Extreme Coffee Freak

Ganache Hot Chocolate – $4.45

Ganache Hot Chocolate is a rich & velvety chocolate ganache, made in-house, and blended with silky smooth steamed milk.

Our next stop for the day was at Market Mall trying Deville’s creation of their Ganache Hot Chocolate. They create their own ganache from scratch and the barista said it would be a strong chocolate flavour to add creaminess.

Unfortunately we found it to be a simple hot chocolate with good flavour but not as creamy as we would have expected.

Overall it was a good quick hot chocolate if you want a beverage to walk around the mall with.

Nut’s For You – $6.50

With the cold days of winter upon us, we’ve followed the lead of our small furry friends – the   chipmunk and squirrel – to create this nutty delight!  ‘Nuts About You’ is created from a base of almond chocolate Ganache steamed with milk, topped with an almond marshmallow and lastly drizzled with a gourmet toffee sauce!

Our first stop was at Bridgeland Market to try their creation, we were happy to see that they made all their components in house. Their Ganache Balls are melted in the milk giving it a creamy delicious texture.

The marshmallow was huge and delicious. There was an almond flavour to the mallow as well as toasted almonds and caramel sauce on top. It was not sticky, which was a very nice addition.

This was a very good hot chocolate to start off this event with.

After we were at Good Trade Coffee Co. we decided to walk down and check out PB & J YYC just a block away. We had read about them and were excited to see that their first day open was in fact the day we visited on Boxing Day. They have a great little location, right on Kensington Road.

 

The Interior

It is a small location but the small space works really well for them. On the right there is a giant bar where they make all the sandwiches, on the left there are a couple tables and their nut butter station. You heard me, nut butter station! You can make your own Peanut, Cashew, Almond, or a combination of those butters. It is really amazing.

The Drinks

The only drink my daughter had was a cup of their Chocolate Almond Milk and she said it was absolutely amazing. The best Almond Milk she has ever had. She even asked if she could buy it by the gallon if possible.

The Food

After checking out their different sandwiches we decided to try a couple different ones. Also I would like to let you know, these are grilled sandwiches and they are a good size sandwich. For those of you out there with kids, you could easily cut this sandwich into quarters and feed a few kids. Or you could just go there and leave your kids at home. Your call.

My daughter ordered the Reese’s Peace for $6.99 and it was absolutely delicious. It was their Peanut Butter with Reese’s Pieces, chocolate sauce and crushed peanuts. She said it was absolutely amazing and she would have it again.

My wife ordered the Fig Delight for $7.99 and it too was amazing. It was their Almond Butter with Fig jam and coconut. The Fig was flavorful with the almond butter, there was a faint taste of coconut but it was just perfect.

I ordered the Brazen Blueberry for $6.99 and I don’t know if I can keep saying it was amazing, but it was delicious as well. It was their Cashew Butter with blueberry jam and butterscotch. It was a balanced blend of sweetness and more sweetness. I do love me some blueberries and butterscotch.

My wife and I shared the sandwiches due to her not being able to eat Peanut Butter I didn’t have the chance to try my daughters. But she said it was amazing as well and I guess I will have to take her word on it.

The Service

The owners were very friendly and they asked for our feedback and we made a couple suggestions and it was nice to see that they were well received. We really hope that they are successful because this is amazing.

The Hours

Monday to Thursday – 7:00AM – 4:00PM

Friday and Saturday – 7:00AM – 6:00PM

Sunday – 7:00AM – 4:00PM

 

Parking

Being in Kensington there is only street parking and I’m sorry to say that you will have to pay unless you head down on a Sunday.

 

Last Words

We will definitely be visiting them again and again in the future. There are so many options of sandwiches and we want to try each and everyone of them if we can. So if I had one request I would ask that everyone tries to get down there to visit and try a sandwich for themselves.

Today we found our way down in Kensington to check out a new coffee shop with the most amazing location. They are located right on the corner of Kensington Road and Kensington Crescent and it is really nice sitting there watching all of the people walk and drive by. There is more to serve coffee with a purpose, and that is that they help support low income families and communities in Columbia through the sale of their products. So great to hear, they have coffee with a cause.

 

The Interior

This location is surrounded by windows and is really nice. The coffee bar takes up most of the room in this café. There was only six tables with a couple seats in the one full corner. The location is very modern and the only downside we could think of is that during the summer months it is going to be really hot in there. Hopefully they are going to have some sort of patio.

It would have been nice if they had accordion doors around the rounded side of the café. That would be amazing during those summer months.

 

The Drinks

I ordered the Latte for $5.05 and it was quite good with good flavour. The espresso that they use is a blend from six different farming families from Colombia called the Narino Blend.

My wife had the London Fog for $4.05 and it was more of a tea misto since there is no flavour added to their London Fog. They are using Sarjesa Tea for their beverages.

