Serious Coffee started in Duncan, BC in 1994 and through several changes and a couple of moves over the years, our company returned to Duncan where it once again calls home. The original roasting store was in Duncan and the first expansion outlet was in the Town & Country Mall in Victoria. We have now grown to include 14 locations on Vancouver Island, one in Powell River and one soon to open in New Westminster, all thanks to our wonderfully loyal customers.
We purchase our coffee beans from all over the world and accept only Arabica beans, which are the best quality available. We have expanded our selection to include organic, fairly-traded and Swiss Water Decaf options while ensuring that all our coffee choices are flavourful and roasted to perfection. Unlike some other coffee companies, we do not use flames to roast our coffee but rather use an air roaster, similar to a hot air popcorn popper. By choosing to air roast, we avoid the hazard of producing a bitter or burnt tasting coffee. Over and over again, dark coffee lovers tell us how much they appreciate being able to enjoy a dark roast without having to endure the bitter aftertaste that many coffees leave behind. To learn what bird-friendly and shade-grown means and the impact it has on our environment, click on Our Coffee Beans.
Our claim of having the freshest coffee available is not simply a merchandising slogan but is the very philosophy by which we do business. We provide just-in-time roasting, which means we will only roast the coffee once one of our cafés has made an order with the coffee being delivered the very next day. We have two delivery trucks that bring our coffee and baked goods to our cafés, ensuring that there are no delays in the process from roasting plant to store.
We have also built our own bakery, located alongside our roasting plant in Duncan, which allows us to ensure the products being served at each of our stores, is fresh and made from the best ingredients.
The components creating our success is our dedication to always produce the best coffee possible, customer service that is second-to-none and remaining as we began, recognizing that without our customers, the rest would be pointless. This understanding has translated itself into our cafés being franchise-owned by people working and living in the same communities as they are located. Serious Coffee as a whole has made a deliberate effort to support those same communities in a variety of ways such as promotional products, fundraising opportunities, donations to various events, just to name a few. To learn more about our community involvement and how we can support your organization, click on Community Support.