Shawnigan House Coffee and Chocolate pride themselves on more than just serving up an array of sweet treats and tasty beverages, they truly go the extra mile to fill up their customers' cups.
"Overall we often find that we are bringing hope and encouragement to people in a dark world," said co-owner Lisa Pyne-Mercier. "Very often someone will come in who is having a bad day, and we are just able to lift their spirits a bit, or give them a smile or even a hug and it changes their day and in turn that change will positively affect the other people that they come across. We have met so many amazing, loving, and kind people, some I would just do anything for, they are just such wonderful salt of the earth people, so genuine and I just love that."
This cozy little shop has been a staple in the Shawnigan Lake community since the 1980s when it was called Maziro's. Since day one, the business has thought outside the box and have always made their own concentrate for some of their specialty favourites such as their chai latte, and Shawnigan Fog which Pyne-Mercier jokes is trade secret. However it is no secret that other popular items include their array of lattes, ice drinks and smoothies.
After a long and smooth run in the community the original owners of Maziro's sold the shop to one of their former employees in 2012 who at that time decided to change the name to Shawnigan House Coffee and Chocolate. It was in July of that same year that Lisa and Trevor Pyne-Mercier, who hail from Johannesburg, South Africa moved to Canada and headed straight to Shawnigan Lake to be closer to Trevor's siblings.
"We were told that the island was the best place to raise kids, so why go somewhere else when you can come to the best place?" said Pyne-Mercier.
While still living in South Africa, Trevor managed two chains of the Mediterranean restaurant Europa for 10 years while Lisa spent her time running her own business. Once they moved here she didn't have the opportunity or need to use some of her former skills so the two began working in other areas and industries. While researching to come to Canada, the couple saw how big people were on volunteering, so soon after moving to the community Trevor decided to volunteer with the Shawnigan Lake Fire Department, an area he had always been intrigued by.
"I thought to myself that if I was going to volunteer I wanted to do something that I found interesting and excited me," said Trevor. "I love being able to help people on possibly one of the worst days of their lives, and to assist them to recover and get back on their feet."
The couple took the plunge to purchase Shawnigan House in 2019 as part of their retirement plan. While they had nearly 12 staff when they first took over, since COVID it has just been Lisa running the show, so when Trevor does't have to stand the heat, he helps out where he can in both the shop and kitchen. Pyne-Mercier said because she had never worked in a coffee shop before, there was a huge learning curve.
"Not just anyone can be a barista, there is a lot to learn and remember," said Lisa. "It really is a science, X amount of grams of coffee, Y amount of pressure, and Z amount of pressure in the machines. Then there are six or seven different techniques for steaming the milk, depending on the type, as soy and oat milk steam much differently than cow's milk."
The shop had another learning curve to negotiate in the fall when an incident where a mom was made by the shop to feel uncomfortable breastfeeding her baby went viral.
The owners don't sugarcoat the situation or their sincere apology. They resolved to do better and hope the community will support them with another chance to make everyone feel welcome.
"We want to nurture an inclusive environment for all of our customers who have been so supportive of us over the years," said Pyne-Mercier in a Facebook post immediately following the incident. "Again, our deepest apologies to the mother involved and to anyone triggered by this situation. We are sorry."
On a sweeter note, the shop is also the perfect place to buy sweets for your sweet, and while they still stay true to a few of the original recipes, the second owner took some of them with her despite the couple having bought the business as well as its intellectual properties, leaving them in some cases starting from scratch.
Lisa does not consider herself a chocolatier, as she feels that title should be reserved for those who have gone to school and have dedicated their life to this creative craft. Although she admits while still in South Africa she dabbled a little with cakes and cocoa dipped bonbons she had never done anything like the tempering she does now. Before coming to Canada, when times were tight, she had worked out a sweet deal with her chiropractor who would accept payment in chocolate in exchange for his services.
"Whether it was cakes or whatever, I would pay him in chocolate," said Pyne-Mercier.
There are a lot of elements one needs to get right when making chocolate, such as the tempering and ideal room temperature which Lisa said is roughly around 21 C. She said while some other professional chocolatiers may have humidity and temperature controlled rooms they work out of a small space and make them just one batch at a time.
"You have to make sure that there is no moisture in the room," said Pyne-Mercier. "If it is pouring rain, I am not even going to try to make chocolate because there is too much moisture in the air."
She joked that her journey started off with some prayers and tears around the chocolate machines along with the support of her friends.
"I've managed to work, create, and change some recipes and even introduce some new things," said Pyne-Mercier. "My favourite part of the journey would definitely be the creative aspect; food is very different, it has a life and emotions of its own. Sometimes you are boiling a pot of milk and you can smell that it needs a bit of lemon or a dash of cinnamon. Then the seasons change and your feel inspired to do something different, and the exciting part is coming up with new recipes is something a little different."
Something else that is a little different that guests will stumble upon when coming into the shop is art, such as the the stunning stained glass creations from local artist Lyn Shields. They also carry Cosmic Salt created by local resident Terrence Kuiper.
Pyne-Mercier said all the chocolate at Shawnigan House is made with five base ingredients: organic cocoa butter, organic cocoa sugar, organic cane mass, soy lecithin as a stabilizer and vanilla. She believes what goes into chocolate is important because the higher the quality, the better effect it can have on one's skin, body and mood as it contains antioxidants, flavonoids, and other nutrients that can also improve circulation and even reduce inflammation.
"When you pick up a chocolate bar for under $2 you should read the ingredients and the moment you go past six or seven, you should put the bar back on the shelf and make a conscious decision to find yourself a chocolatier and treat yourself to some really good quality chocolate," said Pyne-Mercier. "When you do so, you will get all the nutrients and benefits that come with it. Sometimes we have a 76 per cent chocolate and all you need is just a little bit of that to boost your mood."
Some of their most popular, and favourite chocolates to make include their caramels and their candied orange slices that are dipped in chocolate.
"When I start making the oranges I can barely keep up, some people will walk in and buy the whole tray," said Pyne-Mercier.
Historically Valentine's Day has always been the busiest day for chocolatiers worldwide, and Pyne-Mercier said not only will they have their usual favourites, but the features for the upcoming holiday of love will include a strawberry yogurt wax chocolate ganache, a blueberry ganache, caramel tirimisu Bailey's bomb, as well as ones with freeze dried strawberries plus fresh chocolate dipped strawberries that will be made on Valentine's Day. All their chocolates can be bought individually or by boxes of eight or 32. Pyne-Mercier said a box of eight will typically go for $25.
"I like it when people pre-order because then they know they are guaranteed to get what they want," said Pyne-Mercier. "It can be quite sad if they don't because if we sell out I might not make that specific chocolate the following season. If people find themselves alone on Valentine's Day they should come by as a way to connect with other people. We don't always have to be on our own, we welcome people to come in any time and just have a chat, and nine times out of 10 if I'm not available for a chat there will be someone else."
Shawnigan House is open from 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday to Friday, and from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturdays and closed on Sundays and all statutory holidays. For a full list of the regular menu items visit shawnigancoffee.com.
"Many people will come in and say how cozy it is, and that they have never been here before," said Pyne-Mercier. "My hope is that when our customers leave feeling that they were part of something bigger. When people leave we want them to feel like they were loved, welcome, and special with the service and love that we can give them."
