I love the #AROMA of it

Hello there my lovelies! 

It’s pretty hot here in Toronto, given the cold winter’s we’ve had I am very pleased. I love to accompany the (newly) hot Canadian climate with a nicely chilled cup of coffee. My favourite chilled blend at the moment is an Iced Aroma Light. 

The Iced Aroma Light is exclusively made at every Aroma Espresso Bar location. Aroma Espresso Bar is Mediterranean-inspired cafe, Founded in Jerusalem in 1994. Aroma Espresso Bar has expanded to more than 165 locations, in 6 countries, worldwide. Countries including Israel, Canada and the United States (yay!). 

Aroma’s coffee is the best that I’ve had for a very, very long time. The flavour is richly full of flavour. Aroma takes pride in their coffee and have created their own signature blends of cappuccino, espresso, filtered and decaf coffee, using coffee beans imported for South America, Asia and Africa. 

Aroma has a roasting facility in Israel’s Valley of Elah. The roasting facility was established with the cooperation of the Ballestra family from Naples, Italy; who has been roasting gourmet coffee beans for generations. 

Aroma, however, is not only known for there amazing coffee’s, they are also known for their incredibly diverse Mediterranean-inspired menu. Being a vegetarian, it is hard for me to find a café with healthy, vegetarian alternatives. I have consistently and genuinely found Aroma Espresso Bar to carry a sense of nutritional integrity with every meal and drink purchase. Aroma starts from scratch every morning in each of their locations, in every aspect of their ingredients. I have never known of a café that prepares every meal fresh and made-to-order. They even freshly bake loaves of bread and pastries, that are then served only the same day as they are prepared. 

Aroma Espresso Bar, literally raises the bar (pun intended), I have honestly never been to such a beautiful establishment. Aroma revives all of my senses, all of my senses become happy just by sitting in the café. Don’t just take my word for it, go and try it for yourselves! When you do, don’t forget to tell me how much you loved it! 

I would love to hear your feedback! Send me suggestions, jokes or even some caffeine at this email address: thebeanmovement@gmail.com

Stay Caffeinated.

xoxo, Amelia

source: www.aroma.ca

Let's Get Freekeh!

Hey there my sweets!

It's almost summer time! The birds are chirping, animals are having babies and the sweet aroma of freshly grown plants is in the air. Speaking about aromas, last week I had the honour of attending Aroma Espresso Bar's private event. What did I learn at this event you may ask? All about the new Aroma-tastic super-food-filled summer salad. The salad's name is the Freekeh Salad. The salad contains an ancient grain called "freekeh" hence the name Freekeh Salad. This grain is protein-filled, which is perfect for all of us veggie lovin’, tree huggin’, animal lovin’ freekehs. 

I learned a lot about Aroma's new summer salad, because at the Aroma event a nutritionist spoke all about the freekeh grain and all its health benefits. Freekeh is an ancient grain, and is the newest superfood on the block. The freekeh grain is very similar to quinoa, as they are both a grain filled with tons of proteins.

The main benefits of Freekeh:

1) It is high in fibre.

The nutritionist at the Aroma event was explaining how in Canada many of us are very low in fibre. It is very difficult at times to eat the recommended amount of fibre as we should (especially for those who are trying to eat a low carb diet). 

2) It is low in gluten.

The freak grain is harvested early, meaning the gluten in the grain hasn't fully developed making it easy to digest. For those of you who are sensitive to gluten you will not feel bloated, or uncomfortable after eating it. Sadly, it is not gluten free so if someone is celiac you can’t eat this.

3) It is a complex carbohydrate.  

Most carbs will spike your blood sugar, and in about 2 seconds you’ll have no energy again. With freekeh, since it is a complex carb your energy and blood sugars will be more stable. You won’t get the rise and drop like you would from eating rice or any other non complex carbohydrates.

4) It is a Resistance Starch.

Resistance starch is food that bypasses our digest system and goes right through our 

gastrointestinal track and acts like food for good bacteria which is something we call a prebiotic. A prebiotic is something that helps build probiotics.

5) It is high in protein. 

Like I mentioned before, Freekeh is high in protein which is great for vegetarians, vegans, and anyone trying to eat plant based proteins. 

6) IT IS ACTUALLY GOOD!

The biggest complaint most people have when eating healthy is that healthy food doesn’t taste good. That is not the case with freekeh! Not only is it tasty but there are so many ways to enjoy it! You can make it into a soup, salad and even use it as stuffing! 

