When the weather gets warmer here in Alberta it feels like the entire province comes out of hibernation! And with that warmer weather comes the time to plan a road trip or two!
One of the unique features of living on the prairies is that there are so many amazing small towns scattered around this province that are worth exploring. Each contains their own unique experiences and attractions. And one of the things that I love about small towns (even if I am a die-hard city boy) is that many of them have some amazing coffee roasters!
I reached out to four coffee roasters in particular that I wanted to make you aware of. So if you get the chance to do some exploring this Spring/Summer, make sure to visit these towns and make sure to connect with the fine folks roasting this coffee.
TapTown Coffee Roasters – Nanton, AB
Located about 100km south of Calgary, Nanton is a small town along Hwy 2 with a population just over 2,000 individuals. It’s also home to TapTown Coffee Roasters which is ran by Dustin Lehne. They have been up and running since October 2018.
They currently don’t have a website, but I am told they are busy working on getting something up very soon. They have been selling their beans at local markets and shops around Nanton and some surrounding communities. His is a story as well of humble beginnings on a couple of popcorn poppers and 10kg of coffee at a time. Dustin is a great guy and I am excited to see the growth yet to come.
Contact Info:
Facebook: www.facebook.com/TapTownRoasters
Instagram: @taptownroasters
Origin North Roasting Co. – New Norway, AB
The hamlet of New Norway is located along Hwy 21 about 25km south-west of Camrose. Home to only about 300 people, it’s also home to Origin North Roasting Co. This new coffee roaster is run by the husband & wife team of Jordan & Chelsey Huraj. I got in touch with them to find out a bit more of their story.
Origin North began with Jordan & Chelsey roasting coffee on a roaster small enough to fit in a barbecue. Their goal was to find a better tasting cup of coffee, and share it with their friends and family who wanted the same top quality beans. They eventually couldn’t keep up with demand, and expanded their love of craft coffee into the small company, Origin North Roasting Co.
Origin North have a number of coffee’s available on their webstore if you want to grab some of their beans. One thing that I love about them is that all of their beans come in 454g (1lb) bags! I love companies that still do this. Where many only offer 340g or even 250g, it’s nice to see these larger bags still for a reasonable price. They’ve got a new Panamanian that sounds quite nice!
Contact Info:
Web: www.originnorthroastingco.com
Instagram: @origin_north
Email: originnorthroastingco@gmail.com
Trestle Coffee Roasters – Marwayne, AB
If you head about 45km North-East from Lloydminster you find yourself in the village of Marwayne. Home to Trestle Coffee Roasters, Marwayne is also home to just shy of 700 people. I connected up with the team behind Trestle to learn more about their company.
Founded in November 2018, by Nolan & Emily Unruh, Trestle Coffee is gets its name from the abandoned rail trestle located just 10 minutes from the family farm. They began as many do on a $5 popcorn popper, but now roast on an Allio Bullet R1. This 1kg roaster has allowed them to begin selling their beans at a number of local markets and area businesses.
Nolan handles all of the roasting work and Emily takes care of the social media for Trestle. They have a great webstore where you can purchase their beans. They also have their beans available at the Downtown Farmers Market in Lloydminster on Tuesdays (11am-5pm) & Saturdays (10am-4pm). Have a look at their Colombia San Javier on their site. It sounds like a great coffee.
I asked them what coffee they’re currently enjoying. They said this “a lightly roasted coffee from the Ancuya region of Colombia, grown on a farm called Cujacal. It was sourced thru Apex Coffee Imports (Calgary, AB). The farmers name is Blanca Maria Angelita Romo Romo.
Contact info:
Web: www.trestlecoffee.ca
Instagram: @trestlecoffeeroasters
Facebook: www.facebook.com/trestlecoffeeroasters
Email: trestlecoffeeroasters@gmail.com
WildCat Coffee Company – Cremona, AB
WildCat Coffee Roasters is an upstart coffee roaster is located in Cremona (pop. 450) about 30 minutes north of Cochrane along Hwy. 22. Now if the name of this town sounds familiar it’s because WildCat has taken over the former space of what was Profound Coffee Roasters who I visited back in July.
I connected with Colin from WildCat who is currently the head roaster and at this point their only employee. He mentioned that their website will be up and running shortly, and he is busy working on developing a few blends to launch with the beans he’s sourcing from Single Origin here in Calgary . In the meantime they do have a few posts up on their Instagram feed for you to get a sense of what’s to come.
I am excited to see what will come from WildCat. If you’re up in the Cremona area stop by to visit them. Colin tells me
Contact info:
Web: www.wildcatcoffee.ca
Instagram: @wildcatcoffeecompany
So there you have it! Four great small-town coffee roasters you should definitely check out when you’re exploring this beautiful province!
If you’re not able to visit these towns, make sure to give these roasters some love by following them of social media, and I highly recommend checking out their sites to learn more about their coffee and their companies.
Stay Caffeinated,
Tyler
commonly coffee 