Q&A With Café Pista

We caught up with Alexandre Séguin, Co-Owner and Head Roaster at Montreal-based Café Pista, to ask him about how they got started and what they’re most excited about for the future. 

- What's the origin story of Cafe Pista? What inspired you on your journey?

Pista was founded in 2014 with our coffee-bike. It’s a pedal-powered espresso machine that we used to make coffee with at different festivals, public markets, and events. It was a way for us to demonstrate specialty coffee and bring it to the people instead of waiting for them to come to us. 2 years later, in 2016, we opened our first shop in the Rosemont neighbourhood and have been serving customers there since. We focus on serving a great cup with laidback and professional service. We love good design and art, and try to incorporate them into every aspect of our business, from our coffee shops all the way to our coffee bags. 

- What is the ethos behind your roasting and your green buying? 

We want to showcase the terroirs of the different coffees we roast. Roasting is one of the last steps in a coffee’s journey and it can have a huge impact on its final taste in the cup. I always try to leave as little trace as possible of the roasting process and make the coffee shine in the cup. 

Buying good coffee is pretty easy nowadays. We feel that planning in advance, confirming purchases ahead of time, and supporting meaningful projects are things roasters can do to have a positive impact on the supply chain. We tend to go back to the same producers year after year to develop relationships and learn what we can do to have a positive impact. 

I have about five or six producers that I work with who I like very much, and I basically want to grow the company around them and have us grow together. 

- What are you excited about for the future?

I am excited because a lot of the producers we work with are starting to do very well and are producing better and better coffee every year. So I am excited to continue these relationships and make them even deeper. I would like to see that our work makes a positive impact, even if it’s just a little bit.