Mmmmmm…coffee. Tim and I are the kind of people that will spend days in a new city just searching for the best cup of coffee that city has to offer. Now, admittedly, I haven’t tried all the coffee there is to try in Edmonton, but even if I had I think Credo would be pretty high on my list. Really, when you start with a fantastic cup of coffee and then add a great atmosphere and friendly staff, how can you go wrong?
If you haven’t discovered Credo Coffee yet I highly recommend you pay them a visit at 10134 – 104 street or check out their website to find out a little more about them! Keep reading to find out what Geoff, the owner of Credo, had to say about making a great cup of coffee and the city he’s making that coffee for.
What is Credo Coffee?
Credo is our pursuit of the perfect cup of coffee and a continuing journey to bring that to our community.
How did your business come about? What’s your story?
It’s essentially a home passion gone wild. In the past 20 years we’ve been collecting espresso machines at home and trying things out and it just got to the point where we decided to take a risk and open a shop. We always had the idea to open something like this, the timing just never worked out before. I was in construction before this, but coffee was really where I wanted to be.
Where does the name come from?
Credo is a Latin term for “I believe” and it used most often in a musical setting. And that leads into what we are trying to do here with the quality and the direct trade process we use.
We hear the term fair trade a lot, but you are using a direct trade process. What’s the difference?
Fair trade is an organization that gathers together a cooperative of regions and pays them a set amount for their coffee. Direct trade is a relationship between the roaster and the grower, and it pays a minimum of 25% above what a fair trade grower would make because it takes out the middle man. The trade off there is that we pay a little more for our coffee, but we know that the money is actually making it to the growers. Fair trade is definitely a good start, but direct trade is just that much further.
Did you grow up in Edmonton, or are you a transplant? If so, what brought you here?
I was born in England, but moved to Saskatoon as a child and then moved to Edmonton 15 years ago.
So why Edmonton?
When we started considering this business seriously Edmonton was at the right time and place to make it work. We visited Vancouver and discovered that they were probably about 5 years ahead of where we were at the time. There was just nothing like this here and there’s such a sense of community that people are willing to at least give something new a try. This street is Edmonton’s idea of what downtown revitalization should look like. The people are just so supportive as well and when people start talking you really see it in the amount of business that comes in.
If you could order one item here, what would it be?
The cappuccino. It’s just the perfect balance between the steamed milk and espresso.
At the risk of sounding a little silly…Cappuccino? Latte? What’s the difference?
It’s all in the volume of milk used. All of our coffees start with two shots of espresso and the milk is steamed the same way, but the varying cup sizes allow for different volumes of milk creating a different flavour.
If you could see one thing in Edmonton change, what would it be?
That’s a tough one because I think we’re really on the verge of something here and we really are changing for the positive. If you had asked me three or four years ago it would have been to see downtown develop into something important, but we are seeing that happen and I think we will see that continue over next 5 years or so. I’m not all opposed to suburbs and big box stores, they serve their purpose, but it’s nice to see the urban development happen naturally rather than being forced by restricting expansion.
Is there a store or restaurant local to Edmonton that you really enjoy?
Red Star Pub and Mrkt Restaurant, which are just down Jasper between 105 and 106 street.
Any last words?
Just look out for downtown in the next 3 or 4 years, it’s going to be amazing!
And there you have it, ladies and gentlemen! Now go get yourself a coffee…Thanks, Geoff!
Amanda
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