Fika

🥁🪘🥁 Drumroll, please (I know what you are thinking — yes, I have been introducing a lot of things in a small period of time) haha, it’s because I have been working on these for a very long time and I just feel like this is the time to launch 😂 anyways! Back to drumroll 🥁

Introducing Sustainable Community Meetup! Do you care about people and lives on this beautiful planet we call home? And do you want to make friends who think and act like you? Let’s find our community here! It is a pay-what-you-can event and no one will be turned away. I only have limited space indoors, so registration in advance is required. You can either register in person at Fika or you can book online through the link: https://www.climatewave.coffee/coffee-people-connect

We gather the 1st Thursday of every month! And guess what!? Our first gathering will be on Oct 1st — which is also the first-year anniversary for Fika! Perfect way to celebrate our planet and community 🥳

I chose the portrait photo of a coffee forest as a cover because, as you can see, the forest functions well as a community. There is diversity — microbes, mushrooms, shrubs, plants, trees, birds, animals, insects, etc. They all support each other while doing whatever they do best individually. The community thrives beautifully in harmony with unconditional friendships. Let’s build a forest-like community. See you at the monthly Sustainable Community Meet-ups and beyond! 🤗

🎓 Next Group Coffee Workshop in the BATCH (Brew and Taste Coffee at Home) series is here!

🥁 learn to brew brilliant tasting coffee with the classic Moka Pot — it’s a great brewing equipment. Moka pot is the first brewing equipment I brewed coffee at home.

How many of you remember this coffee shop? Street Level Espresso on Fort used to be a cute little place. I used to go there buy the beans from him for brewing at home.

Since then I have made a lot of changes to my Moka Pot brewing technique, which I am so excited to share with you all. Find the booking link on Bio. Secure your spot. See you at my coffee school 🙏🏼

😇 It was the first few weeks of Fika. My mind was filled with lots of uncertainties — with my new idea and vision for Fika. That’s when I received this review. A welcoming one, motivated me to— through a simple act of acceptance.

Thanks Veronika 🙏🏼 “So happy to have this in the neighbourhood! Was looking for a quick snack, hoping for something healthy and I found it! And high quality coffee- sourced, brewed and presented with integrity & care. Will definitely be a new go-to spot”

Photo: a Drongo enjoying safety and comfort in biodiversity-rich coffee forest just like how I found mine in Fernwood / Downtown

PS: for those who missed my previous post here is a recap. As I am nearing my first year anniversary of Fika, I am sharing series of posts with Google reviews along with the photographs I shot at coffee forests to connect both communities where I work, play, and create.



Downtown Victoria, BC We LOVE Fernwood!

☺️ Can’t believe it’s almost the time for fika’s one year anniversary! I am extremely grateful to each one of you for supporting my art form and supporting coffee farmers who choose to protect biodiversity over profit! Words cannot express how I feel now. Reading through my journals brought me tears. Especially, all the Google reviews you wrote — just wow — I am the happiest!

For the next few days or weeks I am going to try and share all the Google reviews along with some of the biodiversity photos I took in coffee forests to contemplate connecting the both worlds: sustainable farming community whom I proudly represent and the loving community in Victoria that supports our work. Here is my first one by Ocean Tenant.

“Really happy to see this place start up! It is really cute and the owner is so sweet and helpful. I got what is probably the best mocha I have ever had, and we loved the tortina! Also got some kombucha and onigiri for later today - can’t wait to try! Will definitely be back for more :)”

Photo: Tickell’s Blue Flycatcher relaxing on a beautiful coffee plant in Mahesh’s coffee forest.

🎓 Introducing BATCH 😃 Brewing And Tasting Coffee at Home — a weekly group workshop series. Actually it’s more than a workshop series! My intention is to create a friendly coffee-learning community in Victoria, built around curiosity, conversation, and the shared pleasure of making brilliant coffee.

I am starting it off with French Press this Sunday. Making excellent tasting coffee with French Press is easy — see you at my coffee art studio this Sunday at 5!

Find the link in bio to buy your ticket — I like to keep the group size small, 6 max at a time. So book now!

🎓 If you have spent time with me at Fika, you probably already know how much I love talking about coffee—and teaching has always been a big part of my life too.

I started by tutoring younger children, then taught aeronautical skills to school students, trained engineers in professional settings, and taught photography skills briefly. In 2019, I began teaching coffee skills, and it felt like all those different parts of my life had finally come together.

