Phil & Sebastian Coffee Company

Calgary Farmers Market

Phil and Sebastian were an early find in my quest for good coffee in Calgary, recommended by my barista friends back at Gimme! in Ithaca. They are a small operation, initially offering very freshly roasted beans (all bags marked with the roasting date), which you selected from a weekly email description. The beans were then home delivered.

The newest development for Phil and Sebastian is a stand at the Calgary Farmers Market, where they now offer espresso drinks as well as the beans (now chosen after sniffing beans in large jars). The beans are excellent, as were the 2 lattes I’ve had. A visit to the Farmers Market has always been worth the drive; Phil and Sebastian make it even better!

Good Earth

7 Ave SW @ 6th St

Calgary is not exactly known for its coffee, but there are some good options if you look around a bit. Good Earth is a Calgary based chain that specialises in serving nutritious food and excellent coffee. In terms of food, I’ve only tried their scones, which are really good. Not too dense or dry, and good sweet and savory flavours.

The coffee is a bit hit and miss. My first visit was very disappointing, but the 7th Ave store is very handily located between work and my French classes, so I gave them another chance. A good thing, since the barista who usually works around 6pm is pretty good. My skim latte has nicely textured milk with foam rather than bubbles. The espresso is good too; strong but never bitter. Overall a pretty decent place to buy an espresso based drink.

I also tried drip coffee from the University of Calgary location – not so great.