If you’ve been reading this blog for any sort of time, but especially this past year, you’ve likely caught on by now that I love the coffee culture in Quebec, Canada.
And I would argue that it is one of the best in Canada, if not the world! And proof of that fact is that this is the third coffee roaster–this year–that I am featuring on my blog. Why, because I truly am obsessed and impressed with the incredible work coffee roasters are doing to grow their craft, educate their customers, and champion the community.
And so, on none other than July 1st, Canada Day, I am thrilled to share the story of Ambros Coffee from Montreal, QC as our Coffee Roaster of the Month.
I reached out to Tony Argiropoulos (co-owner/co-founder) to have him share more about Ambros, his love for coffee, and some exciting news that is on the horizon. And while Tony is the one sharing the story of Ambros, it wouldn’t be the company it is if it weren’t for his brother Tom (co-owner/co-founder) who handles a great deal of the Barista work and more in this family-partnership.
Hey Tony, so great to get the chance to connect with you! Help our audience get to know you a bit better…what’s your backstory in coffee?
My backstory in coffee is that my family in Greece is a very recognized and well-respected specialty coffee company in Greece called TAF Coffee. I learned a lot of the basics from them and that’s where I got my inspiration.
And so I had two starting points really. Over 10 years ago, I explored bringing over my family’s coffee to Canada and test the market. It ended up being more of a challenge than we were prepared for, so we put the project on hold for a few years. In 2017, we explored it again, but, again, it wasn’t the right time for them. I ended up getting my families blessing to start my own roasting brand along with my brother Tom in Canada, and have an affiliation with them.
And so what keeps us going now is the fact that there is always a constant flow in coffee: new harvests, new processing methods, origins, producers; things that keep the industry exciting, colourful, unpredictable and creative. There is always a new story to tell and creative ways to tell it.
Can you tell us a bit about the history of Ambros Coffee?
Ambros has been around since 2020; we just celebrated our third birthday on June 23rd. A lot of people ask us about how we got out name. The root of our name comes from the word Ambrosia, which means the nectar of the gods. It was a name that had dawned on me a little while before I started building the foundation of the brand. I felt it was strong, easy to pronounce, had a Greek ring to it, while remaining pronounceable. I remember just going with it without putting too much thought.
So, your home-base is Montreal, QC. Can you tell us a little bit more about what the specialty coffee community is like there? What do you love?
Montreal has a very vibrant specialty coffee community. Over the last 10 years, a number of new roasters sprung up, and most of them are still around; a healthy sign for the industry in the city. Being a city with lots of multicultural flair and European influence, there is an colourful array of restaurants and cafés that highlight coffees in various ways. The Canadian Roasting Society (CRS) also plays an important role, as this collective roasting space gives the opportunity for smaller roasters to hone their craft and enter the market. Many of the city’s best specialty coffee brands still call CRS home.
And I guess if our readers aren’t aware, it’s clear you love the city of Montreal, because you’re about to open up shop there. Can you tell our readers a bit of what they can expect when they visit? When do you plan to open? What led you to choose Café Alphabet as the name?
We are thrilled to be opening our first café! It will serve as our home, a place to brew and the serve the coffee we sourced and roasted, and one to connect with people through coffee. Café Alphabet will be an extension of Ambros and a sister-brand. People can expect a refined, yet casual vibe, with a coffee-focused menu of all the favourites, a few creative recipes, and some of our Greek-inspired Freddo Espresso and Freddo Cappuccino made the right way.
Of course, there will be a coffee wall filled with freshly roasted Ambros Coffee beans. Alphabet, like Ambros, was a name that came to me and it just felt right. I actually had this name swimming in my brain for a café before I came up with Ambros. What I like about it is that it is easy to remember and is both English and French (we are in Quebec, let’s not forget) and is derived from the Greek word alphabeta, a nod to my heritage as always.