Coffee is my art form. I practise it with intention, devotion, and presence. I travel to meet farmers who protect coffee forests while producing beautiful specialty coffees, and I learn directly from them about harvesting, processing, and sustainable farm management. Along the way, I meet baristas and coffee lovers from many different cultures. Their traditions, ideas, and ways of enjoying coffee inspire me to brew and serve it in my own unique way. When I return home with coffee beans, I roast small batches right here at Fika, experiment, taste, and keep learning. If you have watched me make a drink, you also know how much mindfulness goes into that process.

I am very grateful for all the kind feedback from students who appreciate my simple and practical way of teaching. Through The School of Fine Coffee Arts and Sustainability, I now offer private classes, small group workshops, and certification pathways. You can choose one of the classes I have already created, ask me any coffee question, or work with me to shape your own learning path. Everything is student-centred, friendly, and designed to help you learn without making coffee feel more complicated than it needs to be. It is also my privilege to share stories of some of the amazing farmers with you.

Visit www.climatewave.coffee or message me to learn more! 😃

Thanks to my friend Nic Patenaude Ⓥ for taking an awesome photo of me (cover photo)

Person in third photo is Mahesh of thenaturalfarmer His knowledge and dedication in protecting forests while producing brilliant specialty coffees is unbeatable.

My first micro wildlife conservation photography exhibition, The Life I Chose, is now on display at Fika. 🌿📷

Through these photographs and story, I’m sharing a glimpse of the journey that took me from aeronautical engineering to biodiversity conservation—and of the forests, people, coffee landscapes, and small lives that continue to shape my purpose.

The exhibition is in Downtown Victoria, BC displayed creatively on Fika • Mindful Sustainable Coffee Art Studio coffee roastery’s window as a little open-air gallery, so you can enjoy it from the street at your own pace. Stop by, have a coffee, look closely, and meet some of the remarkable lives connected to the landscapes behind our coffee.

I hope you enjoy this first chapter of the story. 💚

sustainableyyj

Yaay — Roasted Coffee Beans Stamp Card is fresh out of the press 💚 Get your 10th bag free!

Brew coffee at home that tastes great and protects biodiversity. I have lots of options to choose from light roast, medium roast, dark roast, decaf, very dark roast, very light roast — you name it I have it 😇

Speaking of origin, I currently proudly represent farmers from India, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Honduras, and Nicaragua who produce great tasting specialty coffee while (most importantly) protecting the remaining forests.

Any questions, message me or stop by at Fika for a chat 🙏🏼

PS: for those who don’t know — my roasting facility is single-use plastic free + I roast using the most energy efficient coffee roasting machine slowly and mindfully in 1kg batch at a time 🌳

crafting my art with intention to benefit everyone involved: you, me, those who walk, fly, leap, or crawl 🐜 💚

i shot this photograph at mahesh’s coffee forest in south india where lives happen naturally as it should: like this ant exploring coffee fruits in peace 🌳

thenaturalfarmer

🧘🏽‍♂️ 1 of 3 — Mindful

I have been thinking a lot about how to explain clearly when I call Fika a mindful coffee shop.

For me, mindfulness is not about escaping into a perfectly quiet world.

Fika is at a busy intersection. There is traffic, construction, fire trucks, people walking by, conversations, weather, and all the normal noise of the city.

I cannot remove all of that.

But I can choose how I show up inside it.

When I am discussing about my offerings or simply chatting, I try to be fully present with you. When I make your drink, I try to give that drink my full attention. Which is why you often find me not talking to anyone while I craft drinks — or even looking outside my window. Because I am fully present with my craft — creating with lots of joy.

I do not want coffee to feel like a rushed transaction. I want it to feel like a small pause in the day.

So yes, sometimes things move a little slower here.

But I believe waiting can also be part of the experience.

A moment to breathe.

To read the menu.

To notice the plants.

To look around.

To smile at the stranger next to you.

To come back to yourself.

For me, mindful coffee means not rushing the relationship between the person, the ingredient, the craft, and the moment.

Fika is my attempt to create a small sanctuary within the noise.

P.S. I have been describing Fika as a mindful, sustainable, and artisan coffee shop for a long time, but I realized I never really took the time to explain what I mean by those words. So I thought I would pen down my thoughts in this little series of three posts. Come say hi in person if you want to learn more. I love talking about coffee, sustainability, and art.