Extreme Coffee Freak

Healthy hot chocolate ?! Oh yes please! Thai coconut milk and dark chocolate ganache with immune boosting chaga tea extract. Topped with toasted coconut flakes and maldon salt. Rich, creamy, delicious – O’ Henry!

This hot chocolate is $6.00 and is a very interesting beverage. It is served in a beer mug and has toasted coconut on the top. It is a very creative drink but I am not a fan of ‘floaters’ in a beverage, once the toasted coconut sunk, it was difficult to drink. It also was not as creamy as we had hoped it would be.  I think the coconut milk made the drink not feel creamy.  Unfortunately, not my favourite.

When we were there, they were very busy and maybe the drink suffered a little.

A classic dessert morphed into a drink! A hot chocolate with our delicious banana syrup, topped with vanilla whipping cream and a lovely maraschino cherry. Mmmm.

This hot chocolate for a medium is $4.95 and we were very happy with the flavours blended in this beverage. It tastes exactly like a banana split, and we were told it has been very popular with the patrons of the locations.

Higher Ground has redeemed themselves since the hot chocolate last year, so we were very pleased to try and enjoy this hot chocolate.  We really liked this one.  We can see why it has been popular.

Everyone working for Higher Ground was able to put in their ideas for a hot chocolate and then they selected which they believed was the best.

Amidst a constellation emerges the Desert Star. Available only at Euphoria Cafe, this simple yet succinct combination of flavours allow for an effortless exploration of this beverage odyssey. With its defining characteristics of smooth butterscotch, rich caramel and a dusting of cinnamon, this brilliant drink will leave your tastebuds scintillating.

This hot chocolate is $5.75 and was very delicious. The blended flavours of butterscotch, caramel and cinnamon made the hot chocolate taste like a werthers. We wish the hot chocolate would have been a little hotter, since we found it a little luke warm. Overall though the flavour was delicious.  A great flavoured hot chocolate.  Again another winner.  Go have one!!

The employees where unsure who came up with this beverage this year.

Our inspiration was the Rocky Mountains. The power of being in nature is like the healthy stress relieving benefits of medicinal mushrooms. Creamy reishi hot chocolate, topped with candied mushrooms, handmade marshmallows, dehydrated raspberries and a gluten free rosemary shortbread cookie.

This hot chocolate is $6.99 and is very interesting. It has candied mushrooms which were very good, they are definitely different. The inspiration of this hot chocolate was the ‘Forest Floor’ and everything that is used for this hot chocolate is made in house. It is a very healthy and creamy hot chocolate, which was delicious. I felt this was very creative, where else will you ever get to try a candied mushroom.  Super taste.  We talked to a couple of young kids that were having it as well and they really liked it also.  Another must try.

The shift supervisor and a pervious manager invented this beverage.

Annie are you OK? Our smooth tropical is criminal! Passion fruit hot chocolate topped with a vanilla bean whipped cream, a mango sauce and a delightful mini pistachio financier. All made in house from scratch. You’ve been struck by a smooth criminal!

This hot chocolate is $8.00 and has amazing all around flavour. The best way to describe this beverage is a summer fruit explosion. Everything is made in house from the hot chocolate to the little financier on top. All the products that they use is of the highest quality, the white chocolate is Valrhone, which is amazing. This drink definitely channels summer. Go get yourself one.

It was exciting to hear that this was a group effort to come up with this beverage.

On Thursday January 31st at South Centre Mall there was the annual YYC Hot Chocolate Fest Launch Party. In the central area of the mall, there were 12 tables set up and a bunch of people setting up. When we headed down to the area, we found that this year they decided to create two lines with six vendors. The two lines would significantly speed up the process so more people could funnel through and sample the six vendors.

We were first in line, that way we would be able to talk with each of the vendors while trying their hot chocolate. Thankfully because we were there early, we were able to talk to each of the vendors before we even sampled. The vendors participating this year were The Restaurant at Lougheed House, Cafe Milano, Regal Cat Cafe, Good Mood Brewery, Family Squeezed Lemonade, and Waves Coffee House. We were able to talk to five of the six vendors before starting. Unfortunately Lougheed House was running a little late.

The samples are small but you get a little taste of what the hot chocolate tastes like. If you enjoy the sample then you can head to their location and try a full hot chocolate.

Cafe Milano – Cioccolata Calda

Our hot chocolate is made in the best Italian tradition with real melted chocolate and whole milk. The result is a chocolatey and creamy drink that warms the soul!

