coffee lingo) is linked [ … ] Read More
New Coffee – April 28, 2017
New Coffee Available Now! Kagumo, Kenya by smallholder farmers from Nyeri, Kenya. An incredibly juicy and aromatic new crop coffee from Kenya. The Kagumo Factory processes coffee from farmers who generally have half acre plots averaging 250 coffee trees grown [ … ] Read More
New Coffee – April 14, 2017
New Coffee Available Now! Santa Clara, Guatemala by Ricardo Zelaya from Finca Santa Clara. Finca Santa Clara holds a special place in our hearts. Many of us at JJ Bean have visited this beautiful farm and experienced the Zelaya family’s [ … ] Read More
New Coffee – April 7, 2017
New Coffee Available Now! Las Marias, Colombia from The Women of Las Marias Group in Huila, Colombia is super sweet and supports such a great cause: Las Marias’ mission is centred on family prosperity and generational renewal. The group [ … ] Read More
Taste Coffee at JJ Bean April 2017
Taste some of Vancouver’s best coffees at JJ Bean Taste coffees at JJ Bean, learn about the specialty coffee selection process and what professional coffee graders look for in great coffee. Tasting coffee (cupping, in coffee lingo) is linked [ … ] Read More
New Coffee – March 31, 2017
New Coffee Available Now! Dry processed Yellow Catuai from Carmo Estate in Minas Gerais, Brazil.This dry-processed Yellow Catuai tastes much richer than Carmo Estate’s standard pulped natural Bourbon. Tastes: mellow, dense cocoa, roasted nuts, touch of winy complexity. Unlike the [ … ] Read More
New Coffee – March 17, 2017
New coffee available now Just in time for spring Takengon, Indonesia by Koperasi Kopi Gayo Organic Co-op in Aceh, Sumatra. Takengon is grown in volcanic loam soil and is certified Fair Trade and Organic. Full-bodied with low-acidity, tastes: full, mellow, sweet herbs. [ … ] Read More
Taste Coffee At JJ Bean March 2017
Taste some of Vancouver’s best coffees at JJ Bean Taste coffees at JJ Bean, learn about the specialty coffee selection process and what professional coffee graders look for in great coffee. Tasting coffee (cupping, in coffee lingo) is linked [ … ] Read More
JJ Bartley One Year Anniversary Party – March 8th
One Year Anniversary Promotions At JJ Bartley One year since we opened the doors of our Toronto HQ, roastery, commissary, and first cafe in the GTA: JJ Bean Bartley! Let’s party. Wednesday, March 8th at JJ Bartley ALL DAY [ … ] Read More
New Coffee – February 10, 2017
New coffee available now El Injerto “Pandora” by Arturo Aguirre Sr. & Jr. in Huehuetenango, Guatemala is a repeat winner at the Cup Of Excellence. This pacamara microlot is one of the best coffees from one of the best coffee farms in the [ … ] Read More
New Coffees – February 3, 2017
New coffees available now Worka, Ethiopia by Gelgelu Edema is an exceptional natural process coffee from the famed Yirgacheffe region of Ethiopia. This a berry bomb flavour blast, which we roasted slightly darker than usual for our Single Origins to develop [ … ] Read More
Taste Coffee At JJ Bean February 2017
Taste some of Vancouver’s best coffees at JJ Bean Taste coffees at JJ Bean, learn about the specialty coffee selection process and what professional coffee graders look for in great coffee. Tasting coffee (cupping, in coffee lingo) is linked [ … ] Read More
New Coffees – January 20, 2017
Two new coffees available today Remera, Rwanda by Epiphanie Mukashyaka in Nyamagabe is the perfect “gateway” African coffee, delivering the fruity complexity of the region in a subtle, approachable package. Tastes: clear, subtle, cranberry, clove. Tarqui, Colombia by Mirian Yunda, Yobani Ramos, [ … ] Read More
Taste Coffee At JJ Bean January 2017
Taste some of Vancouver’s best coffees at JJ Bean Taste coffees at JJ Bean, learn about the specialty coffee selection process and what professional coffee graders look for in great coffee. Tasting coffee (cupping, in coffee lingo) is linked [ … ] Read More
Celebrating 20 Years December 6-10th 2016!
