Station 1 Coffee House

28 Main Street East

Grimsby, Ontario

905-309-4000

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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 

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.

 

Blue Dog Coffee Roasters

199 Brant Ave,

Brantford, Ont.

N3T 3J1

(519)512-0022

www.bluedogcoffeeroasters.com

I had been told about The Blue Dog a few months ago but hadn't had the chance to get to Brantford, I am really glad we did.  Neil and I took the motorcycle from home along the back roads to Brantford and had glorious weather to travel.  We found the cafe on the main road, it was surprisingly in a neighbourhood with homes around and shops, this cafe had been a house at one time too.  The art inside was cool, the decor was interesting and the coffee and food was delicious!  I had a great time and highly recommend anyone to go and have a great experience.

1)coffee-small $1.62 medium $1.86 large $2.14  8/10

2)roasted- locally but off site in Brantford 9/10

3)service- just fine 7/10

4)accessibility- main thoroughfare, lots of free parking 9/10

5)flavour- full flavour, smooth and sweet 8/10

6)Eco-friendly- china cups, recycling, soy milk available 8/10

7)cup size- good size with 3 choices 8/10

8)food- I had cauliflower soup and bagel, fresh and hot 9/10

9)ambience- comfortable, sunny and lots of seating 8.5/10

10)wifi- free and no password needed. 10/10

*overall- 8.5/10 

Grounded Coffee Inc.

292 King Street 

Midland, Ont.

(705)527-5997

www.groundedcoffee.ca

I went to Midland with a girlfriend of mine, we went to the Sugar Ridge Yoga Retreat Centre in June, 2013.  We decided to venture into the little town of Midland to walk and shop, and find an awesome coffee shop (who knew?).  We were encouraged to try Grounded Coffee when I explained that I like a cool, comfortable, fresh roasted and fair trade kinda shop! Voila! We got one!  I asked the owner about his favourite coffee and he spent a few minutes explaining the medium roast he is proud of at the cafe. I got the blend called Dragon Tail, it's named after the location of the coffee beans (Sumatra and Papua Guinea) and the land looks like a dragons tail...kinda :). I bought some beans to bring home as well. The roast was pretty good, light in roast and full flavour and I am looking forward to making it fresh at home.

1)coffee- small -$1.85 medium $2.00 large $2.15 8/10

2)roasted- locally, in house 9/10

3)service- friendly and informative 9/10

4)accessibility - main thoroughfare in Midland with pay street parking. 7/10

5)Flavour- smooth, light, not robust 8/10

6)Eco-friendly- china cups, soy milk available 7.5/10

7)cup size- good size with 3 sizes to choose from 8/10

8)food- tried a vegan fruit and nut bar, healthy and tasty 8.5/10

9)ambience- cool, relaxed, plenty of seating 8/10

10)Wifi- open with a password 10/10

Overall- 8/10 charming place to go in Midland, check it out!

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!!!

Olive & Kiwi (My Dog Joe Mountain location)

567 Scenic Drive
Hamilton, Ontario
L9C 1G9
mydogjoe@gmail.com
Www.mydogjoe.com
905-777-8100

I am really pleased to review the Olive & Kiwi Fine Foods on the Hamilton Mountain. They are a lovely little grocery and restaurant that houses the mountain location of My Dog Joe. I hadn't really seriously thought about reviewing this storefront because I have reviewed the Westdale location, and Mulberry (same ownership) but I this is very unique because of its wonderful location and view. This MDJ has the same baked goods, and wonderful coffee that caters to conscientious people that love fresh baked goods, fresh made coffee that is ethically grown but it's ON THE MOUNTAIN!!! I am so happy that MDJ made this decision to have something for us up here. I drove down Upper Paradise to the brow, right across from the parking lot for the Chedoke Stairs and boom!

I hope all you coffee lovers look them up for take out or eat in! Enjoy!

If you're interested in the coffee growers of cafe Fem, look up the link from C.J.'s a couple weeks ago. This coffee is locally roasted by Steve from Speak Easy Roastery and sourced from the farmers in Peru in support of the local women financially. It feels good to buy, and tastes great to drink. The beans are available for $14 in a mason jar plus $1 deposit if you bring the jar back.

1) coffee- $1.89 med, $$2.09 large (china cups available for in house drinks) 9/10
2) roasted locally- Speak Easy is locally roasted and ethically sourced 9/10
3) service- fast, friendly, informative 9/10
4) accessibility- MDJ has no signage outside Olive and Kiwi, good parking spaces 8/10
5) Flavour– medium roast, full flavour, generic drip style 8/10
6) Eco-friendly? 9.5/10
7) cup size- nice big cups 8.5/10
8) food- vegan choices, locally sourced, home made, delicious 8.5/10
9) ambience- homey, no couches or comfy chairs yet..... 7.5/10
10) Wifi- no

* overall 8.5/10 support our mountain cool cafe!!!! <3