Good coffee fairly made.
We want to recapture the term 'good'. The modern marketing world's in an ever escalating pursuit of grander superlatives; an arms race with words. We call our coffee good because it is. We've not tasted better coffee, but ultimately, that judgement is yours to make. Neat Coffee Shop sprouted out of personally held theories that doing things well is important, out of a need in the Ottawa valley for a place to relax and just contemplate and an admiration for the European way of life.
We serve incredible coffee, tea, espresso-based drinks iced or frappe'd, Smoothies, Granitas, and Italian Sodas. These are made from products fairly sourced and as local as the seasons allow.
people...
...started with Jason Haeger, a past Soutwetern Regional Barista Competitor from Texas. Our team was quickly brought to an elite level of coffee service. We really cannot say enough about Jason's prefessionalism and integrity...
tools....
...we feel you'd be hard pressed to find a better setup for a coffee junkie; La Marzocco Mistral (Handmade in Italy), Mazzer grinders (Consensus with Baristas and Coffee zealots the world over is that Mazzer is the standard bearer for grinders), Compak Grinders (a high quality bulk grinder), The Clover (Starbuck's recently purchase this company and stopped selling the machines. We were lucky enough to get one through Elyssian Coffee in BC prior to the shut down), French Presses from Bodom (simply a better way to make coffee then a drip brewer).
beans and leaves...
...roasted on site in our Sivetz 8lb Fluid Bed Roaster. Our green beans are sourced through the incredible knowledge and Farm Gate interactions of Sweet Marias and the social conscience of Cafe Femenino. We are confident in our quality now that we use our own beans exclusively. For our tea, we have recently made a commitment to go with Rishi Tea in Wisonsin. Four our Chai, we use The Chai Company in Vancouver.
fairness...
We put a lot of effort behind the fairness of our sources. We were surprised to find that relying entirely on certification logos did not guarantee our standards by any stretch of the imagination (tea criteria being much better than coffee). We continue to lobby these organizations about the loopholes in their certification criteria, additional bureaucracy is not what the farmers and honest coops in poorer countries need. We purchase certified green beans and teas, but we rely on a trust of very few suppliers who in turn are supplied directy from the farmers and coops. This is the only way to ensure the relationship with the farmers and their communities is fair.
breadth...
...ranging from the beans (roasted and green) and teas we use. We sell two home espresso makers Expobar and Rancillio, home Grinders from Bodum, Baratza, Rancillio and Compak, home roasters, tampers from Reg Barber, Espresso Gear from Beyond the Bean, travel mugs and thermos's (finally ones that work) from Stanley, Cold Drinks from Boylans Soda, Fizzy Lizzy, Elixia, Firefly, Water from VOSS, Ty Nant and tap! Chocolate from Theo. I'm going to stop listing stuff now ;-) You'll have to drop in and see us.
