Extreme Coffee Freak

Today we are out in Bragg Creek at a very cool coffee shop called Lucid Kustoms Koffee House.  It is located in a strip mall with a bunch of different shops. From the outside it looks like a log building, and when we looked at images of this cafe there were a bunch of motorcycles out front. This location has been open for two years, there is a Lucid Kustoms in Calgary, but no coffee shop included.

We entered in through the motorcycle side so there was a bunch of motorcycles and apparel. When we entered into the cafe side there were a bunch of comfy seats around and a couple people inside, but since it was a nice day we sat outside as well as the others.

We ordered an Americano, two London Fogs, and a Caramel Macchiato. All of the beverages were very delicious. The only sad thing is that they only had one size of a mug and all the other drinks have to come in to-go cups.

For a small snack we got a rice crispy square with Oreo chunks, amazing, and a hummingbird loaf, delicious. It was a loaf with banana, coconut, pineapple, and walnuts.

The decor inside was very biker inspired which is absolutely amazing, there was a giant drawing of a motorcycle on one whole wall. On the other wall there was pictures of motorcycles that I could assume that they made.

It was so peaceful out here and after today’s amazing visit, we will return.

I do apologize for the delay in getting this blog out, but better late than never.

While the pickings in smaller towns are often slimmer, I do love finding good coffeehouses outside the city limits of Calgary. Sure, most cafes of merit exist in the urban jungles of the world, but there’s something extra special when I come across a reputable coffee bar in a small town.

One such rare gem that exists in the heart of Cochrane, Alberta, located on 1 Street. As you drive up the cafe it has been blessed with a huge patio for when we rarely get warm weather. As you head inside, the shop has a ton of seating amidst a calm, pleasant atmosphere of concrete floors, numerous windows and an european type decor. Lots of pictures of Rome, Paris, and Germany. It was quite interesting that there was a toaster over in one corner of the cafe for you to toast your own bread if you so decided.

The coffee comes from Canmore’s coffee roaster Rave Coffee, a welcome sight in any cafe. For my coffee that beautiful sunny morning, I went with a Pistachio espresso and I also had a Caramel and sea salt latte. My wife had an Iced Matcha. The Pistachio espresso was an espresso with some steamed milk topped with pistachios. This was an interesting drink especially when you got down to the bottom and there was chucks of the pistachios. My caramel and sea salt latte was very good. If you like sweet, this is the beverage for you. My wife’s Iced Matcha was excellent and would strongly recommend this drink to anyone.

We ordered a bacon, egg and cheese breakfast sandwich. The food we ordered I would say was just ok. It wasn’t anything special. The baked goods in the cabinet were all home made and looked great though.

Let’s talk customer service, it was outstanding. The two girls working there were terrific, very friendly, extremely helpful and patient as this was our first time here. There was a lot to digest as they have a very large menu.

All around, I greatly appreciated the Deja Brew experience in Cochrane; the shop had a cool vibe and the coffee proved tasty. Whether you live nearby or you’re passing through, definitely stop at Deja Brew.

Out on an adventure to find a new coffee shop to try on a lovely Sunday in Calgary. We decided to head downtown to a little shop in Victoria Park called Little Henry. It is the little brother of Ten Foot Henry.

They are located in a former pop-up shop just down on 1st Street SW. There are so many unique locations down in Victoria Park including Vine Arts, Yellow Door, and Boxcar Cafe.

When you walk in it is literally little. You have three tables in the window and a communal table that sits eight. We got there quite early so their display case was still empty, but the barista said most items don’t come out until 11am. What we did see looked amazing, including a very appetizing coconut cake.

After reviewing the menu we decided upon a Naked Fog, which is a common London Fog with Naked Tea). We also ordered two Henry Proofs, which are a version of Bulletproof, they include coffee, organic butter and sometimes an egg yolk. Shortly after we ordered my son got a ‘Golden Milk’ which was almond milk, ginger, tumeric, cinnamon, black pepper, coconut oil, and honey. All the beverages were amazing.

As for the decor it was very contemporary and clean. On one whole side of the shop was full of bookshelves with cooking books and a giant Little Henry poster. Behind the bar there is a divider  wall with frosted glass to hide the restaurant.