The Neate family has been roasting coffee in Vancouver for four generations. In 1996, John Neate Jr. established JJ Bean Coffee Roasters to honour people through great coffee, food, spaces, and service. This year we opened JJ Bean in [ … ] Read More
JJ Bean Holiday Hours
JJ Bean Coffee Roaster’s holiday hours for the 2016 winter holiday season. Merry Christmas! Read More
UPDATED Help Haiti: Friday November 18 Fundraiser
UPDATE: This was a huge success thanks to the incredible generosity of all our customers, raising a total of $16,000 to send to Haiti. We are always amazed at the response we get for our disaster relief fundraisers. Thank you [ … ] Read More
BRAZIL 2016 Single Origin Trip
Words by Grady Buhler, Coffee Quality Leader Photographs by David Long, Roasting Supervisor Brazil Single Origin Trip 2016 Brazil 2016: Many of you know that we purchase coffee from Carmo Estate in Brazil on a yearly basis for our [ … ] Read More
Help Sam fight for the Downtown Eastside
Sam Griffin, our retail manager at JJ Bean False Creek, is boxing in this year’s Restaurant Rumble. Help Sam reach her Aprons For Gloves fundraising goal of $2000 by July 22. You can donate now through Sam’s Fundrazr page. [ … ] Read More
Special Auction Lot Cupping
JJ MAIN (3010 MAIN STREET) THURSDAY MAY 26 + FRIDAY MAY 27 AT 1:00PM FREE ATTENDANCE, ALL ARE WELCOME, NO RSVP REQUIRED Every year, Finca El Injerto auctions off their best beans from different micro lots on their farm [ … ] Read More
JJ Bean Cold Brew Coffee
We are proud to introduce a new member of the JJ family: JJ Bean Cold Brew in a convenient to-go carton! (It’s ok, do a happy dance—we certainly are!) We figured you might have some questions about this new [ … ] Read More
Coffee Importers and Exporters: The Unsung Heroes of Specialty Coffee
Going forward, we have decided to include the name of the importer when communicating information about our coffees. When JJ Bean acts as the importer, we will include the name of the exporter. As a whole, the specialty coffee [ … ] Read More
Over $12,000 Raised for Nepal!
On April 25, a devastating earthquake struck Nepal and the surrounding region. With many aftershocks, and another earthquake that hit just two weeks later, the region is in dire need of aid. On May 8, our staff offered their day’s tips to [ … ] Read More
Habitat 2015: Guatemala
This year’s Habitat team was comprised of 12 JJ staffers. Through the support of our AMAZING customers, the team was able to help build three homes in Guatemala—one in Chiquimula, and two others in the Antigua region. We will [ … ] Read More
Story Telling Night
Over the past year, our Habitat Team has been hard at work fundraising for their Spring 2015 trip to Guatemala to build homes with Habitat for Humanity Canada. Thanks to our incredibly generous customers and sponsors, they’ve nearly reached [ … ] Read More
Habitat Team Updates
This year’s team of 12 JJ Staff have been busy little fundraising bee’s, working towards their trip to Guatemala in Spring 2015 to build homes with Global Village. The generosity of our customers has been overwhelming, with their donations totalling [ … ] Read More
Origin Trip 2014: South America
Carmo Estate, Brazil: June 11 – 13, 2014 Neto Franco and I arrived in Pouso Alegre (specifically Heliodora) to see Carmo Estate on June 11. Tulio Junqueira greeted us enthusiastically and straight away we went to view his farm. [ … ] Read More
Habitat Trip 2013: El Salvador
It all began with a deep desire to give back. To be able to make a direct impact to the countries that work so hard for us as a company, and that provide us with our careers, is a [ … ] Read More
Origin Trip 2014: Guatemala
Words by Grady Buhler, JJ Bean Coffee Quality Leader Photos by David Long, JJ Bean Roasting Supervisor (L-R): JJ, Grady, David, Jesse, Arturo Jr. (of Finca El Injerto) DAY 1: ADISQUE The trip started off on the right foot [ … ] Read More
JJ Bean 2013 Donation Report
2013 was another fantastic year for JJ Bean. We welcomed new staff, new customers—and we were welcomed into new neighbourhoods with our new cafés! 2013 was also a very successful donation year for us. And we couldn’t have done [ … ] Read More
Friday November 29: Philippines Fundraiser
On Friday November 8, Typhoon Haiyan made landfall in the Philippines. The devastation would continue for several days, leaving the country in a state of emergency. Currently the death-toll is 5,500 and rising, nearly 2,000 people are missing, and [ … ] Read More
Jim Green Plaque at Woodward’s
On Tuesday October 15, 2013, JJ Bean unveiled a plaque in our Woodward’s café honouring Jim Green for his leadership in the re-development of the Woodward’s site. The Woodward’s building was originally constructed as the Woodward’s department store in 1903. Commercially the [ … ] Read More
We got a makeover!
If you’re reading this, you can see we got a virtual makeover! The wonderful people at Forge and Smith have brought us into the present day—our locations are easier to find, our shop is easier to navigate, and overall [ … ] Read More