Finch Espresso Bar

601 Upper James St., Unit 3

Hamilton, Ontario

L9C 2Y7

905-385-7676

www.finchespressobar.ca

It so refreshing to get a fabulous, comfortable and focused espresso bar up here on the hill.  Hamilton has it's share of wonderful places to go in the down town core (Locke, James, King, Ottawa) but strangely 2 come to mind when looking above the escarpment.  I have wonderful news!  Finch Espresso Bar on Upper James has what we're looking for in taste, quality and location!  The hours are convenient and parking directly out front!  

1) price- $1.90, $2.10, $2.30 and separately priced for pour-overs ($2.55 and $2.90) 👍9//10

2) roasted locally- Toronto roasted and even more importantly directly traded! #pilot 9.5/10

3)service - fast, friendly and informative 10/10

4)accessibility- right off Upper James and Fennel!  9.5/10

5) flavour- my Guatemalan was super! 8.5/10 (could be slightly stronger)

6) Eco-friendly- recycling and composting, locally sourced food (Cake and Loaf) 8/10 need more in house china

7) cup size- 14 and 16 onze cups 9/10

8) food- not a full service good place, great for coffee companions with limited vegan food 8/10

9) ambience- quiet, cool music with interesting furnishings (we're sitting at a huge electrical wire spool) 10/10

10) wifi- yep! Using it right now! 10/10

*overall 91.5/100 super rating for a super place in Hamilton!!!!! ☕️🍪

Conversations - Cafe & Bistro

Deborah Dueck-Sr. Manager

4995 King Street., Box 1153,

Beamsville ON, L0R 1B0

www.conversationcafe.com

Coffee  Conference   Community

A not for profit business supporting Convos Youth Zone

www.convos.ca

Everyday matters.  EveryPerson counts.

Conversations, it's surprisingly big!  The building located right on the main road in Beamsville, wraps around the corner and has a really big parking lot, wheel chair access, patio and friendly atmosphere.  Check!  I'm liking it.

Neil and I decided on a booth with plenty of room to spread out (we came on our motorcycle and had a lot of gear).  I ordered a coffee and a spinach salad (little mixup with fruit but nbd) with a lovely selection of toast (no butter please, had olive oil), Neil ordered a coffee and cookies (1oatmeal, 1 chocolate chip that passed the "yum" test).  The cafe was neat, clean and had a massively impressive express machine that provided the patrons a comprehensive choice of espresso drinks.  The cafe also had a large selection of tea as well.

1)coffee- 9.5/10  $1 small, $1.80 medium, $2 large, $2.45 extra large - medium roast Rufino, fairtrade, organic and Roastery is 100% renewable power sourced!

2)roasted- 9.5/10 Roasted in Vaughan Ontario, with reduced emissions of 77% the usual roaster

3)service- 8/10 very friendly and accommodating (not everything was available)

4)assessibility- 9/10 large parking lot, easy access from highway

5)flavour- 8/10 flavour wasn't at its full potential, needed to be less watered down (ideally 2tbsp of coffee for 250 ml of water)

6)Eco-Friendly- 9/10 amazing facility where coffee was roasted, I forgot to check the cafe for recycling but all milk and sugar alternatives were available

7)cup size- 8/10 nice, clean cup with spoon and saucer

8)Food- 8/10 tasty, fresh and homemade

9)ambience- 8/10 open, friendly seating and servers, both bathrooms were unisex to prevent confusion and lineups.

10)wifi- 10/10 free with full access without code

* excellent place to travel to and have a meal or just coffee and treat! I would have preferred some vegan desserts but it's cool to have everything else provided.

* wonderful little place with great coffee!

Station 1 Coffee House

28 Main Street East

Grimsby, Ontario

905-309-4000

Facebook

Coffeecology.com for more info.

