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One of the most enthusiastic welcomes we received along the Crawl came from Rick Martin, co-owner of Momento Coffee House. Rick's a big guy, with a bigger heart and smile, and his genuine excitement about sharing his coffee was obvious from the moment he met us curbside. A smallish café tucked into a long, slender space, Momento is known around town for its siphon bar. But for the Crawl, Rick created a special pour-over using his own technique, and one that he said required breaking a few rules, such a pouring down the side of the filter. But the truth is in the cup, and the personalized Salt Spring Coffee from Nicaragua he prepared positively sang with bright citrus notes and a super-smooth body. Ultimately, the Caffeine Crawl, while a lot of fun, only revealed a slice of the ever-growing Vancouver coffee scene. But that's kind of the point. Burton's Caffeine Crawl events get people out there, luring them to shops and cafés they may have just heard of or passed by, expanding their coffee horizons, and really helping to build the community by bringing together professionals and amateurs, united by their love of coffee. If you have a chance to visit Vancouver, you'll find a beautiful and charming city, reliably voted one of the best places to live in the world, with numerous, fantastic options for locally crafted and sourced food and beverage, and friendly people. And if it's raining when you go, well, that's just part of the atmosphere, so do as the locals do: grab a cup, sit back, relax, enjoy your drink, and stay awhile. The coffee fun wasn't over when Barista Nation ended, however. We spent the following day cruising through Vancouver on the Caffeine Crawl, which is an event organized by Jason Burton (pictured bottom far left), to showcase top cafés in cities throughout North America. Our stops included 49th Parallel's new café, where green buyer, Mie Hansen, worked the brew bar alongside 2011 Canadian Barista Champ, Kyle Straw. 30 barista magazine FIELD REPORT EAST COAST BGA CAMP, VIRGINIA EAST COAST BGA CAMP, VIRGINIA VANCOUVER, B.C. PHOTOS BY KENNETH R. OLSON