Canadian Coffee Snobs Strategy for Finding Good Coffee

[theluckyrabbit]

DH is picky about his coffee, too. For the hotel, we bring our own electric kettle (also works well for instant oatmeal, soup, tea, etc.) and a french press. The Peet's at HD in DtD works well when the line isn't too long. (By the way, the owner of Peet's trained the owner of Starbucks -- or so I heard.) La Brea Bakery (the express side) serves Starbucks coffee (used to be Illy). There is now a Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf on Katella, next to the CVS on the ground floor of the new Marriott Springhill Suites. When we order coffee in the parks, DH does stick to Americanos so he can control the strength and freshness. Joffrey's is better than Nescafe (it would be hard to be worse!), but it is still VERY mild tasting.

 

[PinkAndNerdy]

Sorry, I was just going by what the previous poster called it . I've never heard of it before. Is it decent? I wonder if we've ever tried Joffreys. Is it better than the Nescafe?

Peet's is awesome! It's all I use at home. I'm from Seattle originally and understand the coffee thing a little too well, when I moved to Northern California I was surprised how few coffee shops there were. Thankfully we have a Peet's down the street and our Costco sells the whole bean Major Dickason's blend and that's what we use at home.

 

[SweetAlex]

One of my worst coffees was a tom hortons in Victor, NY. Someone brought it in to the office for me, he was from Toronto and wanted to show me how good it was. It was huge, at least a pint, and had vanilla flavour added.

We are in the minority in Canada here and HATE Tim Hortons coffee. It tastes too weak and chemically to me and kills my dh's stomach. But if you go to a Tim Hortons at any time of day in any town in Canada, you're looking at a mile-long line up. I don't get it either...

BUT they do have good donuts (if you like donuts) and delicious bagels. I'll give them that.

 

[bumbershoot]

Are you sure about this? I thought Burger King sold Seattle's Best. I thought McDonalds had its own branded coffee.

I thought I was. We don't really go to McD's (and really don't go to BK) but the last time I stopped there for coffee out of desperation I would have sworn that was it. Looking it up now (like I did for .ca but went by memory for .com) it seems it's Gaviña Gourmet Coffee


Looking further, finding an article from 2009..."SBC supplied some McDonald's stores in the Pacific Northwest until a couple years ago". Woo! Ancient info and definitely not correct for now, but I'm glad my memory wasn't a million percent wrong.

 

[bcla]

I'm a Peet's kind of guy. However, what they have at DTD is a "We Proudly Brew Peet's" location, where they buy beans through a commercial account as well as use logo cups, but where they may not use the same equipment as a company-operated Peet's location. Peet's itself got bought out by a German conglomerate (Benckiser). Before that they were publicly traded.

A real Peet's location will likely use a hand-operated espresso machine and not a super-automatic. Some will do individual drip coffee with a bean selection (custom cup) where they freshly grind beans. A few now make coffee in a French press at a premium. A lot of the licensed locations use super-auto machines and may not necessarily brew their drip coffee to the same specifications (freshness, strength, age of beans) as a company-operated location. I've seen some use vacuum pots rather than brew every hour. Peet's also has a sign for these locations stating that they're not official Peet's company-operated and don't accept Peet's gift cards.

Now if Blue Bottle could set up a stand at DTD, that would be awesome. I'm not sure that would fit in with their "ethos".

 

[CalgaryTroy]

hey Alex,
Happy to hear your Tim Hortons comment, when first read the thread title I thought " Canadian Coffee snob..." was the greatest oxymoron ever! considering the % population that can't seem to live without their 'timmies' -

 

[lizabu]

Are you sure about this? I thought Burger King sold Seattle's Best. I thought McDonalds had its own branded coffee.

McDonalds in Canada does have their own brand. It's called MCafe. They've been selling it for 3 or 4 years. You can even buy McCafe in grocery stores now and I think they have the pods for Keurig machines. The Mother Parkers thing may be old info...I have no idea. Not sure about Burger King. We only have one in our entire city and its 45 minutes from me. They seem to be disappearing.

 

[SweetAlex]

McDonalds in Canada does have their own brand. It's called MCafe. They've been selling it for 3 or 4 years. You can even buy McCafe in grocery stores now and I think they have the pods for Keurig machines. The Mother Parkers thing may be old info...I have no idea. Not sure about Burger King. We only have one in our entire city and its 45 minutes from me. They seem to be disappearing.

You're right. It is their own brand. It's really really good. We do buy the big tins from Safeway now and brew it at home. Yum!

 

[StormyCA]

Now if Blue Bottle could set up a stand at DTD, that would be awesome. I'm not sure that would fit in with their "ethos".

"A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes"! Blue Bottle so totally rocks!!! It would be great, but they'd end up needing an Anna & Elsa-style fast pass program for the lines!


I think Joffrey's is only a millimeter above Nescafe myself. Still pretty nasty IMHO. I force it down in the morning when I'm getting ready to hit the parks because it's what's they have in the on-site rooms & I need my caffeine fix. I was hoping they'd at least have Starbucks in the Disney Hotels when they did the deal with them.

 

[sweetpee_1993]

McDonalds in Canada does have their own brand. It's called MCafe. They've been selling it for 3 or 4 years. You can even buy McCafe in grocery stores now and I think they have the pods for Keurig machines. The Mother Parkers thing may be old info...I have no idea. Not sure about Burger King. We only have one in our entire city and its 45 minutes from me. They seem to be disappearing.

