Summer was made for road trips!
I recently had the chance to drive just 90 minutes north of Calgary to Sylvan Lake & Red Deer for the weekend. Despite having been to (and through) Red Deer a number of times I had yet to make it to Sylvan Lake! And if you’re gonna visit Sylvan Lake…ya might as well hit up this beach town in summertime.
So that’s exactly what I did.
While there may not be a ton of amazing coffee options in either of these two places there are two that you definitely don’t want to miss!
Red Deer:
The place to visit in Red Deer is none other than Dose Coffee Co. And the best part is that they have two locations (Downtown & Riverfront). I had the chance this trip to visit their Riverfront location for the first time. This location has a unique vibe compared to their downtown location which certainly caters to the local downtown business crowd as well as other specialty coffee lovers.
Their Riverfront location, while consistently featuring roasters like Phil & Sebastian, also seeks to bring in unique guest roasters to feature to their customers. While I was there they had just brought in Obadiah Coffee out of Edinburgh, Scotland. The barista on the bar made me a fantastic one and one with some of Obadiah’s Naturally processed Ethiopian. Served on a gorgeous slate serving plate and coupled with a glass of sparkling water, Dose pulls out all the stops to create an amazing experience at their cafe.
There is a great community table to one side of the space, along with other smaller tables on the other side. It’s cozy, inviting, and a definite departure from more of the busy-ness of a downtown space. But whatever cafe you visit, there is no question you’ll enjoy the coffee, be welcomed by incredible staff, and appreciate that even outside of the major urban centres of Alberta there is great coffee to be had!
Sylvan Lake:
Crazy as it sounds, I have lived in Calgary for five years and had never made my way up to this gorgeous lakeside town.
I recently learned about a great coffee shop in Sylvan called Timber Coffee Co. and knew that I had to swing by to visit. Timber also had Calgary based coffee roaster Phil & Sebastian as their go-to in house coffee but also stocks a variety of other great roasters. While I was there they also had Pop Coffee Works out of Toronto and RoofTop Coffee from Fernie, BC. (both favourites of mine).
The interior is bright, with plenty of seats and free wi-fi. They also stock a huge variety of specialty coffee brewing gear to help anyone level up in their brew game. If you want to know a little #protip, make sure you swing by on a Sunday to grab a cup of filter coffee for only $1 dollar (any size!) It was smoking hot outside when I was up there so I grabbed a 12oz cup and it was super tasty.
What’s really cool about Timber Coffee is that they are also connected to a local non-profit youth organization called Central Alberta Youth Unlimited that seeks to mentor and resource young people in the community. So not only are you getting good coffee, you’re also doing good for the community when you visit. Now that’s awesome!
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I am so glad to have visited both of these amazing cafes. So what are you waiting for? There’s still plenty of summer left so get out there, enjoy a road trip, and make sure to drink good coffee!
Stay Caffeinated,
Tyler
commonly coffee 