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Coffeehouse and Cafe Reviews


phaelon56

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  • 3 weeks later...

The coffee scene in Calgary has exploded in the last year or so and I'm happy to provide this overview for the coffee geeks among us.

In addition to all the expected chains (Calgary is the second largest market for Starbucks, per capita, in Canada with 98 outlets, including licenced concept ones, as of today- that's almost triple the number, proportionally, in the Toronto market) and too many terrible ma-and-pa "second wave" indies, Calgary has at least five shops, four in the city proper and one in the western suburbs, that adhere to third-wave principles and do some damn fine latte art to boot. No, this ain't Vancouver or Portland, but pound for pound Calgary's come over to the quality side with more gusto (including customer support that's mind-boggling at times) than most cities its size. We have it good here, finally.

The best shops, in order of their ages (oldest to newest), are as follows:

1. Java Jamboree in in Cochrane, which is a pretty cute NW suburb of Calgary with a twee, western-themed town centre. But JJ is in a hideous strip mall and gives no indication of the glory inside. JJ was the first coffeehouse in Alberta, and the second in Canada, to purchase a Synesso. They brew beans from 49th Parallel and Josuma (in SF). Latte art photos cover the walls, and the owners LOVE to talk coffee. It’s like a dream.

2. Bumpy’s (8 St b/t 10 and 11 Aves SW) has really helped to raise the bar in Calgary since its opening in September, 2005. A lot of people know it more for its excellent food (and rightly so), but coffeegeeks flock here for fantastic espresso prepared with a brand new Elektra Kappa, with beans from Big Mountain and 49th Parallel. Baristas are among the best in town; superb latte art, and this is the first place in town to regularly offer single-origin espressos. A class act.

3. Phil & Sebastian Coffee Company is, like Java Jamboree, a pioneer in bringing new equipment into Calgary; in their case, a Clover brewing system. Their espresso machines (yes, current setup is two machines) aren’t seen very often in these parts; a La Marzocco FB-80 and a Synesso. Thanks to P&S we now have a regular source in Calgary for beans from some the reputationally great Novo Coffee in Denver. Their location in the Calgary Farmers’ Market (former Currie Barracks) is neat and convenient, but terrible for conversation. For coffee, though, it’s peerless (just about).

4. Caffe Artigiano has opened its first Calgary location and its first outside the Vancouver area at 332 6th Ave SW in the new Centrium building. Beautiful, bright space with the same delicious sandwiches and other food (try the yogurt parfait) as at Vancouver locations. This one has a four-group La Marzocco FB 80 and Calgary’s second Clover, and is open, heavens be praised, seven days a week, currently Sat and Sun 8-5, as well as weekday hours 6-6 M-W and 6-7 Th-F.

5. Kawa Espresso Bar opens TOMORROW (May 16, 2008) at 1333 8 St SW. This is the urban spinoff of Java Jamboree, with the same 49th/Josuma beans, the same three-group Synesso as well as two Clovers, but in a gorgeous, polished Beltline setting, with a wine bar to boot and hours tentatively until 11. This place makes Artigiano look funky by comparison.

In the space of a couple of years we've gone from one third-wave shop in the fairly distant suburbs to five. In addition, Calgary's venerable Good Earth chain has stepped up its coffee program of late (all new NS Aurelias in its 12 locations), as has the always-cool, but until recently always-horrible-coffee-serving Caffe Beano.

Kawa's opening is epic news for now, but look for at least two more Artigiano locations as well as a proper downtown or downtown-ish caffe for Phil and Sebastian.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Café Medina - the Belgian waffle place next to Chambar - will be introducing a breakfast & lunch menu in "early June" according to the sign in their window. Any new breakfast joint created by the Chambar folks is bound to be good. :wub:

健啖家(kentan-ka):A hearty eater

He was a wise man who invented beer." - Plato

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Café Medina - the Belgian waffle place next to Chambar - will be introducing a breakfast  & lunch menu in "early June" according to the sign in their window. Any new breakfast joint created by the Chambar folks is bound to be good.  :wub:

Thanks for the heads up Kentan -- good brekky places in that hood are especially welcome.

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Café Medina - the Belgian waffle place next to Chambar - will be introducing a breakfast  & lunch menu in "early June" according to the sign in their window. Any new breakfast joint created by the Chambar folks is bound to be good.  :wub:

Thanks for the heads up Kentan -- good brekky places in that hood are especially welcome.

