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!

Sestres- pastry and Coffee Shop

Vegan and Gluten-free Shop

191 Ottawa St.N.

Hamilton, Ont.

L8H 3Z4

www.sestrespastries.com

Sestrespatries@gmail.com

905-545-5040

Hamilton Ontario has a few special areas to shop with strong communities and interesting places to shop, Ottawa Street is one of them.  I have been going to Sestres for quite a long time, since it opened a couple years ago.  I am a huge fan of small business, friendly service and environmentally responsible shops and this one meets the criteria very well.  

When you enter Sestres you are met by a large array of pastries that are separated by gluten-free or vegan, honestly you would never know if you judged by looks and taste alone.  They have all kinds of coffee service too including the choice of soy milk in all the drinks.  When I went for a coffee recently they had begun to serve lunch as well, limited choices but delicious and safe for consumers that want to eat and not worry about their diets.

1) coffee- small- $1.60 med.-$1.89 large-$2.00 8/10

2) roasted- unclear where in Toronto but organic and fair trade 8/10

3) service- excellent, friendly and prompt 8.5/10

4) accessibility- Ottawa and Cannon Street with street parking or local lot 8/10

5) flavour- 7.5/10

6) Eco-friendly- china cups available in cafe, Eco sourced 8/10

7) cup size- 3 sizes to choose from with decent size 9/10

8) food- vegan/gluten-free food and pastries that would appeal to anyone 8/10

9)ambience-small,friendly and family friendly 8/10

10wifi- ????

*overall 8/10 support one of Hamilton's wonderful family owned cafes on a wonderfully eclectic street! 

Homegrown Hamilton

27 King William St.
Hamilton, ON

Facebook.com/homegrownhamilton
Instagram.com/homegrownhamilton
Homegrownhamilton.com

Coffee*Cuisine*Community

Homegrown is in an interesting part of Hamilton where there are great coffee shops very easy to find. If you haven't been to Homegrown, there is a parking lot directly across from it, don't park there like I did because its ridiculously expensive and there is plenty elsewhere. That aside, I was pleasantly surprised by the welcoming feel in the entryway of this cafe (art, roaster, food counter and lots of space) and enjoyed the ambience immediately. I found my eyes were drawn all around the cafe to see all the sights, interesting people of all types and enjoy the sunlight flooding in the front windows on this weekday afternoon.

I like to feel like each person can make a small difference in the world and the owners of Homegrown clearly feel this way as well, you can buy fair-trade coffee, and the latest wonderful social responsibility is the addition of suspended coffee. I bought a suspended coffee today; the small purchase of a coffee in advance can be given to someone who doesn't have enough money or is having a tough day. Its wonderful!

I visited Homegrown today to have a coffee, eat some lunch and buy some of their home roasted coffee beans, and was happy that i did. It was really quite lovely how no matter how busy they got, you never felt rushed (I found I was trying to rush myself😀) and they were very happy to answer any questions for me. We had homemade sandwiches, coffee and desserts and it was really delicious. I love to think that in Hamilton we have wonderful places like this for us all to enjoy and support independent places of business, and I highly recommend that everyone does.

1) coffee- small $2.25 large $2.75 8/10 (Mexican medium roast)
2) roasted- in house roasted and fresh 9/10
3) service- relaxed, friendly and warm 8/10
4) accessibility- street parking is cheaper but harder to find 8/10
5) flavour- was a bitter thin, I would like to try again 7.5/10
6) Eco-friendly- glass or compostable cups, vegan choices and soy milk 9.5/10
7) cup size- big and glass 8.5/10
8) food- freshly made to order, vegan/vegetarian choices, 8.5/10
9) ambience- relaxed, inviting and smells amazing 8.5/10
10) Wifi- available upon request for free 10/10

*overall 8.5/10 a super place to enjoy coffee, fresh food and live music in the evenings!!!

Red Hill Coffee Trade

Fair trade Certified and Certified Organic Coffee

75 Lancing Dr. Unit E.
Hamilton, ON
(905)516-9669 by appointment
Twitter: @thecoffeetrade
Facebook: Red Hill Coffee Trade

I cant think of anything more lovely than spending a sunny, weekday strolling along James Street North doing some window shopping and walking to the Downtown Farmers Market. On this particular day my plan was to buy some freshly roasted coffee that I hadn't tasted before. On this occasion I went to the Red hill Coffee Trade set up conveniently as you walk in the main doors off York Blvd. and walk up the stairs. Owned and operated by Jason and Rachel Hofing, this is one of Hamilton's little treasures. I couldn't help myself, I plied Jason with lots of questions regarding coffee, their practices and grinding procedures; I was met with enthusiasm and good hearted responses despite being busy. I bought a pound of Dominican Republic beans and a coffee dripper, both proved to be an excellent investment. I plan on doing an article on grinders and why beans are ground at different coarseness for different coffee makers, at this time I needed a coarse grind for my French Press.

