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About Us
The Fernwood Coffee Company is located in Victoria, British Columbia in the eclectic neighborhood of Fernwood. Fernwood is a forward thinking community which boasts several public green spaces, a compost education center, a thriving theatre and music scene, and a public square that has been a vibrant meeting place for residents of the historic neighborhood for years. It is the type of community that comes together to drink coffee, celebrate, break bread, lend each other a helping hand or offer one another support in times of need. It was this sense of community that inspired long time Fernwood residents Ben and Terra to start the Fernwood Coffee Co.
Ben and Terra lived in the neighborhood for several years prior to starting their family and the roastery. When the two veterans of the Victoria hospitality industry were given an opportunity to take over a Fernwood institution, The Parsonage Café, they couldn't resist. Ben instantly fell in love with the 1936 G.W Barth Novo Cito coffee roaster that is located in the middle of the action, right on the café floor. Although coffee has been roasted on site for the last 15 years Ben and Terra wanted to take it to the next level and start a company whose products and actions would communicate the values and ideals that are embodied in the neighborhood of Fernwood.
Having been a fine dining chef for several years prior to entering the coffee business Ben's
enthusiasm for all things culinary, (including coffee,) made for a natural transition from chef
to roaster. Ben instantly started living, breathing (and even dreaming,) coffee! The goal for the
Fernwood Coffee Co. is coffee perfection. We are not there yet but we plan to have a lot of fun
(and good coffee,) along the way.
While Ben was excited to join the culinary coffee movement Terra's excitement came from starting a new career in an industry, which is at the forefront when it comes to socially responsible business practices. Feeding off her passion for social issues she set out to start a company that would continually strive to improve its practices in order to take responsibility not only for current actions but also for the future well-being of the whole planet. This meant sourcing all the green coffee from organic farms where the growers would receive proper compensation for their labors and running the roastery with as little negative impact on the environment as possible.
The result of all this was a great tasting cup of coffee, (or espresso,) that they could feel good about at the end of the day.
The real fun, however, is sharing their coffee with other coffee lovers.