So, you think that this breakfast place will be even better than Rickey's? :wink:

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Café Medina - the Belgian waffle place next to Chambar - will be introducing a breakfast  & lunch menu in "early June" according to the sign in their window. Any new breakfast joint created by the Chambar folks is bound to be good.  :wub:

Thanks for the heads up Kentan -- good brekky places in that hood are especially welcome.

So, you think that this breakfast place will be even better than Rickey's? :wink:

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Add to the Calgary list: De Ville "luxury coffee and pastries" in the space in Art Central (7th Ave and Centre SW)- 3 group Synesso and Intelligentsia, with treats from Saint Germain. With Kawa, Bumpy's and Artigiano that gives Calgary four third-wave shops downtown. Amazing.

I was a judge at the Prairie Regional Barista Championships last weekend and am on a major coffee high right now, to see the talent and passion here (and Edmonton and Saskatoon- in fact the 1-2 competitors were from those cities respectively; third was from Kawa and those are the three to represent us at nationals in Montreal in October).

Edited by Manzo (log)
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Coo Coo cafe has always been a staple of Yaletown. They're known to make good strong espressos. But I would pass on their chai latte. I've ordered it twice with soy and for some reason both times tasted like spice flavoured water.

I think since JJ Beans opened at the corner Coo Coo has lost some of the local business. I go to JJ Beans more often now because of the tasty huge cookies and muffins.

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  • 3 weeks later...

I stopped by Cafe Medina yesterday to see how things were progressing on the breakfast front. One of the staff said that they have been building a kitchen in the back from scratch, so it's quite a time consuming process. Although they want to be ready to go next week, he said that it'll probably be more like 2-3 weeks from now.

To console myself I had the coffee + fruit + waffle with the pistachio white chocolate topping. Man, that was a great waffle! Amazingly tasty and chewy. Someone else posted that they're called Gaufre de Liège (Liège Waffles). The article below says that these are the original Belgian waffles, whereas the thicker, larger and crispier variety are "Gaufre de Bruxelles" (Brussels Waffles).

Gaufre de Liège or de Bruxelles

The coffee from 49th Parallel Roasters was awesome too. Can't wait for brekkie!

健啖家(kentan-ka):A hearty eater

He was a wise man who invented beer." - Plato

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I stopped by Cafe Medina yesterday to see how things were progressing on the breakfast front. One of the staff said that they have been building a kitchen in the back from scratch, so it's quite a time consuming process. Although they want to be ready to go next week, he said that it'll probably be more like 2-3 weeks from now.

To console myself I had the coffee + fruit + waffle with the pistachio white chocolate topping. Man, that was a great waffle! Amazingly tasty and chewy. Someone else posted that they're called Gaufre de Liège (Liège Waffles). The article below says that these are the original Belgian waffles, whereas the thicker, larger and crispier variety are "Gaufre de Bruxelles" (Brussels Waffles).

Gaufre de Liège or de Bruxelles

The coffee from 49th Parallel Roasters was awesome too. Can't wait for brekkie!

Thanks for the update. I didn't realize (duh) that CM had 49th Parallel, a reason to go in and of itself for me anyway. I have just started going to the Edge Cafe at 7th and Yukon because they have 49th P. Oh and they also have great food :-).

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  • 2 weeks later...

Can I get a few recommendations on a coffee shop or cafe that has ample parking space; I'm looking for a place to have as meet up location on Sunday around 10-11am and will be having 5 cars or more show up for coffee; it would be nice if they could park together.

I'm considering JJ Bean in North Van. but small and independent is better.

We tried Cafe Medina, great waffles & coffee; but very small and limited in street parking.

Edited by Samimi (log)
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Can I get a few recommendations on a coffee shop or cafe that has ample parking space; I'm looking for a place to have as meet up location on Sunday around 10-11am and will be having 5 cars or more show up for coffee; it would be nice if they could park together.

I'm considering JJ Bean in North Van. but small and independent is better.

We tried Cafe Medina, great waffles & coffee; but very small and limited in street parking.

Hmmm...You say small but then the small and independant is too small. Just because JJ. Bean has a few locations doesn't make them Starbucks. They make good coffee and are independantly owned. Plus you've got the shopping mall parking lot in the N. Van. location for the minimum of 5 (or more?) people who are going show up.

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Can I get a few recommendations on a coffee shop or cafe that has ample parking space; I'm looking for a place to have as meet up location on Sunday around 10-11am and will be having 5 cars or more show up for coffee; it would be nice if they could park together.

I'm considering JJ Bean in North Van. but small and independent is better.

We tried Cafe Medina, great waffles & coffee; but very small and limited in street parking.