I noticed on your site you offer “Specialty Greek Coffee.” I recognize this is a nod to your Greek heritage. Can you share more with our readers about that? Feel free to share a bit more about Greek coffee & culture and how that influences what you do.
Greek coffee, very similar to Turkish coffee, is the way you brew and enjoy a coffee. The key is an ultra-fine grind (which requires special burrs) that is brewed on an open flame or stovetop inside a little pot called briki or ibrik. There is no filter instead, the ultra-fine grains dissolve into the water and the coffee swells and rises once the coffee comes to boil. It is then sipped slowly and carefully and a thin cup to release the heat. This is the opposite to the Italian espresso, which doesn’t come to boil, and is sipped quickly from a thicker cup to preserve the heat.
It was important for me to develop my own Greek coffee, as a nod to my heritage, and, at the same time, to give a specialty angle to a very traditional method. Usually made with low grade coffee with a prolonged shelf stay, Ambros Greek coffee is made with specialty grade coffee, and is sold much fresher. To add, we encourage our customers to brew this coffee with a lot more precision than the traditional ‘’measure with the eye method’’, which brings a better, more even extraction, and more consistent brewing.
I gotta admit, that I LOVE your packaging. So who is the guy on the bags? Is that you? Or what was the inspiration behind the design?
I told my artist to draw a man getting lost in his thoughts while enjoying his coffee. I think he nailed it. I never requested it to be me, but maybe I was his secret muse; I never asked, he never told.
Speaking of your coffee bags, could you share a bit more with our readers about your philosophy/approach to roasting of the coffee that goes into those bags? What equipment do you roast on?
We roast on amazing Probat machines. My philosophy is primarily to highlight the character of all the coffee we bring it and to do it consistently. There are occasions that we target roast level rather than character, like in our Dark Roast Pulped Fiction and Spyros Dark Roast Colombia. We never go too dark; never oily, but we want o bring our some roastiness, dark chocolate, notes.
For the rest, we tend to go lighter, targeting sweeter, fruitier, juicier, and more floral notes, or whatever else we feel will highlight the profile of the bean and the effort of the farmer. Roasting is a craft; it is challenging, we don’t always nail our target, coffee is never perfect through a roaster’s lense (although it may taste perfect to most people) but we get close, and better with every roast.
So speaking of coffee, what are you drinking/enjoying right now?
Right now, I am enjoying two new coffees that we are getting ready to release (although the may be released by the time this article appears). Two Colombians from the same region, and two farmers who are father and son. One is a washed and the other a natural. I will let the readers explore the rest on our website and hopefully try it.
Another thing I was impressed with when scrolling through your site was the wide array of options: blends, decaf, dark-roast, Nespresso-compatible pods & more. How important is it to you that your coffee is as accessible as possible to as wide of an audience as possible?
Accessibility is the most important thing when the goal of your brand is to get people drinking better coffee, connecting with you, exploring all the colours of the coffee rainbow.
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PROMO CODE
The team at Ambros has kindly offered a PROMO CODE valid for the entire month of July! Use COMMONLY20 for 20% off site wide. They also offer FREE shipping across Canada when you order over $49, and free shipping to the USA on any order over $79.
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Contact Info:
web: www.amrboscoffee.com
instagram: @ambroscoffee
email: tony@ambroscoffee.com
Find their beans: If you’re looking to get your hands on some beans then definitely check out their web-store for what they’re currently roasting. And don’t forget to use the above-mentioned promo code!
Visit their cafe: If you’re ever in the Montreal area, make sure to stop by their new cafe once it opens! (or depending on when you read this it might already be open!) You can visit Café Alphabet at 5765 Rue Clark, Montreal, QC.
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I just want to say a huge thank you to Tony and Tom at Ambros for being such huge contributors to the coffee culture in Montreal, Quebec. Check out their site, grab yourself some beans, and enjoy!
Stay Caffeinated,
Tyler
commonly coffee 