This is a classic hot chocolate that was nothing fancy. However, the flavor was amazing, creamy and outstanding. They wanted to stick to there roots. It was refreshing to have such a classic hot chocolate. I was quite impressed because I usually like the weirder and more creative hot chocolates. Very well done. Sure to be a favourite.

 

The Restaurant at Lougheed House – The Senator’s Hot Chocolate

Our Scottish roots inspired our Hot Chocolate recipe. We choose Drambuie from the Isle of Skye as the spirit to enhance our creation. We topped our delicious concoction with Chantilly cream, ground cinnamon  and mint.

They were offering a plain hot chocolate today, since they couldn’t serve with Scotch Liquor at the event. Very hot with it being the first hot chocolate, it burnt my tongue.

 

Regal Cat Cafe – Ragdoll Hot Chocolate

Regal Cat Café’s Ragdoll Hot Chocolate is a delicious blend of our Ragdoll Chai Tea (locally made in Calgary by Tearrific!) infused with steamed milk and white chocolate sauce, and topped with a cinnamon paw. It can be made in milk alternatives however the white chocolate sauce contains dairy.

Regal Cat Cafe’s hot chocolate is White Chai Cinnamon Hot Chocolate. The flavours blended very nicely and it was not overly sweet, not too much cinnamon. It was a really good hot chocolate.

Good Mood Brewery – Malt Hot Chocolate

Our malted hot cocoa   is made with milk, cocoa, and the same malted barley we use in our beer. A   simple ode to the delicious flavour of malt, topped with a giant marshmallow!

They use their malt that they use in their beers but it is processed differently. They had said that it tastes like a malteser, it did and it was very delicious. We really enjoyed this one. Big kudos for originality.

Family Squeezed Lemonade – Cookie Monster Hot Chocolate

C is for cookie. Chocolate. Cravings. Community. Our Cookie Monster Hot Chocolate is definitely cookie monster approved. We start with a cookie crumbled rimmed cup and a base of our creamiest, tea infused, milk chocolate. This is topped with whipped cream, sprinkles and cookie crumbles. Best of all, we adorn it with a skewer of our Cookie Monster Edible Cookie Dough Balls and a Cookie Monster approved snack on top!

This hot chocolate is very sweet, they use a sweet tea infused with hot chocolate. The cookie dough ball was very good and it is a very good addition to the hot chocolate. There is cotton candy on their hot chocolate as well, it is such a cool invention again this year.

Waves Coffee House – Eastern Sun

The Eastern Sun is a turmeric and dark chocolate drink. Made from Belgian dark chocolate chips and our Golden Turmeric Elixir, topped with whip cream and garnished with a crystallized ginger slice. The health and healing qualities of the turmeric combined with the rich dark chocolate provides you with the warmth of both the drink and that little zing of ginger finish. This drink is best with milk but is also great as a vegan friendly drink with the choice of almond or coconut milk.

This hot chocolate is very healthy with the combination of tumeric and spices. The hot chocolate has very interesting flavour. I feel the flavour was very balanced between the spices and hot chocolate, nothing overpowered any other flavour.

After we sampled the hot chocolate we sat and watched some people go through the line. We asked a small sample of 21 people which was their favourite after the sampling and most of them replied with Cafe Milano.

Before we left we had a quick chat with the Meals On Wheels Organizers and they are so excited about the caliber of the beverages this year.

On Saturday, we headed out to Cochrane to check out a new shop called ‘The Noble Fox’ that had just opened a few days earlier. Once we arrived we realized that The Noble Fox was in the old home of Deja Brew. We had visited that shop a couple of years ago.

 

The Interior

The interior was very bright with white painted walls and large windows. The tables are made of plywood and have black metal chairs to sit on. There is plenty of seating including this huge funky sectional at the front of the shop. Not sure about the stuffed bear and why it was there, maybe for the kids??? There is a lot of artwork on the walls as well.

In the summer, they are going to have a great patio, and a great little grassed area out front of the shop.

The Drinks

My wife went with her old standby, a London Fog – $5.25. She said that it tasted terrific.

My daughter ordered a Peach Tea – $2.75. She too said that her tasted really good and had some nice flavour to it.

I had order a Caramel Macchiato – $5.25. I would like to say it tasted great but it didn’t, the drink seemed watered down, lacking flavour other than caramel.

