Our Story

Artigiano Latte Art

Just over 20 years ago, Artigiano—then aka Caffe Artigiano—formed the centre of coffee culture in Vancouver. Our European bravado was known internationally, as we attracted a very loyal following of Vancouverites, celebrities, and the hearts and minds of the coffee industry, back when the movement began. We were known for our vibrant, welcoming environment, the amazing coffee, and naturally the beginning of a new trend that would soon take over the coffee scene with our skills in Latte Art.

Art is in our DNA, and Artigiano is back to the excellence we have always been known for:

  • We don’t use automatic espresso machines.
  • We take pride in every single product we sell, and in every beverage we create.
  • We source from local partners with organic ingredients wherever possible.
  • We select our farmers around the world, by being a loyal long-term partner in their business through good times and bad.
  • We roast our own unique blends that nobody can duplicate.
  • We take our time.
  • We like conversation.
  • We deliver our loyal guests a consistent and perfect cup of coffee - every time.

This is our continued commitment to our name, and to the true trade of being a craftsman in coffee. Thousands of baristas have come through our cafes over the years, and they have all contributed to what we are today. For that, we are thankful. We now hope to recreate this coffee culture for the next generation..

 

Sustainability

Artigiano Sustainability - Cups kept out of the landfill

Ditch Disposable.

We saved 110,000 disposable cups from the landfill last year. That's 14 times taller than Grouse Mountain!

Help us by bringing in your own mug and save 25¢.

 

As much of the world, we are on a journey. We don’t just want to check a box of sustainability. Our efforts need to be genuine and something we all truly believe in for it to have a meaningful impact. All Artigiano team members are actively collaborating with the entire organization, guests, and community partners—to create solutions—together.

We are frustrated, as you probably are, when we hear of how many single use cups end up in the landfill. Our goal is to be the best we can be in driving reusable alternatives to our guests, and to continue improving our back of house operations so that our contribution to this waste is minimal.

At Artigiano, this is where we currently stand:

  • We have introduced a 25 cent discount for all guests that use their own reusable mugs or choose to stay for a coffee in our ceramic cups.
  • We have introduced a 25 cent levy on single-use cups in an effort to discourage the number of cups we use. All proceeds of the 25 cent levy initiative are placed into a sustainability fund and applied towards other waste-reducing programs.
  • We are committed to local and organic ingredients for our baked goods, breads, milk offerings and drink ingredients, wherever possible.
  • We are committed to sourcing coffee beans from family farms that are grown using traditional, organic methods and with minimum synthetic inputs.
  • We are donating coffee grounds to local gardeners for composting purposes.
  • We are consolidating our green coffee inventory to one warehouse location, cutting green coffee transportation emissions in half once they reach North America.
  • We are upcycling of all burlap sacs and getting them picked up by local farmers.
  • We are using Ecochit cashier receipts, double-walled recyclable cups to reduce the usage of sleeves, recyclable lids, paper straws, recyclable coffee bags.

We diverted over 110,000 single-use cups from the landfill in 2019 through the incentive programs we use with our guests!

Still, we remain committed to making more improvements that will reduce our footprint further. These include:

  • Encouraging the use of reusable stainless steel straws, utensils, water glasses, containers and bags.
  • When plastic / paper is unavoidable, aiming to use only non-virgin plastic / paper that is 100% recyclable.
  • Helping our guests recycle effectively in-store with clear signage and labelling.
  • Continuing to work with municipalities, and zero waste consultants and staying ahead of legislation restricting single-use packaging.
  • Reducing the carbon footprint of our operations by consolidating transportation and storage, and participating in carbon offset programs.
  • Minimizing food waste and arranging for donations of food.
We are often asked about the use of compostable packaging. At this time, our local municipalities are unable to commercially compost packaging that is marketed as being compostable.  Therefore, we do not feel comfortable switching to compostable packaging. Instead, we are focusing our efforts on reusables, encouraging a reduction of single-use items and, as a last resort, facilitating recycling options. We are constantly looking at new ways in which we can be better community stewards and reduce our waste and carbon footprint, whilst continuing to provide the best experience possible.