Phil & Sebastian Coffee Company – Chinook Centre

So, we got up early this year for the Chinook Centre Stampede Breakfast as it was the centennial, and we knew it would be packed! We were right, it was packed – so we lined up and got our breakfast. Afterwards, we wanted a little more, so we popped into Phil and Sebastian that was located inside the mall. It was nice they were opened so early, and I enjoyed a fantastic cup of Hot Chocolate!

It was really nice that the barista did some foam art on the hot chocolate, as they don’t seem to do foam art on hot chocolate – but I was really excited about it! The chocolate was rich and decadent, and it was delicious! Thinking that only lattes get foam art, we ordered a latte as well! Both look fantastic, as you can see!

I find myself only going to Phil and Sebastian only for special occasions, but now I realize that the prices is quite reasonable – it is still a little pricer, but the extra care they take in making your drink to perfection, and the look with the foam art really comes out in the wash! I love a pretty drink, and it never seems to fail here!

Homemade Vietnamese Coffee

I love eating Vietnamese cuisine, and one of my favourite drinks that is special and unique would be Vietnamese Coffee, which I found out it wasn’t hard to make at all!

Ingredients
1 to 2 tbsp condensed milk
1 or 1.5 tsp ground coffee (courser grind works best)
boiling water

First, I put the condensed milk in the bottom of my cup. I love my coffee’s sweet when I drink coffee.

Then, I place the coffee grinds into the little contraction which is the French Filter (cà phê phin) – which is the coffee filter. It’s nice to use dark roast to get the strong flavour and the course so it doesn’t fall through the filter. Put the top on the filter and screw it tight. The tighter you screw the top on, the darker and stronger the coffee will be. This will take a longer time for your coffee to brew. Alternatively, you don’t have to tighten it to the max where the coffee won’t be as dark, and you’ll get your drink faster too! It’s up to you! The coffee they typically use is the brand Trung Nguyen

When the coffee has finished dripping through the filter, you’re ready to stir it up to dissolve the condensed milk and enjoy. If you like an iced version (ca phe da), fill a glass full of ice and enjoy!

Second Cup – Holiday London Fog

There’s really nothing more exciting for me to have a Holiday London Fog from Second Cup. I know I rave about Chai tea’s and what not, but this is always another neat alternative. London Fog is normally made of Earl Grey Tea and some Vanilla flavour shot with steamed milk. What makes the Holiday version extra special is that they use a holiday Earl Grey tea, which is cherry flavoured. It seems like a lot of flavoured shots in the drink, but it’s actually quite good. It’s a bit on the sweeter side from both the cherry and vanilla, but it’s something I’ve associated the holiday season with as well. This is definitely a drink that you don’t need to add extra sugar in either!

Second Cup Holiday London Fog

Joshua Tree Cafe – Calgary, Alberta

I’ve been wanting a good cup of Rolo Coffee for awhile now, and I finally got a good cup at Joshua Tree Cafe! This was not the original place that introduced it to me, but it was one of the top places in my mind for a Rolo Coffee. It is a specialty coffee, and it’s quite different from some other locations coffee.

We also enjoyed a Chocolate Iced Mocha which was quite standard. It was quite good, and creamy, but it’s nothing extra spectacular! It was refreshing and tasty for sure though!

This was an interesting location we made it to. Coffee stops never take too long, especially when we don’t order food. The worker at Joshua Tree mentioned to us about 45 minutes prior to closing that they will be closing soon, and it appeared that she didn’t want to take our order. We told her that it’s fine, and would still like our order. We did leave prior to their closing, and it wasn’t that we were rushed either – it was because our coffee stop was finished.

They made it really noticeable that they were about to close, at 3pm over the weekend. They started sweeping the floors and what not. It’s not a large location, and I’m sure it’s not too bad if in fact they had to leave 10 minutes late.

Regardless, the rolo coffee was something so special, I will return for it! 🙂

Joshua Tree Cafe

805 Edmonton Trial NE
Calgary, AB
(403) 230-9228

Insomnia Coffee Company – Calgary, Alberta

Everytime I’m downtown at Olympic Plaza I always walk by Insomnia Coffee Company and has always wanted to just sit down by the window and watch the hussle of people going by! I finally did that, and this cafe is very modern, clean, and quite good! It is a really good coffee house in town, and the coffee is quite strong! The latte art wasn’t as nice as some, but something is definitely better than nothing!

Even though I didn’t try their baked good, they sure look really tasty and fresh! And, that’s amazing, considering I visited this cafe on a weekend! I just sat down and enjoyed a wonderful cup of latte and it was so relaxing – and watching the festivals outside their large windows.

Overall, this place is wonderful! They welcome you with warm smiles, and they don’t mind if you sit there and do nothing but stare out the window! 🙂 I’ll recommend this location if you’re in the area looking for a nice cup of coffee!

Insomnia Coffee Company

239 8 Ave SE
Calgary, AB T2G
(403) 767-9934