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!

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!!!

C.J.'s - Cafe on Bronte

2416 Lakeshore Rd.W.
Oakville, ON
L6L 1H7
905-465-0411
Cj@cjscafeinbronte.com

Check out what's happening at www.cjscafeinbronte.com!

I went shopping downtown Oakville on the Monday of march break with some friends of mine and my daughter for something completely unrelated to coffee, but somehow it became completely successful with a lovely place called C.J.'s on Lakeshore off Bronte. This little place was recommended by a local shop lady and was great. We were greeted by a free wifi sign, vegan/health related book shelf, signs for supporting women in Peru and an aroma that was wonderful. I was impressed by the free parking (not often found in Hamilton unless you know where to look;) as well as plenty of seating for groups of people to meet and chat. C.J. The owner was there to answer any questions and offer an array of 4 coffees to taste, teas to order and a hot chocolate with whipped cream piled high!

1) Coffee- $2 for regular and $2.25 for large ($1.25 and $1.50 for refills) 9/10
2) roasted locally? - London, Ontario (fireroastedcoffee.com) 8/10
3) service- the owner C.J. Was friendly and accommodating 8/10
4)accessibility- Bronte and Lakeshore, free parking (no evening hours but 7 days per week) 8/10
5) flavour- medium roast, lovely taste 7/10
6)Eco-friendly- china cups, organic/fair trade, London Ont. 9/10
7) cup size- 2 sizes, big cups with cheap refills 9/10
8) food- vegan wraps with veganaise, many other tasty treats for everyone (I didn't have any)
9)ambience- friendly, funky, artistic, books, plenty of seating, 2 patios 9/10
10)wifi- yes 10/10

*overall 8.5/10 super place in the heart of Oakville! <3

http://www.cafefemenino.com/

Johnny's, Lock Street

129 Locke Street South
Hamilton, Ontario
Www.johnnyscoffee.ca

Oh boy, I have to say I have been really looking forward to doing a proper review of Johnny's Coffee. This coffee shop is another one of the treasures that Hamilton has to offer the coffee/cafe aficionados that want somewhere to chat, meet, enjoy and engage each other and the baristas that work there. Steve (one of the baristas) completely took his role seriously and answered my questions with humour and delight. My daughter Maggie and I love the whole package that Johnny's has to offer, comfy and plenty of seating, freshly roasted coffee, organic teas and delicious vegan and non-vegan treats that were amazing and made "in house". We proceeded to pull out the iPad and engage the free wifi to look up, I expect super important things and take blog pics:)

We both came to the conclusion that Johnny's is one of our favourites, and that includes some pretty fierce competition.

1) coffee - medium $2 and large $2.50 9/10
2) roasted locally - yes, at Detour Coffee in Dundas 9.5/10
3) service - 9/10 (friendly, inviting and offered wifi codes with no prompting :)
4) accessibility - Lock Street is easy to get to and a street around the corner is free 8/10
5) flavour - 9.5/10 (full, rich, not bitter and fresh....amazing)
6) Eco friendly?- 9/10 (china cups, compostable paper cups, almond and soy milks available with vegan bars available)
7) cup size - 9/10 (nice large cups and a card when you buy 9 the 10th is free)
8) food - sandwiches, salads and pastries available but not reviewed
9) ambience - 10/10 (perfect, hipster cool with music, panache and a relaxed atmosphere)
10) wifi - yes and free upon request

Johnny's is the place to go for a fun, delicious trip to fun town!!!

Detour coffee beans - Dundas
Wiifii accessible
Panache, friendly atmosphere