This text is part of the special book Plaisirs
Sometimes the best products are found where you least expect them. Along a quiet street, a country road or even a commercial corridor, we come across unexpected little treasures, like so many good surprises that remain etched in our memories. This is the case with certain cafés and roasteries, whether or not they are displayed as such, where know-how takes precedence over location and decoration. A short tour of caffeinated gems a thousand miles from the flashy trendy establishments!
Direction rue Jean-Talon, at the corner of rue des Écores, in Montreal. This relatively unknown portion of the Villeray district, at the gates of the Petit Maghreb, has been home to Zezin for five years, a café whose exterior looks like a canteen or convenience store. Once through the front door, you discover a very simple decor, a pastry counter and a selection of micro-roasted coffees. Because, yes, a barista operates on site… and not just any barista! Pedro Furtado is actually the reigning Canadian champion of the World Aeropress Championship, an international blind coffee brewing competition.
Who would have suspected it? Certainly not us or, by his own admission, Pedro himself. “It’s fun, but I hated coffee before I opened the Zezin! he says, before confiding to us that he found the commercial coffees in Brazil, his homeland, too pungent, with a smoky taste. It was therefore as a doctoral student in engineering, and not at all a barista, that he arrived with his wife, Danielu Maia, in Quebec 12 years ago. But her better half, with a diploma from the Institut de tourisme et d’hôtellerie du Québec, wanted to open a pastry shop. “So, I accompanied her in her dream. And to serve coffees as good as his creations, I started to find out about this universe. »
Hunt the natural, it comes back at a gallop, says the saying. The curious and perfectionist engineer quickly mastered the art of coffee. “Then I got into competition in 2019. I love the feeling championships”, explains the man who finished second in Canada in his first participation, then first in the following one.
We don’t have the ambition to shine like a third wave cafe. For us, the important thing is that every customer who enters here feels welcome and is treated to quality pastries and coffee.
Café Zezin, as humble as it is, therefore offers a menu offering around fifteen coffees, from the traditional espresso to the original. latte Black Forest. But Pedro has also become a micro-roaster, to guarantee the freshness of his products. “We import all our beans from different Brazilian regions, he says, where we find a wide aromatic variety, ranging from chocolate to nuts, including strawberries, lemon or exotic fruits. I even have a coffee with notes of banana bread! »
We suspect that the range of coffees to be consumed at the Zezin or sold in packets is now as popular as the pastries of this small establishment that has passed under the radar. Why doesn’t Pedro take advantage of his notoriety as a champion by moving the Zezin to a more prominent location? “Because we are part of this neighborhood,” he replies simply. We don’t have the ambition to shine like a third wave cafe. For us, the important thing is that every customer who enters here feels welcome and is treated to quality pastries and coffee. »
A man and his microcafé
Let’s now leave the urban centers to go to Cap-au-Renard, a village of 35 houses and 75 inhabitants in Haute-Gaspésie. There, along Route 132, is what looks like a creamery or canteen. It was also one before Antoine Desrosiers bought this small building and the adjacent land in 2018 to install La Cafetière, a coffee counter open every summer, from Saint-Jean-Baptiste to Labor Day.
“People come here for a coffee break, with, if they want, small things to nibble on the side, before hitting the road”, says the one who, against all odds, started Mont-Café in 2013, a concept of microbrûlerie, in a place where we are more accustomed to buying rolls and ice cream on the go. However, various reasons pushed Antoine Desrosiers to embark on this surprising adventure: his passion for quality coffee, his desire to be an entrepreneur and to live in his region. “I realized that I could tie all of these together when I discovered in British Columbia that you didn’t have to be in town to roast and offer good coffee. And 12 years later, the stars aligned. »
Living year-round as a roaster in Haute-Gaspésie was not a foregone conclusion, Antoine Desrosiers knew that. With 12,000 residents scattered across the region, as well as a fluctuating number of tourists, he had to proceed step by step. That’s what he did by setting up his roastery…in a caravan! “I wanted to find the most economical way to produce,” he says. So, I bought a used 5 kilo roaster, around which I designed a custom-made 60 square foot trailer. Everything was there, even the counter for bagging! »
The entrepreneur nevertheless admits that the first three years of Mont-Café were difficult. “It worked because I’m a pig head. I worked a lot, I was patient and tightened my belt. But this resilience has paid off, since Antoine, who produces to order for individuals and small businesses in Gaspésie and Bas-Saint-Laurent, now has a slightly larger production room adjacent to this amazing coffee maker. become a summer gathering place. What exactly do we serve? “My vision is to offer a world tour of coffees, with a range of 12 organic coffees,” he explains. I have a preference for African beans, which are more delicate and fruity, but I offer drinks, as well as packs of blends, single-origin coffees and a decaffeinated coffee from all over. »