Even though it was years ago in Bali, Marke McNichol remembers the first truly good cup of coffee he ever had.
“It was an epiphany,” he recalls. “I remember that cup to this day. It was like putting on a Versace suit for the first time, or driving a Ferrari. It's an experience that we normally don't have, and when you get the opportunity to experience it for the first time, you go: 'Wow!'”
Today, Marke is sharing that epiphany with others as the owner of Platform 7 Brew Bar, a shop that has quickly risen to take its place amongst the city's coffee elite. Opened in late September of 2013, Platform 7 features all the standard coffee-shop fare, including espresso, French press coffee, pour-overs, and cold brew. But even a quick glimpse around the place demonstrates that Marke and his crew's commitment to coffee is anything but standard. Other menu items include “martini-style” iced coffee, where flavours are enhanced by added fruit and shaken over ice. The coffee bar itself features an Oji Water Dripper, a Japanese invention that produces a smoother, sweeter, less acidic cold-brew, but can take between 18-20 hours to complete a single batch. Even the espresso machine is top-of-the-line — a La Marzocco “Strada” hand-built in Florence, Italy.
“It's sort of the Ferrari of espresso machines,” Marke grins.” And for somebody who really loves coffee, when they come in, and they see that thing — that's a statement. They know that we take our coffee very, very seriously. It's like high art.”