On the counter by their coffee machine they had a frame saying that if you bring back five mason jars any size you can get a free coffee, tea, or warm elixir. Which is nice to be a part of the reuse and recycle cause.

I hope everyone can make it down to try this unique coffee shop down in Victoria Park.

Sorry this is a little delayed, but it’s still me, I’m still in France for a couple more days. I managed to hit one more coffee shop before my adventure is over. This little coffee shop was recommended to me by someone back in Calgary, so I knew I had to go and check it out. The day that I went it was nice and overcast so it wasn’t too hot, but I still had to get a coffee.

We first walked by this location a couple times because there is not much outside telling us where this coffee shop was located. When we finally realized there was a little sign beside the door with their name placard.

Once entering this small location, we soon realized that there was only a couple tables. It was not very big at all, and the bar took up most of the footage. When we got up to order, luckily the guy spoke english which we were very happy about. I got an iced latte and a egg sandwich, which I would soon learn that it was actually an egg salad sandwich, for breakfast.

When we were almost done our breakfast I started looking at the different kinds of coffee beans that they had. They offered six different kinds and after smelling each of them, I decided upon buying three different kinds.

It was nice as we were sitting there enjoying our breakfast, we noticed that a lot of people coming in spoke english. It was nice, it kind of felt like home in a way.

Hello coffee lovers, it’s me, ExtremeCoffeeFreak’s daughter guest blogging from Paris, France.  I have been here for almost two weeks and I am loving it. Today a friend and I decided to go and locate this little coffee shop that I had heard about before leaving Calgary.  It’s called MATAMATA COFFEE and it is located in the heart of Paris, in the Montorgueil neighbourhood, cultivating the art of specialty coffee and home made food.

Walking down the road to this little gem, you would never know it is there unless you were looking. From the outside it just looks like a little storefront with a couple tables in the front for seating, inside there was a high-bar and some tables for seating.  We seen some stairs off to the left going downstairs somewhere.

Looking at the menu they serve a wide variety of beverages and food items.  I ordered a latte and a viennoiserie (fancy word for croissant) and my friend a latte with a slice of courgettes which was a lemon cake and a glass of fresh orange juice.  The prices were pretty reasonable, a little on the pricer side, but they can do that because of the quality of their products.

We sat outside, since it was beautiful, to enjoy our wonderful breakfast.  While we were outside, a gentleman at the next table asked where we were from and we got talking, I told him about this blog and that we go to little ‘mom and pop’ coffee shops.  Shortly after speaking to him he had followed us on Instagram, I only found out after that he was the social media person for MATAMATA. We also took a look at a printed menu, which was beautifully designed.

When we were all done, we took our plates inside and ventured downstairs where they have a cellar which has been restored to welcome small groups in a very well-kept, intimate atmosphere. It was really nice and it would be wicked to use that space for a business meeting or a group project.

Overall this place is amazing.  I would definitely go back, especially since the nice barista told us about another coffee shop not that far away called Telescope, which we will definitely go and try.

A bike shop and espresso bar. I don’t think a better combination exists. Yet, here I am, at the Bike and Brew in Bridgeland. Trying to figure out how I didn’t know about this place before. Does the rest of Calgary know? If not, you should.

“There are very few sports as social as cycling,” Bike and Brew is a very new bike and coffee shop all in one in Calgary. They opened in March. “There wasn’t a place like it and they wanted to make their shop a stopping point, where you can just hang out or get your bike serviced and sip on a great coffee while you do it.”

On the walls they have bikes from Kona, Apollo, MASI, Del Sol, and Sincoe. Hanging on their clothes racks they have casual bike clothing from a variety of clothing companies. You can protect your brain with helmets from Giro, which after actually reading up on, them I’ve found out that they are producing the most advanced technology in the helmet world. Along with the helmets they have some really cool eyewear, and lastly they have a good selection of shoes.

Now let’s talk coffee, we walked in and went over to where the two barista’s were standing and ordered some beverages. We order two London Fog’s and I ordered a Vanilla Latte. They serve Fratello coffee.  It’s great to see them supporting a local roaster. My vanilla latte had some great flavour, but the my wife’s london fog was the very best she has ever had, even better than what I make up for her. Thanks Bike and Brew.

