BGC is branching out on a small scale sub-hustle cooking tacos.
We will be posting one-off taco nights.
You pre-order online, pick your time, then pick up your tacos between 5pm-7pm on the determined evening. All orders must be placed online before pick up. We won’t be taking orders during our pick-up time.
For up to date info, follow us on FB and IG. Watch our stories.
We are re-opening our shop downtown with new people, new services, and new hours. The shop will be take-out only. We will offer espresso based drinks, drip coffee, and fresh baked goods.
Mon: CLOSED
Tues: CLOSED
Wed: 730am to 1130am
Thurs: 730am to 1130am
Fri: 730am to 1130am
Sat: 1000am to 300pm
Sun: CLOSED
We are moving away from hand stamping.
Sure, that craft look was something we all enjoyed; however, it has been holding us back. The stamping limited us in bringing in new coffees and it also pained our little forearms. It was time to say good bye to stamping.
Over the next month we will be rolling out our new bags at all of our retail locations.
We are starting a delivery service for Yellowknife residents who are self isolating or are in need of extra coffee. You can order 340 g or 2.25 kg (5lb) coffee, pay online, and then we do a touchless door drop. Please use the Shop Online page.
Our new shop is now open! Hours will be Saturday and Sunday 930 to 230. We will have fresh roasted coffee, merchandise, coffee brewing equipment, books, and hand grinders. For service we will have drip coffee. Think of it as a roastery with a tasting room. We hope to phase in more services over 2020!
We are on the move downtown! We hope that northerners continue to support us by purchasing our high quality locally roasted coffee through our fine retail partners. We will have no online orders until we get the roaster back and running.
Yellowknife, Northwest Territories - Local beloved small batch artisan coffee roaster and 2018 Breakout New Business of the Year nominee Barren Ground Coffee (BGC) will celebrate their first year in business this Sunday, November 25 during their regular 11-3 shop hours.
The public is invited to join in on the possibly over hyped celebrations! BGC will be serving free locally roasted drip coffee, giving out free Fat Fox scones with free clotted cream and free jam (only 50, so first come first free serve), and handing out free collectible buttons.There will also be free high end door prizes and possibly free surprise discounts.
In addition, BGC will use the anniversary to launch their new 2019 handcrafted personalized pottery mugs. They are designed and created by local artisan Beth Harden of Shake a Tail Feather. BGC will also have a number of manual coffee brewers, new crew cut sweaters and t-shirts from Erasmus Apparel, toques, and other awesome mugs for sale.
“We are pleased with how the north has embraced fresh roasted specialty coffee during our first year in business,” said Eric Binion. “As a small business, we didn’t know what to expect, but our first year has shown that northerners will continue to support startups in the north. We feel we have built a bit of a foundation of loyal customers that will help us grow our business and continue to allow us to develop and offer new products and services”.
Barren Ground Coffee couldn’t have survived without the help of other Yellowknife and NWT small businesses. BGC is forever grateful for the businesses that assisted them throughout their first year. Mahsì!
Yellowknife, Northwest Territories - Barren Ground Coffee, a specialty coffee microroaster, is pleased to announce expansion plans into Nunavut. The company must adhere to federal food regulations that include bilingual labeling if they wish to retail outside of the NWT. As they have updated some of their labelling to reflect French, Barren Ground Coffee has also included two Indigenous languages.
“As we hope to soon be retailing in Nunavut, we wanted to feature Inuktitut on our packaging,” said Eric Binion, co-founder of Barren Ground Coffee. “In addition, there are over 2,000 people who speak Tłı̨chǫ in the NWT, and NWT Community Survey data shows that that number is increasing. We took note of that. Ideally we would have all eleven NWT official languages, but for now we are limited to a small label space on our hand stamped bags”.
The use of Indigenous languages in the NWT is on the decline, going against the national trend. Barren Ground Coffee recognizes the importance of language revitalization and sustaining languages in the north. “As a northern business, we will do what we can to make local languages visible”, said Binion. “We praise any other companies who do business in the north that recognize our eleven official languages and make an effort to include them”.
Barren Ground Coffee worked with artist Andrew Hall and Tłı̨chǫ translator Mary Siemens and Inuktitut translator Suzie Napayok in order to finalize the text. “We are not the first commercial food operation to include Indigenous language labelling, but we would make a safe bet that we are certainly the first coffee roasting company!”, said Binion.
With the new labelling, Barren Ground Coffee has set in motion plans to begin retailing at partner locations in Kugluktuk, Cambridge Bay, Iqaluit, Rankin Inlet, and Baker Lake and hopes to be on shelves by early 2019.