I work with people from all over the area in my profession as a massage therapist.  I always appreciate where they come from and where they've been and inevitably my blog comes up in conversation at some point.  I get the BEST information about great places to go from people I work with and patients too.   I had heard through the "grape-vine" that a new coffee shop had opened up in Grimsby.   I live in Stoney Creek, so I had an excuse to have my husband drive me around in the gorgeous fall weather and check it out.  The owners of Station 1 have joined forces with the most clever people in the local coffee selling business to make a fantastic, friendly, and unique cafe in Grimsby.  I gather (from the name and look) it was an old fire station, the main front doors are two huge, rolling doors that open it up to a large cafe/patio combo with lots of seating.  I was in love immediately with the parking, seating and inviting quality.  I was excited to see that they carry Coffeecology beans roasted locally as well as free-trade, organic with a variety of delicious, homemade treats including vegan chocolate cupcakes and macaroons.  

1)coffee- $1.85 small $2.10 large $2.10 iced (nice to have choice) 9/10

2)roasted- Coffeecology is locally roasted 9/10

3)service- quick and friendly 7.5/10 (no interaction with customers)

4)assessibility- 9.5/10 large, free parking lot, main access road

5)flavour- medium roast was delicious, hot and full flavour 9/10

6)Eco-friendly- recycling, composting, bio-degradeable cups 9/10 

7)cup size- good size mug for coffee, Americano as well 8.5/10

8)food- cupcake and Helly Dolly was big, sweet and rich, vegan and vegetarian choices 9.5/10

9)ambience- bright, clean,sunny, fun music, spacious seating 9/10

10)wifi- free, access is posted (friendly gesture is appreciated by bloggers like me) 10/10

*overall 9/10. 

** as an after thought I wanted the business card for my blog info. When I asked for one, I got a weird vibe that I didn't understand other than they were busy and didn't want to get it for me.  The server went in search of what I thought was their information and came back with a free coffee card...I was confused but appreciative.  I still feel funky that they thought I was searching for free stuff, ah well.  I think Station 1 is super and certainly worth a trip down Hwy# 8 or mountain country to enjoy it!

Planet Bean Coffee

1467 Gordon Street

Guelph, Ontario

Planetbeancoffee.com

Blog at planetbeancoffee.com/blog/carter

I am going to quote the post card I picked up at the cafe, I says it all!

Hey!

I just came back from the roastery tour of Planet Bean and their new coffee bar in South Guelph.  Very cool. Did you know they've been roasting coffee since 1997?  Here's how it works:

The raw, boring green coffee beans arrive at the Grange/Victoria roastery.  Then they're heated in this massive drum to bring about one of the most joyfully complex experiences ever encountered by the human taste bud!

Freshly roasted coffee means BIG FLAVOUR - ands the high quality, organic arabica beans they use certainly help! Planet Bean is one of the few businesses in Canada where organic certification is TOTAL - it starts at the tree and continues to the brew in the coffee bars.

Plus, all Planet Bean coffee is fair trade certified, so growers get better prices through farmer-centered alternatives to giant, global corporations.  Guelph has a long history of co-op leadership.  You can read about it at planetbeancoffee.com/blog/carter.  2012 is the UN year of the co-op- watch for the hoopla!

________________________________________________________________________________________

When Maggie and I had coffee we were pleased to receive friendly service, cool music, clean atmosphere and milk alternatives.  We were stoked to hear that they were going to offer chocolate vegan cake soon, they already have an array of treats and some were gluten free. Awesome little place to check out!

1)coffee $1.95 reg. $$2.29 large $1.81 (cheaper in-house) 9/10

2)roasted- locally roasted for the cafe, organic and fair trade 9/10

3)service- fast, friendly and informative 9/10

4)assessibility- lots of free parking, located on Gordon Street a major thoroughfare into Guelph 9/10

5)flavour- full bodied, medium roast 8/10

6)Eco-friendly- cheaper for china cups in house, recycling available, not sure about composting 8.5/10

7)cup size- good size cup 8/10

8)food- fresh baked good available, didn't have any 

9)ambience- lots of sunshine, cool tunes, comfortable seating 8/10

10)wifi- free upon request 10/10

*8.5/10 overall 

Cafe Oranje

289-260-5279

312 King Street East

Hamilton, Ont.

Chris@cafeoranje.ca

Tweet @cafeoranje.ca

www.cafeoranje.ca

**updated**

This cafe has been a long journey for the 2 owners, I have been following Cafe Oranje on twitter and Facebook for quite a while thinking it was open already.  When it was announced on the last week of August it was official! I quickly gathered one of my partners in cafe hopping and planned a trip to King Street!

