We have been students of specialty coffee and food culture for nearly the entire decade we have been married. Exploring our love of food, drink, and hospitality has given our little family its own special culture, a culture that for years we dreamed of sharing with others.

In Victoria, where we lived for a few magical years, we were fortunate to stumble into our first jobs in the specialty coffee industry. We fell in love with the culture of attentiveness that surrounds all stages of producing, preparing, and drinking exceptional coffee. It resonated with us, because both of us came from families that honour European traditions of nurturing social bonds through the enjoyment of artfully prepared food and drink.

Then, in Vancouver, where we next lived, we continued to develop our knowledge of coffee and food with rewarding stints as managers of a pair of the city’s finest cafés. During this time, we truly refined our palates, our skills, and our dreams of elevating the experience of hospitality through our own café.

Now, in Abbotsford BC, where we were born and raised, our dreams come true every day. Oldhand Coffee is the dream we get to share with our reclaimed community, where we believe people want to create stronger bonds with their friends and neighbours over artfully prepared food and drink. We are grateful to be raising our daughters Else and Ingrid among the families and culture-lovers who visit us every day at Oldhand Coffee.

As the Dutch say, heel gezellig, or “we will make every detail of our time together perfect.”

Kristina and Johannes van Bommel van Vloten