I made my first pot of Dominican the next day and was so impressed by the flavour, sweetness and aroma (so quiet in the mornings these days without the grinder waking us up:).

It is one of the nicest things to have fresh, tasty coffee that is roasted locally, organic and fair trade purchased!

This isn't the usual review but if I did, it's a 9.5/10!

BlogThis!

Cora's - Upper James in Hamilton

I have been to Cora's for breakfast or "brunch" a few times in different locations and its pretty standard for a good, healthy (if you choose to) breakfast. I was meeting a family member at the Upper James location over the Christmas holidays for food and communication; it was really tasty as expected. I ordered a coffee and some poached eggs and fruit as well as rye toast. The waitress got most of our orders correct except Maggie's as usual poor girl got toast with butter (vegans don't eat butter) and her oatmeal came swimming in yoghurt (vegans don't eat milk products), so needless to say she was unhappy about the waste and still hungry :$. My nephew ordered a massive pancake filled with chocolate that he was unable to finish...not the servers fault this time.

1) coffee - $2.35 (rates high for being bottomless, not very flavourful) 6/10
2) roasted beans - absolutely not 2/10
3) service - 7/10 (lovely girl but too busy to listen to unusual orders)
4) accessibility - 8/10 (lots of parking but terrible to get out of parking lot onto Upper James)
5) flavour - 5/10 (fresh but very ordinary)
6) Eco-friendly? - no
7) cup size - 8/10 (irrelevant it's a bottomless cup)
8) food - 8 1/2/10 (good and fresh)
9) ambience- 7/10 (generic family restaurant and nothing relaxing about it)
10) ingredients - 8/10 (just fine but nothing original, fresh fruit is a bit tired but it's winter)

*overall experience is an average of 6/10 for coffee.

Mulberry Street Coffee House

193 James Street North, Hamilton
(905) 963-1965

It looks like I am keeping it in the family for the last two blogs. My daughter Maggie and I found ourselves on James Street on Sunday morning thinking that a coffee while we wait is the perfect thing to do...well it was because it was the only place open >:(. I am pretty sure that I say this every time I go to James Street on a Sunday or Monday (my only days off) and I "pinky swear" it won't happen a gain. That being said, I had an incredible experience at Mulberry. I already knew I loved the place, it's treats and ambience but I hadn't stopped to appreciate the coffee before. I had a cafe Americano as usual, Maggie had a (let me get this straight) sugar free, vanilla chai latte made with soy, as well as we shared a vegan macaroon. I would normally give Mulberry a glowing review, the coffee was superb, the ambience was cool, comfortable seating, clean bathroom, music was just the right volume....BUT. The server forgot my macaroon, the latte was put down so crazily that it slashed all over without any apologies to Maggie for getting it all on her hand, there was no offering of napkins....just really odd. I am glad that it wasn't my first time in because newbies would be intimidated. I just found the bald lady kinda funny (no smiles).

1) price? Damn forgot to check....anyone remember?
2) roasted beans in house? No, doesn't matter
3) service - 6/10 (unusual for the place, messy service and forgetful today...party last night?)
4) accessibility - no problem, one street over - 7.5/10
5) flavour - 9.5/10 (amazing flavour and in a Christmas mug...sooooo good)
6) Eco friendly - 9/10 (china cups for in house, paper cups for take out are made from reclaimed paper:)
7) cup size - 8.5/10 ( I had a single shot and the cup was really nice, not huge though)
8) food - 9/10 (our macaroon was delicious and full of nuts and coconut and big)
9) ingredients local - not what we had but I think their food is if in season
10) ambience - 8/10 ( not rated as highly today, the servers are normally really bubbly and awesome, no one seemed happy today....tired?)

* Maggie and I agreed the art was cool on the walls and the restaurant was really clean and splendid

* I love the fact that Mulberry and it's sister cafe My Dog Joe both have free wifi and encourage people to come an stay for a while!