Reviews Viva Java

Right. So the owner is an absolute straight shooter who takes zero b.s. If you've never been to Italy, you might not get it. He was not born in Italy, but he’s got the attitude. If you are a pretentious dick, don't expect to receive any tolerance. He is abrasive, sure — but he has a heart of gold. This guy has never been anything but gracious to me and my wife.This is as good as coffee beans get in Vancouver. I say coffee beans, because that's his specialty. He will make whatever coffee drink you like (if you could actually get it in Italy, not at a fancy Canadian coffee shrine), but it's not about that. He is an expert in beans, roasting, what your needs are based on your home setup, etc.If you want true Italian style coffee beans for your home setup, go here. If you want to lounge about and enjoy the espresso bar atmosphere and the company of a very entertaining host, go here.If you want to have your ego massaged and remain in your fluffy little safe place, so somewhere else.Keep up the fantastic work, Arturo!

If you want coffee done right, this is the place.  The owner is one of the most unique people I know.  If you have no sense of humor, and a huge sense of entitlement, go to Starbucks.

Best coffee you can get. Really enjoyed the mocha as well. The coffee beans are great, pickup a pound or two. You won't be disappointed. Beans are roasted daily

This is an awesome Italian cafe that is hidden in Richmond! How come I did not know it earlier?! I thought there was no good coffee shops in Richmond, but I realized this one located at the opposite side of Costco was excellent! This coffee shop is running by an Italian guy. He is doing a one man show running the coffee shop by himself. He roasts coffee beans every morning and makes coffee for his customers with humour. People come here to buy roasted coffee beans. The blue mountain coffee beans are so good that people don't care how much they pay for them. They just pay and buy the good quality of the blue mountain coffee beans.

Anyhow, it was my first time to come here for a "real" coffee in Richmond. This coffee shop has "real" coffee unlike Starbucks and Timmy Hortons. If you know how to drink coffee and what is good coffee, this is the best one I have found in Richmond so far.

I bought a cup of latte. Mama Mia! It was so good! The coffee was in golden colour (showing by the owner of the coffee shop). After adding the milk into the coffee, I had a sip tasting the coffee/latte without sugar (always!), it was so good! The coffee/latte was hotter than usual because the owner knew that the coffee/latte could cool down quickly, so he made extra hot for me. In the end, he added a little bit more of coffee to make the latte a little bit stronger. That tasted SO GOOD!

You wanna stay on this guy's good side. How many guys advertise themselves as Nazis on their own website, and appear on a YouTube channel where they castigate their customers? (Oogle "Coffee Nazi Youtube" if you want to watch a, ummmmm, different viewpoint on customer service.) You think you know coffee? Talk to Arti Hagop -- he's the boss here. He'll tell you what you know! It really is a lot like the "Soup Nazi" episode on Seinfeld.

What people overlook about that episode is that the Soup Nazi made some darn good bowls of chowder. I got a bag of whole beans from the Coffee Nazi for my home espresso machine, and they're darn good. Before bagging you, Arti will quiz you to find out what style you like, what kind of machine you have at home, how you store your beans, etc. He's like a coffee shrink. Then he'll mix you a custom blend from buckets of coffee beans he roasted that morning. You can see the roasting machine right behind him, like an old-fashioned clothes washer on stilts. Only don't be a jerk when you talk to him! And if you don't come back, "Fah!" on you. He'll tell you he's been in business for 25 years and he didn't need your money for all the rest of that time.

The guy also serves up the gamut of coffee-based drinks. I had a cappucino, and it was good and strong. Not as smooth as an Australian flat white though, mate. I hope Arti doesn't read this. Because I'm likely to get an argument next time I go back. And I will go back -- even though Viva Java is hard to find, at the back end of an industrial plaza at the insanely busy intersection of Bridgeport and Great Canadian. I'll go back because the Coffee Nazi is a true wild-man character in a world full of bland Stephen Harper clones.

One of the best coffee in town. They roast their own coffee in house. Try their 7 bean blend. It'll make you happy for the rest of the day!

To the doubters.... I've been going to Viva Java daily for two and a half years now, and I have to say that anyone who has a problem with the proprietor is one or both of the following: A) indecisive B) rude. Artie works by himself and works very hard, so why should he have time for someone to hum and haw over something like their choice of bean ? It's not exactly a life-altering decision, people. If you want to get your hands on the best coffee in the Lower Mainland, then the least you can do is not waste the man's time. You want to be self indulgent and expect someone else to suffer through it ? Then go to Starbucks.