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!!!

Bluebird coffee, Micro Coffee Roasting House

261 Dalhousie St.
Ottawa, Ont.
K1N 7E3
Bluebirdcoffee.ca


I wasn't sure if was going to review outside of the Hamilton area, but I was really excited to go to a new coffee shop in Ottawa and was eager to share the shop I did find :). I have to admit other than having the address and general idea of where I was in relation to our hotel, I really don't know where I was. My two sisters and I wandered around the the Byward Market after spending a couple hours skating on the Rideau canal and were all agreed to go into the Bluebird Coffee shop.

My first impression was excitement with the obvious coffee roaster in the corner, cool/hip music and wifi access offered at the cash register. The server was very open in answering my questions and quick to offer advice on coffee, lattes and other beverages. I really enjoyed the ambience, the assortment of beans to purchase that are labeled and roasted in house and the variety of sweeteners and whiteners to put in the fresh brew.

1) coffee- $2 for large 16 onze, $1.85 for small 8/10
2) Roasted locally - in house and by the country of origin 10/10
3) Service- 81/2 /10 Friendly, helpful
4) accessibility- ? Byward Market (is that accessible?)
5) Flavour- 9/10 fresh, bold and sweet
6) Eco-friendly- 10/10 composting, china cups, almond/soy no extra charge, locally roasted
7) Cup size- 9/10
8) food- n/a (made in house, biscotti looked really tasty but not tried)
9) Ambience- 9/10 Great music, fun people, could use more lounge type chairs
10) wifi- 10/10 Free, openly offered at cash :)

*fun atmosphere, downtown location and great music! Definitely a great spot to drink delicious, fresh roasted coffee on your own or in a group 'cause there's lots of room!
*overall 9/10 (I love the independent shops for quality and originality).