The Noble Fox is currently buying their coffee from Coffee Concepts in Calgary. While I was there, I did talk to the owner and he said that they were looking for a roaster to use, I gave them a couple of my choices. I look forward to see who they choose.

The Food

On this day, we decided to try Pancake Bites – $4.75. Overall they were pretty good, they came with preserved strawberries and whip cream on them. Down side, would have preferred fresh strawberries instead.

The other item we tried was the shortbread cookie – $2.25. These are fresh baked for The Noble Fox, the cookie had really nice flavour.

The other baked goods looked really good as well. They also have a food menu, but did not see any of those items coming out at the time were there.

The Service

The service overall was great, staff were very friendly and got us our drinks fairly quickly.

 

The Hours

Monday to Friday: 7:00am to 6:00pm

Saturday: 9:00am to 5:00pm

Sunday: Closed

 

Parking

There is parking lot and ample street parking.

 

Last Words

Unfortunately, we didn’t make it back to Cochrane for their grand opening, but did see pictures and looked like it was very successful. We will most likely head back out there once they have been open for a bit to see how things are going and to see if anything has changed.

Over the past couple of years I have tried a number of local coffee roasters, I have now tried another, Rooftop Coffee Roasters out of Fernie, BC.

Rooftop Coffee Roasters is a fairly new roaster, they launched their family business in July, 2016. When they started they were using a small electric roaster that only roasted 250 grams at a time to now they have a 5 kg and 15 kg roaster.

 

The Beans

Guatemala Antonio Medina

Altitude: 1700m

First on the docket was the Antonio Medina, a fully washed Guatemalan. Antonio Medina’s farm, Finca La Colina, is located near the small municipality of San Martin Jilotepeque in southern Guatemala. He is a fourth generation coffee grower.

The pour-over doled out notes of peaches, honey, and chocolate. The drink came across a little sweet and it was quite tasty.

The next day I tried this same blend as a drip. What I did was have a few of our coffee connoisseurs at work give it a go. I thought the coffee had a sweet taste, but more chocolate undertones. I had a few people tell me they felt it had more of a fruity flavour to it.

Both ways, the coffee had some great flavours and both were super smooth.

 

Columbia Amparo De Botina

Altitude: 1880-1930m

Second one up was a Columbian. This coffee comes from a tiny grandmother, Amparo De Botina, that runs an all-female farm.

Sipping the pour-over, I found lots of chocolate and raspberry tones with this one. The coffee came across with the sweetness of the caramelized bananas but I did not taste any of the banana.

Again, I did the same thing with this one, took some to work and made it as a drip to see what kind of comments I got with this one. The drip came across very fruity with notes of raspberry, strawberry, cherry, and again with the chocolate undertones.

Both bags of these beans produced a solid coffee bursting with flavours. I preferred the Guatemalan, it was the smoother coffee to drink, with loads of flavour.

 

Ethiopian Mokonisa Guji

Altitude: 2000m

Third up was an Ethiopian from the GUJI region. I read that this producer has recently changed things up from focusing on volume to focusing on quality which is great to hear.

This one I only made as a pour-over. It produced some strong blueberry notes, and I felt was almost sugary. It made this coffee very sweet, but rich in flavour.

 

“Coffee with a Cause

At Rooftop we want to give back to the regions and countries our coffees come from. We’re passionate about forming relationships and seek to work with people effecting positive changes in their communities. That’s why we donate $1.00 of every pound of our Peruvian beans to CIMA, Centro de Integración de Menores en Abandono, a centre for abandoned boys near Lima, Peru. Our donation goes directly to the home, and is used wherever needed. The funds have gone towards large projects such as renovating the kitchen or building a chicken coup, as well as smaller, everyday expenses like books, food, or medicine. 

This cause is very dear to our hearts as two of our founders have had the opportunity to travel to Peru to live and work at the home. The experience of visiting CIMA and the friendships formed with the boys (some of which are ongoing thanks to the Internet), are the inspiration behind this first initiative. After witnessing it firsthand, we knew we had to contribute to the incredibly inspiring work CIMA is doing for their community.

Although we can’t personally visit CIMA on a regular basis, our local school, The Fernie Academy, continues to travel to Peru with the Grade 10 class every year. They’ve formed strong, lasting bonds with the inspiring faculty, educators, directors, and boys at CIMA.  They now bring the annual contributions from Coffee for A Cause with them, and form a link between us and this amazing community.”