I was greeted and served by Amy one of the owners of the cafe and she was happy to tell me about the coffee, why they picked it and the roaster (everything is locally sourced).  We found street parking very easily and seating as well.  I ordered a medium roasted coffee, pour over method and it came nice and hot and fully flavoured. Lovely!  

I was really happy with my coffee, free parking across the road before 9 (we didn't get that) and the service.  The day we went the poor airconditioning was working overtime and not keeping up too well. We understood because it was the third day the cafe was open.  We enjoyed the location because the great bookstore next door, we got a book and figuratively chilled (I'm not listening to the OED description of literally).

1)coffee- $2 8/10

2)roasted- locally roasted by Rob House called Hero coffee (special blend to enhance the properties of the beans to be flavoured like the beans that were originally Dutch sourced. 8.5/10

3)service- fast and friendly 9/10

4)assessibility- some street parking but a city lot is directly across the road 8/10

5)flavour- great, full flavour 8.5/10

6)Eco- friendly- china cups in house, unknown if the cafe recycles, cafe Oranje carries soy and almond milk 9/10

7)cup size- attractive, large mugs 9/10

8)food- Neil had a tasty cookie baked by Cake & Loaf on Dundurn, freshly baked 9/10 (vegan food now available)

9)ambience- clean, austere furniture paired with rustic, brick antique building (very cool). 8/10

10)wifi- yes, upon request.  10/10

*Cafe Oranje is one if the biggest social media savy cafes around! Check them out and enjoy the regular tweets and Facebook updates!

* 9/10 overall for wonderful new cafe to enjoy great coffee with a Dutch theme!

Jack and Lois

301 James Street N.

Hamilton, Ont.

L8L 1H3

289-389-5647

jackandlois.com

Eric@jackandlois.com

Facebook and twitter

It's hard to think of a nicer thing to do than a casual walk down James Street North, enjoying the interesting shops, people and variety.  Neil and I visited Jack and Lois's restaurant and went around back to its huge new outdoor patio! It's been open for about a month and we had it to ourselves!  The most enjoyable experience.

I wouldn't say the coffee we had was the best ever but it was fresh, tasty, fair trade and organic.  It's a wonderful place to enjoy some kettle chips and coffee. We had a grand total bill of $6 + tip. Nice.

 

Fine Grind Cafe

37 James Street

St. Catharines, Ontario

905-348-3214

When checking out places to go for a coffee in St. Catharines you don't have to go far on James or St.Paul street to find a cafe or bistro with alluring signage and seating (some have added a patio on the street...very unique).  Neil and I chose by default a lovely little place called Fine Grind, the write up online steered us in the right direction and we were so happy.  Our greeter/owner was a smiley guy (didn't catch his name) that answered all my questions and spent time explaining about Jim the coffee guy that is his source locally for fair trade/organic beans based out of Niagara Falls.  Neil and I both ordered the *gasp* bottomless cup and a cookie.  I asked about vegan treats and foods and he provides both due to demand.  How wonderful is that? 

We took our seat at the back of the store on the couch (dopple ganger of our own) and our drinks were brought to us as we proceed to add the wifi password to our various devices!  All around us are odd bits of art work, paintings and carvings to keep you interested and a book shelf of reading material ! 

We drank our coffee, ate our cookies and complemented the baristas, there may have also been a rousing fist-bump for a coffee shop well found! Thanks Fine Grind Cafe! 

1)coffee-$1.50 per cup, $2.50 bottomless 9/10

2)roasted-locally roasted, organic and fair-trade 9/10

3)service- 10/10 fast, friendly, brought to us

4)assessibility-8/10 metered, street

5)flavour- 7.5/10 Guatemalan, medium roasted

6)Eco-friendly- china cups, paper for take out 8/10

7)cup size- 8/10

8)food- vegan choices, cookies were very good 8/10

9)ambience- 10/10 music, comfort, quiet, service, books, conversation

10)wifi- 10/10 free

*overall- 8.75/10 so fantastic!