Jun. 23, 2010 - Issue #766: G8
Profile
Haven feels like home
Nothing will keep Café Haven's owners from finding the perfect cup
SUNSHINE AND SYMMETRY >> » Michael and Julie Harvey on Café Haven's patio / Bryan Birtles
"I just got this new book by coffee guru Scott Rao. It's all about coffee brewing techniques, and I've been itching to try it out. Yeah, it was late, but it's the only time I can play around and test things out—the café is just too busy during the day."
Café Haven is the inspiration of Harvey and his wife, Julie, and began as a vision on the beaches of Thailand. Avid travellers, they dreamt of opening up their own place someday, one that would showcase some of the many flavours they'd experienced over the course of their adventures.
"People tend to develop emotional attachments to cafés, and everyone has a place they like to go," explains Julie. "We decided our café would combine great coffee and interesting food with a comfortable and relaxing atmosphere."
Michael's passion lies in the coffee side of the business—hence the all-night experimenting—while Julie presides over the food. Interesting, especially since Michael didn't even drink coffee when they embarked on this whole adventure.
Setting out to learn as much as possible about great coffee, they stopped at Transcend, an Edmonton-based coffee roastery that's quickly becoming legendary. "I was a diehard tea drinker until I tasted my first americano at Transcend. After that, I was hooked." Transcend schooled them in the art of making coffee, and all of the café's coffee is made from Transcend's top-quality arabica beans.
Michael insists that all their staff have barista training—"if you're going to do something, you can't be tokenistic about it"—and he's the one who trains them. Josh and Chad still come in from Transcend once in a while to do some tweaking, and Michael admits he's still learning—and probably always will be.
"Coffee is incredibly complex, and there are so many variables: the amount of coffee, the size of the grind, the quality and volume of the water ... it just goes on and on. I've spent so many hours and gone through so many pounds of coffee trying to get it just right—and I'm still not totally happy."
They're so serious about their coffee that they won't compromise the final product. That means no whipped cream on coffee drinks, no extra-hot milk and no long shots, period. "Everything we do, we do for a reason," Julie explains. "If you steam the milk so it's extra-hot, it sours it. That's a reflection on us and on Transcend. So we won't do something people shouldn't be drinking."
Coffee isn't the only thing that nourishes the soul, though, and that's where Julie comes in. She's the driving force behind the café's small but creative menu. "We're not about hot food," Julie stresses. "Soups, salads, sandwiches, snacks and baked goods, that's what we do. But what we do, we do well. And we make everything as interesting as possible."
We're talking sandwiches like chicken, strawberry, brie and fresh mint, or roasted pumpkin and feta with pesto.
The impetus for the roasted pumpkin sandwich comes from Julie's stint in Australia, where she says they put pumpkin in everything. "They even put it in pizza," Julie laughs. "The sandwich is sweet and salty, and every bite is full of goodness. Every bite makes you want more."
There are healthy options—like many of the soups and salads—as well as not-so-healthy-but-infinitely-delicious ones. Cakes, squares and cinnamon buns are just a few of the indulgences that might quite possibly find their way into your stomach. Oh, and then there are the pies.
"We do different pies all the time, but we always, always have pumpkin. It's my favourite pie ever," confesses Julie, "and you can usually only get it once, maybe twice, a year. That's such a shame because it's just so good. So here you can get it whenever—and however—you want it. Whipped cream, ice cream, hot, cold, whatever you like."
Everything is either made fresh in-house or home-baked by other local businesses. "That's why our stuff doesn't necessarily look the best; it's not mass-produced. But it tastes amazing." They try to use local ingredients, and Julie is hoping to add gluten-free sandwiches and baking to the menu soon.
Café Haven is all about great coffee, delicious food and a relaxing atmosphere. But it also hosts live music every Thursday night, holds a monthly Story Slam and offers an eclectic assortment of beer and wine. Oh, and don't forget the weekend brunches—almond-chocolate waffles with organic chocolate sauce, candied almonds and real whipped cream, anyone? The waffles do change weekly, so don't wander in expecting what you had last week. You can expect something inspired and delicious, though.
As Michael says, "Coming to Café Haven is like going to your best friend's house and having the best cup of coffee you've ever had." And a piece of pumpkin pie to go with it, of course. V
Recipe
Peanut Butter and
Banana Bread Pudding
Muffins
(from Michael and Julie Harvey)
Ingredients
3 eggs
6 cups of bread
1 1/2 cups of milk
1 tbsp pure vanilla extract
2 ripe bananas, mashed
1 tsp cinnamon
1/3 cup choc chunks (optional)
12 tsp of peanut butter (1 for each muffin)
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. Grease a muffin tin with oil to ensure nothing sticks.
3. Place everything except the bread, the choc chunks and the peanut butter in a large bowl and mix well.
4. Stir in the bread and allow to soak for at least five minutes (but the longer you leave it, the better).
5. Fill each muffin cup half full with the bread mixture and top with a tsp of peanut butter. Spoon the remaining bread mixture over top.
6. Bake in the top part of the oven for 35 minutes, or until nicely browned.
Makes 12 muffins. V
More info about Café Haven →
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