In a retail world where people want to buy in bulk - and buy cheaply and quickly - a Coquitlam company called Tasters goes against the grain.
Owned by Patrick Henry and Noel Shepperd, Tasters (www.Tri-CitiesTasters.com) is a shopping experience where half the fun, OK all of the fun, is tasting the product and chatting with the affable shop owner.
This takes time but. inevitably, you walk out the door with not one, but maybe two or three of the oils and vinegars pressed and aged meticulously, and displayed in silver canisters that look something like a Russian samovar used to make tea.
But it's not tea we're tasting in the little shop in a strip mall off Lansdowne Drive, although that might be an interesting addition to the Tasters repertoire but, rather, a selection of luxurious olive oils and vinegars flavoured in surprising ways and served in a tiny cup.
"Try the Picual," suggests Henry, starting off the day's half-hour tasting with a mild virgin olive oil with a light tomato flavour.
It's a bit like tasting wine, as you sniff then roll the liquid in your mouth to get the flavour, intense because the oil is as as fresh as you can get it, the olives having been pressed within three hours of picking.
MANY VARIETIES
Tasters has about a dozen different oils some fused or pressed with other ingredients, such as blood oranges, or infused with herbs, such as the Tuscan herb oil that tastes a bit like pizza.
All are rich in polyphenols, which are cholesterol-busting, and maybe the reason people on Mediterranean diets live so long and without heart disease that is a perennial problem for North Americans.
Once you tour the oil room, it's time to move on to the inner sanctum - the vinegar room where a dizzying array of balsamic vinegars is available for tasting.
"Oh, try the chocolate," my tasting partner suggests.
It turns out the popular dark chocolate and espresso balsamic vinegars of Modena, Italy are not available that day, although, Henry insists, will be in later that week. But there is no shortage of other balsamics to try, such as maple, red apple and cranberry pear.
They are like dessert wines, the flavour is so intense, and Henry explains that these special vinegars are made from the "must" of pressed grapes, and cooked for hours over direct fire until syrupy. The cooked must is then aged in wooden barrels; the traditional balsamic sold by Tasters is aged for 18 years.
Henry didn't start out an expert in oils and vinegars. In fact, he is a retired social worker who was looking to start a new chapter in his life. "I thought, I can do this," he said, when he checked out a similar store in the U.S.
PASSIONATE ABOUT PRODUCT
From interest, Henry became passionate when he visited Veronica Foods, a California company that imports olive oils from a mill in Tunisia and from growers around the world, and sells oils, balsamic vinegars and other gourmet food products to retailers such as Tasters.
"We tasted all these [oils and vinegars] and I thought, 'This is amazing,'" he said, adding later: "I think it's a great product. I can't sell worth beans unless I believe in the product."
Open only since just before December, Tasters is starting to develop a steady clientele of foodies, while also reaching out to newcomers by attending farmers' markets and conducting tastings for groups and other retailers.
Henry hopes there are enough people interested in fine food who are also willing to take the time to learn more about the traditions of luxurious olive oil and vinegar.
