Photo Essay
Creating an experience with local coffee artisans as we reach normalcy
Featured in: Issue 14, Teagal Magazine

A customer sitting outside of Café 1792, enjoying a freshly made iced coffee while watching the busy streets in Bromont, Qc.

EASTERN TOWNSHIPS – Outside the city of Montreal, local cafés have changed their regulations now that they are in zone green. Throughout the year, cafés in the area have expanded, relocated and reinvented their approach to artisanal coffee and can now share this experience with incoming customers. According to Go Ahead Tours, the café culture is rooted in 17th century Europe, surrounding affordability and local community; these values have translated into the local cafés in the Eastern Townships.

The preparation of an iced latte at Rendez-Vous Café in Cowansville, Qc.

The Eastern Townships spans from Farnham to Sherbrooke, consisting of hundreds of local cafés across the Estrie that serve various crafted coffees and meals. The local café culture is an experience citizens enjoy because it tailors to those deeply rooted in the community. Additionally, the lifting of restrictions is specific to this area, allowing locals to be around locals, adding to the historical values of café culture.

The preparation of a frappé at Virgin Hill Coffee in Foster, Qc.

Serving customers who can sit and enjoy the atmosphere once again is a gift to the owners of these cafés. Coffee corporations that span from continent-to-continent struggle in creating an atmosphere for their consumers. SafeGraph, a date collection service, revealed that customers stay longer at local cafés in comparison to the chain corporations. The environment that many local cafés create is a vibe that attracts an assortment of people that form a community.

The entrance of Rendez-Vous Café in Cowansville, Qc.

Artisanal cafés are grounded in using what is available in the area. These cafés pride themselves on locally roasted coffee and locally sourced ingredients for their menu. Virgin Hill Coffee Roasters provide many of the local cafés with an assortment of their locally roasted coffee, in addition Virgin Hill Coffee has expanded their own café, giving consumers a chance to enjoy coffee from the source.

A selection of ingredients at Virgin Hill Coffee in Foster, Qc.

As years passed, the incorporation of new ingredients to create flavours in the coffee experience expanded. This expansion allows cafés to approach coffee with a twist. Over the years a variety of consumers have come into cafés looking for more than ‘drip coffee,’ but a flavourful experience combined with their daily dose of caffeine. The products that cafés keep stock of ranges from flavours, to an assortment of milk alternatives, thinking outside the box and providing an inclusive experience for the pallets of all coffee lovers.

The preparation of a hot latte during the fall at Virgin Hill Coffee in Foster, Qc.

Cafés take honour in the delicacy and love they put into their coffee to welcome back their local community. Cafés have changed regulations throughout the pandemic, some of which had to close for a period of time. When we invest in local, we are supporting the health and wellness of our community. For local cafés getting our daily caffeine dose never tasted as good, because they ensure the perfect craft every time.