Nektar

Nektar began on February 14, 2009, as Nektar Caféologue, a small cafe on Rue Saint-Joseph in Quebec City's Saint-Roch neighbourhood. Friends Vincent and Constantin started it as a place to discover and talk about specialty coffee, and for years it served coffee from more than twenty third-wave roasters. A second cafe opened in Limoilou in 2015.

In 2018 Nektar took the leap into roasting its own coffee, opening a roastery with a third cafe attached in Saint-Nicolas, across the river in Lévis. Its approach is about discovery and farm-to-cup traceability. It works with more than twenty producers a year, constantly rotates its lineup, and goes after experimental processing methods and new cultivars. Its coffees come in two series: Origine, and the more adventurous Récolte.

For US travelers visiting Quebec City, the original Saint-Roch cafe is a short walk from Old Québec and a great introduction to the city's coffee scene.