According to the Coffee Association of Canada, 63% of the population drinks coffee on a daily basis. Local business KAFA Espresso Bar Catering found a niche in a booming market. Independent café culture has spread like wildfire through the city, from the North End's beloved Java Blend (6027 North) to the South End's bookish Trident Booksellers & Café (1256 Hollis), to academic hubs Coburg Coffee House (6085 Coburg) and Just Us! (5896 Spring Garden), to downtown's java core Steve O'Renos Cappuccino (1536 Brunswick) and PaperChase (5228 Blowers).
On nearly every corner there is somewhere to get your fix, but what if you were throwing a huge birthday bash for a friend, planning a convention, a wedding or working tirelessly on a film set -how do you get a decent cup of Joe? You hire KAFA to make one. Owned and operate solely by Peter Burbridge, who just got his start back in May, he arrives dressed in his Sunday finest with Java Blend Coffee Roaster's espresso blend in tow wherever you need him. As he describes the blend to contain a South American, Central American and African coffee that was expertly blended together to produce a roast with deep chocolaty notes when mixed with milk and exhibit a pleasant spiciness and lingering fruit on the finish-my mouth waters to his caffeinated poetry.
“I thought of the idea for KAFA Espresso Bar Catering when I was teaching English in Korea,” says Burbridge. “I was planning to come back and start my MBA at Dalhousie with the goal of working in the coffee industry. I wanted to start a small business that I could manage part time while I was in school. Also I wanted to buy a La Marzocco GS/3, the Ferrari of espresso machines, for my own personal use.”
KAFA caters each individual event with two professional espresso grinders - regular and decaffeinated -and the La Marzocco GS/3 espresso machine, which can be easily set up in various locations. Don't choke back that syrupy cup of thick, stale coffee that accompanies other catering companies- order up an espresso, double or single. Not quite your style? Try an Americano. Or a macchiato. Maybe a cappuccino. What about a foamy latte? Other options include premium tea, chai latte’s and hot chocolate. The initial set up fee is $50 with an additional cost per drink, prices range from $2.00 to $4.00. Not bad considering a latte costs over five bucks at our American counterpart, Starbucks.
“Kafa is the name of a region in Ethiopia where the coffee tree is thought to have originated. For so long coffee was traded as a pure commodity and has been an example of an industry that exploits poor farmers in developing countries. Change has been slow, but within the last 10 years the culinary potential of coffee has begun to emerge into the mainstream.” For more information call 233-3531 or check out KAFA Espresso Bar
