Our Top Six For 2019

As 2019 comes to an end, we decided to sit back and reflect on where we had been this past year and which places really stood out to us.

When we look back at where we went this past year, we went to a total of 72 different places, located in Calgary, Vancouver, Nelson, Edmonton, Lethbridge, Medicine Hat, and Fernie, including everything in between.

This past year I consumed just about 700 beverages in some form or another, including lattes, pure coffee (hand brew), drip, cold brew and even a few flat whites. This year I even tried my very first Mocha at Sought and Found, it was so delicious and I can say I have had a couple more since then.

In the month of February my wife and daughter tried 39 different hot chocolates in 28 days from 37 different places in Calgary to support YYC Hot Chocolate Fest and Meals on Wheels. There were some really delicious ones and some questionable ones. We cannot wait to see what the baristas come up with this year.

Our website seen the highest traffic it has in the three years of being operational with 9,500 views and with over 4,500 visitors. We cannot wait to see where the website goes in the next year.

This year we found a bunch of new outstanding independent restaurants that made our top lists for this year. We cannot wait to see what new places open up in 2020.

 

Top Restaurants

The Beltliner

This restaurant has become one of our favourites to visit at least once a month, not only to try their featured roaster, but to enjoy some of their amazing food. We really enjoy that they bring in featured roasters from all over the place and share their coffee with Calgary. Our favourite meals to get there are the Clubhouse, Chicken and Waffles, and the Mushroom Benedict.

Gus’ Pizza

This was a fast favourite after the first time we visited, it is now one of our go-to’s for pizza and pasta in Calgary. Located across from the Foothills Hospital they have a small quant location that is really welcoming. The have weekly features that makes it really nice to try new things while visiting. Our favourite meals are the Pepperoni, Onion, Green Pepper and Bacon Pizza, the Greek Salad, and their baked Spaghetti.

Top Cafes

Sought and Found

Not only is this a cafe with a great environment but the staff have become great friends and we are always welcomed with smiles. They are constantly working to improve and update their menu items so that people have a different experience every time they visit. Our favourite beverages when we visit are any of the Pure Coffees, a Mocha, Mist x Milk, Sweet Matcha, and the Houjicha x Milk.

Devil’s Head Coffee

Devil’s Head could have fallen into our favourite cafe as well as one of my favourite roasters. I felt it was more of a cafe as this is a place I hang out at quite a bit. Though this cafe is very small and there is no seating except for the roaster it has become one of my favourite places to go get a coffee. Chris and his staff are always very friendly and willing to chat about the different kinds of coffee that they offer or whatever else we can think of. My favourite is their Latte made with the Ethiopian blend.

Top Roasters

We had the opportunity to receive beans from a bunch of different roasters from all around North America and we wanted to feature a couple in our top list. Every sample we received we really enjoyed and cannot wait to see what is sent to us for 2020.

Reunion Coffee- Oakville, ON

These beans came across like drinking wine, they were super smooth and flavourful. They were the most unique flavoured beans I have ever had. My favourite was their Ethiopian which had flavours of strawberry and creamy milk chocolate, it would have been delicious in a Mocha I believe.

Eleven Speed Coffee Roasters- Victoria, BC

I first heard about Eleven Speed Coffee from Chris at Devil’s Head Coffee. I went through these beans really quick because they produced from outstanding coffee. They sent us 3 different coffees but my favourite that they sent me was their Guatemalan Blend because it was quite sweet with bright notes of citrus, proving a clean and delicious flavour.

Worldly Coffee

Patricia, Seven Seeds, Proud Mary – Australia

We were fortunate that our son went to Australia and was able to bring us back some coffee. He brought us a couple of each Patricia, Seven Seeds, and Proud Mary. Each of them were very delicious and absolutely amazing.