– rooftopcoffeeroasters.com

 

Last Words

To say the least, I was thrilled with the terrific coffee coming from the skilled hands of Rooftop Coffee Roasters. If you seek to try some of their delicious offerings, head to rooftopcoffeeroasters.com and order yourself some beans.

They are the caffeinated pride of Fernie, BC.

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

 

Have you ever walked down a street and thought to yourself, “why is there not a coffeehouse here?!” I sure have. I might have even screamed it into the air more than once (well, maybe not verbatim but you get the idea). On 17 Ave SW down in Mount Royal, there are a few points like that where the coffee houses are spaced out quite a bit. I welcome more coffee cafes.

The Black Sheep sits nestled in a strip of shops, across from Mount Royal Village, the coffee house and bakery has a nice brick exterior with large windows, unfortunately the sign wasn’t up yet but when talking with the owner, he told us it was hand carved wood and would be up soon.

 

The Interior

Inside, the place was arranged nicely and has a very calming decor. The walls are white with square molding with some very cool pixelated art on them that is for sale. There are 3 larger tables that sit 4 and the some small shelf like tables on the side walls that seat 2. Then there is seats in the front windows. Everything is very open including the kitchen, if you stand at the front of the shop, you can look right into it.

We were there very early on Saturday which was great because it was very quiet with the music playing in the background.

 

The Drinks

My wife ordered the Marco Polo tea – $3.50. The tea is a premium French tea called Mariage Freres in which Black Sheep is the only place in Calgary serving this tea. The tea has fruit and flower undertones. She told me the tea was unbelievable, and she is a person who drinks a lot of tea. This past weekend we were kind of in the area we had to stop by again so she could have another.

My daughter ordered the Café Au Lait – $4.50. My daughter went with this because she drank these when she was in France last year. This is coffee with milk, but it really tasted like what she had in France.

I ordered the Café Latte – $4.95. Black Sheep does not make these drinks with an espresso machine. Black Sheep uses a traditional Moka Pot, please see attached picture. It is a different way of doing things. This day I found the drink to be good but seemed a little weak. When we were there this past weekend again, the drink was better on our second visit, lots of flavour and very smooth. I could really taste the coffee this time.

The coffee that The Black Sheep serves is a local roaster called Chronicle Coffee Roasters. The Black Sheep serves two blends which is made specifically for them. They have a dark roast named Fleece’s Pieces and they have a medium roast named Shear Factor.

 

The Food

First off everything looked outstanding. Also, I want to let you know that everything is baked daily, no carry-over here. They are starting to work with various agencies to donate the food at the end of the day that is left over. So since everything looked so good, I think we ordered one of everything they had.

• Almond Biscotti – $3.50. This is a large piece of biscotti. The biggest I have ever had.
• Pecan Banana Kouign Amann – $3.75. Tasted like banana bread but better.
• Almond Croissant – $4.25. Super delicious.
• Ameretti Cookie – $2.75. Absolutely amazing flavour.
• Shortbread & Caramel cookie – I think it was $2.50. The cookie was unbelievable, 2 shortbread cookies with caramel in between. We actually told them they should sell the caramel that they place in the cookie. They make this caramel in house.

Madeleines

• Classic with lemon zest – $1.50. We really like lemon and felt it could have a bit more flavour.
• Matcha Green Tea – $2.00. This is covered in white chocolate. Fantastic, very tasty.
• Raspberry – $2.00. Vanilla madeleine filled with house made raspberry jam and covered with dark chocolate.
• Marble – $2.00. Vanilla and cocoa madeleine covered in milk chocolate.

Everything we ordered was amazing. Then as we are sitting there, Ben, the owner comes over and asks if we would like to try something and of course we say yes. He brings over right out of the oven and Maple Pecan Croissant. All I have to say was WOW. It was to die for. I wanted to say bring me a dozen more. Our daughter is not fond of those flavours, and this is nor her favourite treat to have there. She is a believer.

 

The Service

Overall the service was outstanding, all the staff were very friendly and were terrific explaining everything. It is always a pleasure when the staff want to talk to their customers.

 

The Hours

Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday: 7:00am to 5:30pm

Closed Tuesdays

Saturday: 8:30am to 5:30pm

Sunday: 8:30am to 4:00pm

 

Parking

Get there early as street parking on 17 Ave fills up fast.

 

Last Words

Many would say a single visit that demands future visits is always a good thing to have.

In this case, I consider myself fortunate to be able to say that I have had two really good visits with The Black Sheep. I definitely hope to have more.

Get yourself down there, you won’t be disappointed.