The lovely folks from Cabin Radio stopped by last week to see what we were up to. Here is the first part of our roaster series. Check out the video below and make sure you like/follow them on Facebook!
We have put together a small supply of retail at the Roastery that will equip all campers this summer with the best coffee set up you can get. Everything we have chosen we have used on our own weekend trips or multi-month expeditions. They are all light weight, not prone to break, and are easy to clean. Come in and get your fresh roasted coffee, grinder, and setup for the weekend!
A hand grinder is an essential part of your camp kit and this one is the best. It is light weight, has a ceramic conical burr set, and a sturdy handle. This grinder will provide you with consistently ground fresh camp coffee. You can easily adjust the grinder size and it is suitable for any brew method.
The Aeropress is a large BPA-free plastic syringe with a filter at the end. It is easy to use and makes around 250 ml of coffee per serving. You can make stronger coffee or dilute it and it takes a couple of minutes. The set up comes with filters, which can be composted (or burned in the camp fire). It is also super easy to clean!
Pour over! Our favourite coffee prep method. Whether you are using it to make a pot of coffee or just one cup, this is the easiest and most popular way to make coffee. Get some nice filters and you will be the hero at camp this summer. The Hario V60 is BPA-free and shatter resistant. It will use #2 coffee filters, which can be composted (or burned in the camp fire).
Hey there Fort Good Hope! You can now find us at Dwayne's Confectionery. Dwayne will be serving up some extremely fresh Ethiopian Limu! Enjoy!
Barren Ground Coffee is a proud sponsor of Frostbite 50 athlete Kerry Wheler. This will be Kerry's 5th race (2017, 2016, 2015, 2012). Previous highlights include placing first in the womans solo in 2015 and skiing with a large stuffed walleye attached to her backpack.
Kerry skiing on the big lake.
How did you get into cross country skiing?
I skied around the horse pasture as a kid, but didn't really learn about gliding until I was in University. I begged the coach to let me take a "learn to skate ski" class (normally reserved for phys.ed students and I was a music student). I fell so much and my legs burned but I just loved the motion. I ended up skiing on the Augustana Vikings ski team and am forever grateful for that opportunity.
What was your first FB50 like?
Awesome. I love skiing 50km. It becomes meditative to just repeat the same movement for that duration of time. In 2012 my first child was 1.5 years, so I remember it being one of the first days after becoming a mother where I could just be by myself, doing my own thing. I didn't need to do anything or think of anything.... just one leg in front of the other. It was so empowering to just move through the beautiful landscape.
What was the most memorable (or gruelling) FB50?
Well, as my husband Brett says, "It doesn't have to be fun to be fun". There are usually moments of discomfort in 50km but that's part of the fun of it. One year, Prospserous Lake was a sugar bowl of faceted snow and when you pole planted, it seemed like there was no bottom. I knew it was going to be a slog, but I just stayed positive to focus on ravens gliding above the island, and the incredible quiet that surrounded me. It turns out that is one of my best memories. Overcoming adversity feels good I guess.
How will 2018 FB50 play out?
It's always exciting to do the first lap on the trails and then head down onto the lake to create a long string of people moving across Back Bay. All participants are so supportive of each other and it's fun to share the camaraderie of skiing 50km together, no matter how fast or slow we happen to go on that particular day. It's a wonderful route and a wonderful event to be a part of.
Favourite Barren Ground Coffee pre-race?
I love the Peruvian Dark decaf. The beans are so fragrant and oily. I really appreciate that we can get such freshly roasted coffee in Yellowknife - it makes a big difference! I also value that BGC carries fair-trade organic, products.
Notable Yellowknife ski stats
2017- Jackrabbits Coach of the Year
2016-2018- Yellowknife Ski Club Events Director
2015 - Placed 1st womans solo FB 50
"The goal of Barren Ground Coffee's Frostbite 50 partnership is to help local ski racers in Yellowknife," said Eric Binion. "We know that the racers are up against demanding odds in the 2018 FB50. The wind will be howling, probably in your face in all directions somehow. It will be cold. No one will have enough wax on their skis because it will get scrapped off and their feet will be going everywhere. People will be moaning as they go up and down on the snowmobile bumps across all the portages. In the least, they should have some nice, fresh, and locally roasted organic fair trade coffee in the morning before they go so they can remember those lingering tastes through out the day".
Barren Ground Coffee will be a proud sponsor of this years' Frost Bite 50 and will be providing free coffee before the event to racers and spectators. Head on down to the Ski Club on Saturday March 17 to cheer Kerry and everyone else off!
Barren Ground Coffee is also a proud sponsor of this years' Arctic Winter Games in Fort Smith and Hay River. In addition, we have sponsored other northern atheletes and expediations.