My daughter ordered the Hot Chocolate for $4.25 and it was made with chocolate sauce and it had good flavour. She wished there was something to make it less plain, maybe add some whip cream?

The Service

The staff were friendly and made our drinks in a timely manner. We were slightly disappointed when we seen a staff member pull out Mercato tea for herself, it was kind of sad, my wife would have preferred her London Fog be made with the Mercato tea instead.

The Hours

Monday to Saturday – 7:00AM – 7:00PM

Sunday – 8:00AM – 5:00PM

 

Parking

Being in Kensington you still only have parking on the street so you have to pay for that. There is a lot across the street but again you will have to pay for that.

 

Last Words

We will be visiting again in the future as we get down to Kensington quite frequently and would also like to if they have special drinks for the summer months and other events.

Since my whole family was together for Christmas, we decided to go out for breakfast and try out a new place (new for us) down in Kensington called Mat’s Diner. Mat’s Diner has been around for about 2 years now. We had recently seen their story on the news and seen that they offered a few more Vegan options than other restaurants that we were looking at. Our son is vegan and we do have some troubles finding a good restaurant that serves more than one vegan option. Mat’s Diner fits the bill.

 

The Interior

This restaurant is located right below Higher Ground and it doesn’t feel like it is in the basement as there is so much natural light coming through the large windows. We decided to sit down by the fireplace (that was fake) and from where we were sitting we could see the bar. There is plenty of seating in this diner.

It was very quiet when we arrived, there was only us and another family. But as we got our food there was more people coming in and sitting down.

 

The Drinks

Both my daughter and I ordered a Latte for $5.00 and it was not as good as what we expected. The coffee lacked flavour. We later found out that it was made by pushing water through a puck of compressed espresso. It was not very good.

My son had the black coffee for $3.75 and he said that it was good, pretty basic but still had good flavour.

My wife had the Earl Grey Tea by Bigilow for $3.50 and it was good, but nothing special. She often wonders why business don’t serve better tea as there are so many quality teas out there.

If you are going serve good food, serve high quality drinks to match your food.

 

The Food

I ordered the Fried Chicken Griddle for $17.95. This is Mat’s Diners version of chicken and waffles. The pancakes were really heavy but you expect that for buttermilk whole wheat pancakes. The chicken was delicious and seasoned really nicely, also it was nice because it was all white meat. I would have it again.

My wife ordered the Farmer’s Produce Scramble for $15.95 and it was delicious. It was very filling and full of a bunch of different vegetables. My wife said that the herb potatoes were her favorite and I just had to try them and sure enough they were delicious.

My daughter ordered the Traditional Benny for $16.55 and it was really good. She said she only wished that the egg was softer, but this is maybe how they make it here or she forgot to ask for her eggs to be made soft. The herb potatoes were delicious and the addition of the sweet ham made the perfect bite.

My son ordered the Vegan Griddle Cake for $15.95 and it was very tasty and delicious. The pancakes were really good and very filling.

My son said that he would prefer that they had other Vegan breakfast options like a Tofu Scramble or a Tofu Benny added to the menu.

 

The Service

The service was great, everyone was friendly and accommodating. The server had a ton of energy that we could not match at the time we were there but it was nice to see that she was enthusiastic to everyone she talked to. So kudos to our server.

 

The Hours

Monday to Sunday – 7:00AM – 9:30PM

 

Parking

Since you are in Kensington there is only street parking which you have to pay for most of the time. There is also a couple lots that you can park in, but unfortunately you have to pay for that parking as well.

 

Last Words

Overall, we really enjoyed our experience here. If I had one small suggestion, get better coffee and tea.

We will definitely be checking this place out again in the future since there are other menu items that we would like to try.

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.

A week or so back I received a bag of coffee beans in the mail from Hoyser Country. I was really excited to try these as I have been following their Instagram page for quite sometime now. When I opened the packaging the beans were shipped in, the first thing I saw was the bag was autographed from Claudia. Very cool.

The question I got asked from people we knew after I posted on Instagram, who is that girl in the hat on the bag? I told them that it was American Country Music artist Claudia

Hoyser. She was also a contestant on the sixth season of The Voice.  I had read that she has 2 passions, one is music of course while the other is coffee.

The Beans

Hoyser Country Blend

This blend is primarily composed of rare Tanzanian Peaberry beans.

What is a Peaberry Bean you might ask?

Peaberry beans are unique – usually, only between 1% and 9% of the beans from a harvest are classified as Peaberry. This simply means that the berry grew by itself, rather than in a pair. Most coffee bean pairs grow in close proximity, creating that flat side and a curved side. Peaberry beans occur when the bean grows by itself, becoming round and fuller. Peaberry beans have twice the nutrients and flavor of a single, normal coffee bean.

