Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Coffee Shops

If you know anything about Canada, you know that the big Canadian icon that keeps our country running is Tim Hortons coffee. Our family too, has had a long love affair with Tim Hortons. However, it isn't so much for the coffee as it is for the convenience. (We do love their cookies though!) When traveling through Canada, you are pretty much guaranteed to find a Timmie's, as it's affectionately called, in any town big enough to have a main street. This makes it perfect for traveling with young children. You can have a bathroom break and a snack, and give the kids a little exercise too -- you just have to watch out for the loooong line of cars going through the drive thru.

Lately though, partly because the children are getting older, our tastes are changing. I am the only coffee drinker in this house, and I'm becoming a bit of a coffee snob. The bummer is when you become a coffee snob, you pay the price for it too. Have you ever had the pumpkin spice latte at Starbucks? Oh my, it is good, but the price tag that comes with it a hefty one!

In our small town is a café called Minglers and we have fallen in love with it!


You can not only get coffee, but fair trade coffee, and other delicious drinks, as well as very healthy and delicious meals. To top it all off, Minglers has the best buttertarts I have ever eaten in my life!!


If you are ever in the area, drop us a line and we will introduce you to a Mingler's buttertart -- and some coffee or tea too! Delicious!!

Lately when we travel, we keep our eyes open for other locally owned cafés, The White Rose is one we went to on our way up north to visit with friends.


What an interesting spot. We had chocolate orange fudge with our coffee/hot chocolates there.


This is what drew us to try the fudge:


After hiking through the bush and enjoying the beautiful waterfalls, our friends took us to The Frog Pond. It's another locally owned coffee house in their nearby city.


What a delightful place! In the summertime, it even opens to the outside with a big glass garage door like thing that lifts up.


Don't they both look delicious!? The top one is a pumpkin pie latte, and I'm not sure what the Engineer's is -- either a hot chocolate of some type or a cider. He flip flops between those two drinks -- never coffee.

Do you  have a favorite place or hot drink? I'd love to hear about it!

13 comments:

  1. Panacea Coffee House in Waynesville, NC. Such great atmosphere, great baked goods and sandwiches and soups, and wonderful coffee. (They roast the beans in-house.) I no longer live there, having moved to a little town that has only one coffee shop, and not a very good one at that. Of all the things I miss about my old town, Panacea is at the top of the list!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Well, I'm a hot chocolate kind-of-gal, but wow, that pumpkin spice latte sure sounds divine! Hmmm... perhaps today we'll need to visit our local hot-spot-- surely this rainy Wednesday calls for such a treat!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I love coffee.
    I 'm not a fan of Timmie's ( so anti-Canadian I know ;))
    and Starbucks is too pricey, but good.
    I buy the new dark roast no name, it's actually good.
    But to sit in a coffee shop... oh you have me inspired.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Chocolate orange fudge?!!!! Oh YUM!!! Here in Texas Starbucks is everywhere. There are at least 7 within 5 miles of where I live. I don't really enjoy Starbucks though. My favorite place for coffee is at home. For birthday 5-6 years ago I got an espresso machine. Every morning I enjoy a peppermint mocha. I do try to pop into Starbucks at least once during the Christmas season for a cranberry bliss bar. Those are yummy.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I'm not a coffee drinker myself, but those pictures look so warm and cozy! I'd join you in a minute!

    Mmmm, at a Starbucks recently I had a cocoa with salted caramel. Yum!

    Julie

    ReplyDelete
  6. I don't drink coffee. Ever. But I sure do love Starbucks hot cocoa. It's pretty darn good. Not as good as homemade, but it'll do in a pinch.

    I'm a green tea or English breakfast tea girl for hot beverages. And you know calamansi juice is my favorite cold beverage.

    Hope you get your chance to have your first calamansi juice REAL soon!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I'm like you, Deborah, I love coffee. For the time being my doctor has me de-caffeinated which is not really very fun at all but the way I must go right now. My favorite drink is a fair trade soy latte. No sweetener at all. In the summer time, which is pretty much almost year round here in Houston I like to drink iced green tea...again, no sweetener.
    I also like to seek out small individually owned cafes...they are the best!
    Loved your pictures!
    blessings to ya!
    ~a

    ReplyDelete
  8. Not a coffee crinker, but I do know Timmies. When traveling here in Canada, it is a nice place to stop and you can get some decent food there, better than some of the fast food that is available. :)

    Thanks for stopping by my blog!

    ReplyDelete
  9. LOVE coffee!! :) Great pictures! Those last two looked delicious! :D

    ReplyDelete
  10. I had the pumpkin spice latte today from Starbucks!!! Delish!!!! Love your pics!!!

    ReplyDelete
  11. I'm not a coffee drinker, so I don't "get" the appeal of Starbucks. It's very much the "in" thing here. I always think of myself as a food snob since I won't eat most of the fare offered at these places due to non-organic and non-vegan ingredients. I don't have a favorite spot. I suppose I feel most delighted when wandering through a Whole Foods (or similar large natural foods chain). I just wish it didn't take almost an hour and a half (one way) to travel to one. It's been at least a year since I've been to one of the two nearest, and I have been feeling the tug heavily lately.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Deborah - I knew there was a reason I like you so much! Wow, I am definitely swinging up to visit you on furlough :-) My favorite cafe? Chez Choate, it's always close by, and coffee is always better shared with a friend.

    ReplyDelete
  13. I do love my favourite coffee shop! There's one here in my town, and another in Jasper that I go to whenever we get over there. Nothing beats strong coffee and a sticky bun!

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for sharing your thoughts. I love to hear from my readers!

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...