This link may prove useful for future meetups: http://translink.bc.ca/ :wink:

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Can I get a few recommendations on a coffee shop or cafe that has ample parking space; I'm looking for a place to have as meet up location on Sunday around 10-11am and will be having 5 cars or more show up for coffee; it would be nice if they could park together.

I'm considering JJ Bean in North Van. but small and independent is better.

We tried Cafe Medina, great waffles & coffee; but very small and limited in street parking.

Hmmm...You say small but then the small and independant is too small. Just because JJ. Bean has a few locations doesn't make them Starbucks. They make good coffee and are independantly owned. Plus you've got the shopping mall parking lot in the N. Van. location for the minimum of 5 (or more?) people who are going show up.

Artigiano in Burnaby or Park Royal (West Van)

Barrett Jones - 49th Parallel Coffee Roasters

Dwell Time - my coffee and photography site

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  • 2 weeks later...
Can I get a few recommendations on a coffee shop or cafe that has ample parking space; I'm looking for a place to have as meet up location on Sunday around 10-11am and will be having 5 cars or more show up for coffee; it would be nice if they could park together.

This link may prove useful for future meetups: http://translink.bc.ca/ :wink:

Ha! Thanks Vancouver - I was going to say the same thing. With 5 cars, that trip is consuming a lot more gas than coffee! Although gas is still cheaper per litre.

健啖家(kentan-ka):A hearty eater

He was a wise man who invented beer." - Plato

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Ha! Thanks Vancouver - I was going to say the same thing. With 5 cars, that trip is consuming a lot more gas than coffee! Although gas is still cheaper per litre.

The owners are not worried about the cost of gas. These are cars that don't get driven much, so the owners are only looking for an excuse to drive in this nice weather. There have been a few runs to white rock; and 5 Cars is just to start as the number will grow.

Edited by Samimi (log)
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  • 2 weeks later...

MacKinnon's Bakery on South Granville has a sign up saying they'll be moving.

I'm glad they're not closing outright, but it's still a shock since they've been in the same location for the past 82 years.

First Notte's Bon Ton moves off Granville and now this! Ok, I guess that was a while ago...

健啖家(kentan-ka):A hearty eater

He was a wise man who invented beer." - Plato

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Had a free hour this afternoon so I went over to 49th Parallel and had a small Americano (SP?). I am a drip coffee kinda guy - no cream, no sugar. Like espresso - do not love it. Will drink latte, but only when it is a meal substitute.

Honestly - I have not endorsements with 49th Parallel, but I sat at the window seat and drank the best cup of coffee, hands down.....that I have every drank. The 12 minutes of pleasure were surreal - the people watching even more-so.

Sorry Lavazza...our 24 year love affair is over.

I know Barrett, he talks to me like Charlie Brown's teacher when he talks coffee.

I recommend a solo trip to 49th Parallel for everyone. It is a whole other level of coffee pleasure. Make the first trip by yourself - enjoy the entire experience - its like the Last Tango in Paris...embrace the whymsical, skip the butter.

Chef/Owner/Teacher

Website: Chef Fowke dot com

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  • 2 weeks later...
Cafe Medina (beside Chambar) is now offering full breakfast along with their amazing waffles. Unbelievably good stuff!

What do they have on offer waylman? What did you try?

健啖家(kentan-ka):A hearty eater

He was a wise man who invented beer." - Plato

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What do they have on offer waylman? What did you try?

I'm not waylman, and haven't tried it yet. But they have their menu online at: http://www.medinacafe.com/.

Thanks Vancouver - we tried to get into Cafe Medina today at 1:30 but it would have been at least a 45 minute wait! Methinks there are not enough great brunch places in that part of town.

健啖家(kentan-ka):A hearty eater

He was a wise man who invented beer." - Plato

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Cafe Medina (beside Chambar) is now offering full breakfast along with their amazing waffles. Unbelievably good stuff!

What do they have on offer waylman? What did you try?

I had the waffles as I'm not a big egg guy. They are fantastic...I don't know if you've ever had a waffle for dessert over at Chambar but they are the same. Rich, dense and delicious. My buddy had the Fricasse which looked unreal (eggs & shortribs) and my wife had the Libanais which she really liked. Check it out!

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If you happen to find yourself in Lake Cowichan, the Galloping Moon Gallery makes a great coffee with beans from Illy. It's on the main drag of town just before the tourist info centre.

The owner used to sell and service espresso machines, so he knows his stuff. Interesting guy to chat with as well - apparently Dutch, Swiss, and Germans absolutely love the area and have been big real estate buyers of late.

Edited by Kentan (log)

健啖家(kentan-ka):A hearty eater

He was a wise man who invented beer." - Plato

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