 

The Drinks

For these beans I decided I would try this coffee three ways, a drip, a hand brew and an espresso based drink.

The first drink I made was a latte. I pulled the shot a little short, there was a nice light brown crema. My first taste, the drink came off very strong and then as you kept drinking, the flavors settled down and the drink became very smooth and quite flavorful.

The other night I did up a hand brew. It produced some very richer flavor notes. It started off with some stronger chocolate notes and then got a little sweeter as the coffee cooled down.

We tried this same blend as a drip at work. Again, what I did on this day was have a few of our coffee connoisseurs at work give it a go.

The first pot I made, I went with a courser grind. We all found this coffee was very smooth but yet not as bold as I thought it would have been.

I then did up a second pot and I ground this one up a bit finer. This time the coffee came across as a fuller bodied coffee. The staff and myself preferred this grind.

 

Final Thoughts

Overall, I really enjoyed the beans that Hoyser Country sent to me. These beans proved quite excellent and would satisfy most tongues, so if you seek a bag of great coffee, go to their website hoysercountry.com and check them out on Instagram @hoysercountry.

Hoyser encourages you to share your “coffee moment” on their website, so please if you have a chance to try their coffee, share your moment.

 

 note: coffee was provided free of charge and the above review is objective feedback.

Today is the event we have been waiting for the Breakfast, Beers and Brunch. It is featuring Devil’s Head Coffee which has been infused with one of Born Colorado Brewing’s beers to create the Ghost Beer.

The Interior

When we first arrived it was very, very busy, we were waiting until they opened at ten but when we walked in the place was already starting to fill up. It is not a very big place,  there is six family style tables that a bunch of people were sharing. It is nice to see that so many people share the seats and enjoy talking to each other. The kitchen is wide open on the one side and you can watch them making the food and at the back they have a small bar that Chris, from Devil’s Head, was making espresso shots featuring The Ghost Espresso. It was nice to see everyone trying the coffee and ordering food and then taking a seat to enjoy their purchases.

The Drinks

Extreme Coffee Freak was the designated eater and driver so I choose to sample the espresso featuring Ghost from Devil’s Head today, the rest of this part is up to my wife and daughter.

We ordered a flight with the four different coffee beers they were sampling. For a flight it is $8 and for a glass it is $4.

Paddy’s BBQ and Brewery – Mocha Stout

We found this to have the most coffee and chocolate tones among all the beers, my daughter said she could really taste the coffee and it was really strong, almost too strong for her liking.

Banded Peak Brewery – Javalanche Stout

We taste the coffee flavouring a little after consumption, there is not as much coffee flavour while drinking it.

Eighty-Eight Brewing – Vietnamese Coffee Stout

We found it to be the strongest coffee flavour among the four and it was the favourite among a couple that we talked to.

Born Colorado Brewing – The Ghost Coffee Imperial Porter

We taste a subtle taste of beer but it is really smooth. There is a taste of coffee when you allow the beer to sit on your palate for a couple seconds.

My daughters list from favourite to least is as follows; Banded Peak Brewing, Born Colorado Brewing, Eight-Eight Brewing, and Paddy’s BBQ and Brewery.

My wife’s list from favourite to least is as follows; Born Colorado Brewing, Eighty-Eight Brewing, Banded Peak Brewery, and Paddy’s BBQ and Brewery.

The Food

Today they were featuring two different brunch menu items, the Maple Bacon French Toast and a Brisket Benny each is served with homestyle potatoes, baked beans, breakfast sausage, fried green tomatoes and fruit. As a bonus you also get a coffee, which is always a bonus.

Both my wife and I ordered the Brisket Benny for $12.00 and it was absolutely amazing. The brisket was fall apart and fantastic. Paired with the other fixings on the plate was absolutely amazing. The sausage was smoked and delicious, the fried green tomatoes didn’t need any additional seasoning.

My daughter ordered the Maple Bacon French Toast for $12.00 ad it was absolutely amazing. The maple bacon was such a great addition to the french toast. The beans were a little strange because they were hard, but maybe that is how they are supposed to be, the flavours were really delicious though.

Service

The employees were very friendly and accommodating. Unfortunately we did have to wait a little for our food, but not complaining because it was really really busy. We had the opportunity to talk to the owners Dad about the business. We also were able to talk to the crew from Devi’s Head about the beer and their espresso they were serving today.

Hours

Monday – Closed

Tuesday to Saturday – 11:00AM – 9:00PM

Sunday – 11:00AM – 8:00PM

Parking

Extremely limited, they are on a cul-de-sac and don’t have a ton of parking. When you drive in be careful of the rabbits that are lurking around the business next door.

Final Thoughts

We would definitely be interested in coming back to try some of their other menu items and some of their beer which is extremely well priced. I am looking forward to ordering a full plate of meats and leaving with a meat coma.