Coffee drinkers stay loyal

Artouro (Arti) Hagop's customers call him the coffee king of Richmond

By Jessica Holmes

Just ask Viva Java customers who makes the best cup of coffee in town and they will line up to tell you.

And these are no namby-pamby coffee drinkers either. These connoisseurs are serious about their brew.

"I'm strictly a latte guy," regular customer Hardy Pohl says matter-of-factly as he plunks himself down on one of the shop's bar stools, as if discussing matters of national importance. "Since I started drinking coffee here, I can't even go to Starbucks anymore."

Steve Krakonchuk drops by Viva Java every morning for his double espresso. He describes the mixture of water and espresso like it's a work of art.

"It's a coffee-size drink with espresso quality," he says, slicing the air in front of him with his emphatic hand gestures. "It's the epitome of robust flavour."

"Plus Arti's such a robust personality," interjects a passing customer, laughing and patting Viva Java owner Artouro (Arti) Hagop on the shoulder.

One thing all the customers agree on is how fortunate they feel for finding out about the only custom coffee-roasting house in all of Richmond.

Hagop wakes up early and roasts a carefully-selected assortment of beans at about 6:30 a.m. every morning.

"He's a jewel," Krakonchuk says. "He puts a lot of care and love into all his mixtures."

Hagop beams from across the table. It's customers like these, who have an appreciation for his work, that keep him going.

"It's like that Barbra Streisand song, 'People who love people are the luckiest people in the world,'" Hagop says. "I like the interaction with people. It gives me a natural high. I don't think there's anything more fulfilling."

Hagop has perfected his coffee-roasting skill over the 10 years he has been in business in Richmond. An Israeli immigrant and former boat welder, Hagop ran the coffee shop, Aroma, from 1992 to 1999. After some location and money troubles, he shut the Garden City Centre location down and re-opened Viva Java on Cambie Road near Shell Road in the last year.

His customers followed him religiously. One customer has even gone as far as to make Hagop a coffee-king crown. Sometimes, Hagop jokes, he puts the crown on and takes a stick and says, "No coffee for you," to his various disciples.

It's an analogy not far from home, he later admits.

"I don't get along with rude people," he says with a shrug. "I kicked out maybe seven people in all my years, but six have come back. One still hasn't but that's okay."

Hagop prides himself on his following. He knows it's a balanced relationship based on the love for coffee.

"People come back, they shake my hand and I pour them a great cup of coffee," Hagop says.

What keeps people coming back to his shop, he says, is the freshness. Daily roasting is a necessity, he says, for premium quality coffee. Green beans, which sit in sacks in front of Hagop's cabana-like coffee bar, don't go bad for decades. But once the beans are roasted, he says, the coffee can go stale in a matter of days.

Hagop offers an assortment of 18 freshly roasted coffee beans including four house and four organic blends at about $10 to $12 per pound.

"If you have a quality product and quality service, you will be successful. I provide service with a smile and attitude," he laughs.

Viva Java is open weekdays from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. and weekends from 9 a.m. to 1 a.m.

This article was originally published in The Richmond News.