Definitely something Canada does different than the US McDonalds. My last McCafe coffee was definitely my last. Unless I'm terribly hung over and that desperate. Not likely. I had a cup of Joe at Burger King about 8 years ago. That hasn't happened again either. LOL!

I keep thinking of a funny meme although I don't know how to make them....

....Gourmet McDonalds......said no one ever.

At DL in the spring I got my coffee fixes as iced coffee from Starbucks. I used to be a crazy avid coffee drinker but pretty much kicked that habit when I started drinking Advocare Spark every morning and afternoon. The only time I really want coffee now is on cold mornings which are few and far between where we live.

 

[Jerryp49]

If you ever get the chance , try Weaver`s coffee. John Weaver was the Master Roaster for Peet`s Coffee for 27 years and was taught by Sal Bonavita and the late Alfred Peet . John started his own company in 2007. He supplies the Organic coffee for Pixar Studios in Emeryville and Facebook in Menlo Park. Im not sure if it is available in Southern Ca.. Website is WeaversCoffee.com

 

[Paulakoala]

We are in the minority in Canada here and HATE Tim Hortons coffee. It tastes too weak and chemically to me and kills my dh's stomach. But if you go to a Tim Hortons at any time of day in any town in Canada, you're looking at a mile-long line up. I don't get it either...

BUT they do have good donuts (if you like donuts) and delicious bagels. I'll give them that.

Bless you!! I love Tim's hot chocolates but their coffee rots my gut. Relief to hear I'm not the only one! Im counting on Starbucks in DTD to keep me functional on or next trip.

 

[DizMe]

I was really unimpressed by the Peet's served at Haagen Dazs. Honestly, I don't think it's as good as what you can get at SB's. It's not at all what you'd get at a real Peet's.

However, I'm ok with SBs. Not my favorite, not my least favorite, but a HUGE improvement over Nescafe. I did try bringing my own French Press once and it was really not worth the hassle. I'm not a coffee snob, though, I'm more of a coffee appreciator.

 

[crystal1313]

Never been here...but have seen a couple of CM friends who live in the area post about his place:

http://inkandbeancoffee.com/

According to website, it's 5 min away.

 

[julesann]

There was a little coffee shop outside the Ramada that we discovered when we stayed there our first time and it was lifesaver but we're not staying anywhere near there this time so we need an alternative. Hoping for more "secret" shops like this.

Help! We need our coffee or bad things may happen...

I would love to know the name of the coffee shop outside the Ramada. Usually I get a cup at Peets on my way through DTD, but we are staying on Harbor this time at the FFI. I thought it had Starbucks, but it is Seattle's Best. Any other ideas about where to get good coffee on the Harbor side before going into the park would be much appreciated.

 

[crystal1313]

I would love to know the name of the coffee shop outside the Ramada. Usually I get a cup at Peets on my way through DTD, but we are staying on Harbor this time at the FFI. I thought it had Starbucks, but it is Seattle's Best. Any other ideas about where to get good coffee on the Harbor side before going into the park would be much appreciated.

I'm checking into the Ramada Friday. Pretty sure that all the little stores there are gone right now as they are doing a major remodel. In July there was just a convenience type store and a scooter rental I think. I'll double check on Friday.

 

[bcla]

"A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes"! Blue Bottle so totally rocks!!! It would be great, but they'd end up needing an Anna & Elsa-style fast pass program for the lines!

Depends on the location I guess. On my commute I'll go to the location at Webster Street in Oakland where they roast their beans. The lines are generally quite manageable - maybe 4 to 6 people typically. I actually went this morning and had Three Africans with granola in a mason jar. I've also arrived at the San Francisco Ferry Building location early in the morning once on a weekend and I was the only customer, but at midday it's a 30 minute wait.

Actually - at the Ferry Building I usually go to Peet's. We love the farmers market on Saturday and will usually find strawberries (my kid's favorite food), then go to Peet's where I'll get coffee and my kid gets a fruit mashup or Greek yogurt. Then maybe a sandwich and various bread at Acme.

You know, sometimes I wish there was stuff like this on my DL visits. However, this is kind of esoteric stuff and I'm not sure if it would really do all that well.

 

[StormyCA]

I've been to the ones by the Old Mint & Ferry Bldg & the lines were really bad. But it always seems to be 'coffee prime time' when we go.

There are things similar in LA proper; farmer's markets, niche coffee places, unique eateries, etc. But who wants to give up a day at DL for that? Not me!!

 

[MissKIA]

We are in the minority in Canada here and HATE Tim Hortons coffee. It tastes too weak and chemically to me and kills my dh's stomach. But if you go to a Tim Hortons at any time of day in any town in Canada, you're looking at a mile-long line up. I don't get it either...

BUT they do have good donuts (if you like donuts) and delicious bagels. I'll give them that.

I've never understood the fascination with Tim Hortons coffee either, but their new Dark Roast is actually good!

 

[theluckyrabbit]

We also pack Starbucks VIA packets when we visit the parks. That way, if we dine somewhere that uses Joffrey's coffee (e.g. ate with friends at Carnation Cafe), we just ask for hot water so DH can make his own coffee, adjusted to his preference. A VIA packet can also perk up really weak coffee in an emergency.