Devil’s Head Coffee

I have often yearned for an independent coffee shop close to where I work. I now have one within minutes of my office. Devil’s Head Coffee, it is not really a coffee shop but more a place where they roast coffee, with serving the occasional coffee to customers. Ok, so they are a coffee shop, they just don’t have any seating. Ok, Ok, they have one seat but that’s for the roaster.

The day I was there, I met Chris who is the owner of Devil’s Head Coffee. He had the roaster going full bore. While he was roasting, we discussed everything about Devil’s Head all while I was enjoying a pour over, our discussion ended up being about 2 hours that day.

Mia is one of his staff members who also is one of his baristas. I later found out that she also does the majority of their communications for the business, from dealing with Instagram, their community and customer training programs.

The one thing I really enjoyed about my time at Devil’s Head was how relaxed the atmosphere was. The staff always have time to chat with their customers which is really great to see.

Since I found out that Devil’s Head is so close to my office, I have since been back a number of times.

It is always great to walk in and say hello, have a chat with Chris and grab a coffee. What I have noticed is that it is so easy to forget about time when I am over there. Through my numerous talks with Chris, we are on the same page about trying to get people educated about independent coffee roasters and coffee shops, instead of going to their local Timmy’s or Starbucks.

 

The Interior

The space is not that big but it does the job for what they have going on. There is only one seat and that is for the roaster as I mentioned up above. They have a counter as soon as you walk in the door that is the right height for leaning against and for supporting your coffee, they also have a shelving unit where they sell their beans and swag on.

In the one corner their 5 kg roaster sits prominently. Although it is a 5 kg roaster, Chris said the sweet spot for roasting is only doing batches about 8.5 lbs. in size.

The other side of the shop is where their coffee equipment is set up as well as some racking where they have their green beans just waiting to be roasted.

 

Their Mobile Cart

They have this really cool coffee cart they use for all the pop-ups. For instance, during The Calgary Stampede they were out at a number of pancake breakfasts in the city. They could be at a Farmers Market, an office building downtown, or even in the mountains serving their coffee. Check them out online if this is something you or your company might be interested in. Thank you to Devil’s Head for providing the following cart images.

 

The Drinks

The pourover that I had was a Guatemalan. Its tasting notes were peach, almond, raisins, and chocolate. It was very light and had a very smooth body.

I have had a number of pour overs from there as well as a few lattes, featuring their Ghost Espresso.

Normally, I would put down what I paid for the drink but unfortunately they don’t have a price menu up anywhere. From what I have paid, the drinks are in the $3.00 to $4.50 range.

As for beans available, they have an impressive line-up with coffee beans from around the world. If zero waste is your thing, bring your own container and Devil’s Head can help you out by selling you beans in bulk as well.

 

The Service

Every time I have been there, the service has been outstanding. As I mentioned before, all the staff have been very friendly and have been a pleasure to deal with.

 

The Hours

They just changed their hours, their new hours are;

Monday to Friday:  10:00am to 6:00pm

 

Parking

Lots of reserved parking for everyone else. It is a very busy parking lot. Best to park on the street and walk in.

 

Last Words

I am so delighted to find good coffee so close to my beaten path, it was like sighing “ahh, coffee.”

If you’re in South East Calgary on 106 Ave SE, stop by and say hello, don’t forget to grab yourself a coffee. If you aren’t in the area, check them out online at devilsheadcoffee.ca for all your coffee needs.