At the front of their shop there were about 4-5 tables with seating for about 15-20 people. The tables and seating are very rustic but comfortable. At the coffee bar they have a white Elektra Espresso machine. The walls are covered in reclaimed wood and the pillars are covered in reclaim brick. This place has a great vibe to it.

I hope you stop by and sample their selection of coffee and snacks.

Last weekend we decided to head West on the Number 1 highway and made our way to Banff, Alberta. When we left Calgary it was +6 and it was going to hit +17 that day. We get to Banff and it is a balmy +1 and didn’t get much better than that. So it was a great day to check out a new coffee shop.

So to Whitebark Cafe we go. After doing some research, the Whitebark had a ton of very positive reviews.

Once we arrived at the Whitebark, we were met with a huge line up of patrons waiting to get the morning nectar of the gods, “their morning coffee”. Seeing the line up made me realized that I had made a good choice in coming to this shop. It took about 20 minutes for us to make it to the girl taking the orders. As we were standing in line, an older woman stuck her head in the door and said it’s not worth it. I called her a coward and she left. We got to the front and what a welcome sight to see, fresh baked goods and glorious coffee.

The shop is extremely small with seating for about 6-10 near the window. There was more seating on the patio outside, but being +1 we chose to sit inside the lobby of the attached hotel where most other patrons were sitting. The shop was buzzing with patrons coming and going with their drinks and food.

At the Whitebark Cafe they were serving a great cup of coffee. The beans were from Moja Coffee. Moja is a fair trade, organic coffee, roasted in an European inspired facility located in North Vanvouver. 

That morning we ordered the following: an Americano, a Vanilla Latte, a Tea Latte and a Matcha Latte. All drinks were excellent.

We also ordered a Cranberry-Orange-White Chocolate cookie and a Strawberry-Rhubarb muffin. Both were excellent. I seen a lot of people ordering the homemade granola bowls. They looked excellent, and next time I will be having one of those.

Needless to say, the Whitebark Cafe lived up to the hype as an excellent coffeehouse well worth the stop. So if you find yourself in Banff, definitely make a bee line for the Whitemark Cafe.

Today we wanted to try somewhere new, in my searching I found NHBR, which I believe is Neighbor.  They are located in Altadore and it is a prime location on a corner lot.  It is very small and very easy to miss, the first time we drove right by, since there is a lack of signage.

Once we found parking we walked up next to a very nice could-be patio around to the front entrance.  When you walk in there is a single bench to your left, to your right there is a cooler with cold beverages, and in front of you there is a long service bar with a cooler to the right with their food products made by Our Daily Brett.

When we visited they were still under construction but very happy to see customers.  They were very friendly and more than happy to talk.  We seen that they were using a brand of coffee that we had never seen before, it is out of Dartmouth, Nova Scotia called Anchor Coffee.

After looking at the menu, we decided to try a couple interesting beverages.  My daughter ordered a Vanilla Latte (which lacked vanilla flavour), my son had an Americano, my wife had a Chai (which was made with tea instead of a mix), and I tried something new a Tumeric Coconut Latte.  Which to my surprise had absolutely no coffee involved even though it was under coffee on their menu.  It was very delicious and the flavours where on point!

We will definitely be going back to see how the space has changed and hopefully see if they have more signage in place.

Today we are at a local Mom and Pop Cafe just off of Northmount Drive called The Bullet Coffee House.  It is a very small location that you would miss if you were not looking for it.  Located on the end of a strip mall, it has a lot of potential.

Walking in we noticed that there was not a lot of seating, two tables with two seats, a bar with a couple seats and a couch in the front window.  Talking to the owners we learned that they are still learning how things are working in their little shop.  They use their own brand of coffee while they support a Canadian Honey Farmer.

They had a few drinks on their menu that they were fans of, so we thought we would try a couple.  I ordered Honey Latte, my wife had a Chai (which was not as good as she had hoped), my son had an Americano, and my daughter tried the White Chocolate Matcha (which was very sweet, even for her).

I think that this little cafe will do great, but they have a little way to go.  We will plan to revisit in the summer to see if they have improved and to see if they have added a patio along the side of the shop.