Ingredients for the Aroma Freekeh Salad: 

1) Freekeh

2) Chopped cucumbers, carrots, and tomates

3) Sliced red onion

4) Kale

5) Chopped dill pickle

6) One scoop of platene cheese

7) Light Dressing: Lemon, olive oil, salt and pepper

8) Parsley

9) Za’atar spice

The newest addition to the already amazing Aroma menu is out to every Canadian Aroma Espresso Bar, so get off your computer and go to the nearest Aroma near you! Let me know what you think, I know you will not be disappointed. 

And as always, remember to: stay caffeinated. 

10 easy steps the the best Prom ever!

Hello there my lovelies,

In the spirit of prom season I'd like to pass on my first hand knowledge to make prom a little less stressful by giving all you prom-goers an easy 10 step guide to a fun and enjoyable night.

#1 Dress to impress... yourself

Prom is one of those days you can roll out the red carpet and be as glamorous as you possibly can get.   Don't just buy a dress because Sherri Hill designed it, or Cara Delevingne wore it. If you look fabulous, and you feel even more fabulous; you've found yourself a keeper.

So many young girls believe their date have to match outfits with them (or colour coordinate with them) a lot of the time, it comes off very tacky and like so 1950's. Lets start some new trends here people! I know it's hard to believe, but your school peers will know you're together, even if you're not matching each other.

Reminder: You're only wearing the dress for four hours.

#2 Enhance your natural beauty 

If you're doing your make up yourself, or having a friend do it for you. Practice, practice, practice. You don't want there to be any surprises the day of your Prom.

When it comes to make up, less truly is more. Although we all know the famous Kim Kardashian routine of contour, most of us really haven't been able to master this trick and it's better not to experiment on this one occasion.

For those of us who are getting your make up professionally done, bring lots of example pictures and do your research. It's better to simply enhance your natural every-day make up then do something completely outrageous and different, just because a professional is doing it. If you're not used to seeing yourself with heavy make up or eye shadow, you'll be stuck staring at yourself not able to recognize who you're looking at.

A misconception many girl have, is that their dress colour needs to be embedded in their eyeshadow.  Depending on your skin tone, dress colour and eye colour there is a specific blend of eyeshadow, eyeliner and mascara to fit each of us. I have an olive skin tone, brown eyes and wore a white prom dress, a gold and brown mix best suited this look and my make up artist did an amazing job achieving my make up dream.

My suggestion to you: find celebrities with a similar skin tone and eye colour as you. The make up artist will be able to then work with what you brought them. I find that giving the artist the freedom of working their talent with a set of guidelines works best.


#3 Your date is a partner, not your prisoner 

Girls these days bring a date to prom and forget a simple thing:  it's your date's prom too. It is not only YOUR day, it is the day of every single other person as well. Just because you came to prom together doesn't mean you two need to be stuck together like a police officer with their prisoner. It's hard to believe, but you can actually have just as much fun with your girl (or guy) friends then you can with a little time apart from your date. And please, please do not be too overbearing to your poor innocent date. He (or she) needs time with her own friends too.

If your significant other doesn't want to wear that beautiful suit you had in mind, doesn't mean he doesn't love you any less. It just means that, like you, he wants to look smoking hot and feel good too. Take a moment and think how it would be like if he were to tell you what colour or dress you would be allowed to wear.

#4 Dance your pants off

Come on my lovelies, no one likes a Debbie Downer. Dance your pants off and have a good time. Your prom day is once in a lifetime, make it count.

#5 Live in the moment 

The whole reason why I allowed myself to stay in high school for four straight years was in hopes of a great prom. One of my biggest regrets looking back was I didn't live in the moment and take every moment when it came to me. I was so worried about having a great time that I completely forgot to take pictures and actually have a great time. Looking back, I would do it all over again in hopes to be more relaxed.

#6 Keep your hands... on your own date

Over the years, I have heard actual horror stories about girls stealing someone else's date! It doesn't matter how close of friends you are with the guy (or girl) keep your hands on your own date. There is a reason why you aren't at prom with him/or her. If you're really in love with the guy, wait and it will happen if it's meant to be. Take control over yourself and love the night with your friends, there is no need for you to steal your best friend's man. But I mean, if it happens and its true love, do you boo.

#7 The after party, is the real party

Prom is over, you're exploding from all the food you've eaten, prom king and queen have been crowned and your feet are throbbing from all the dancing. It is now time for after prom. I have seen first hand what an after prom is like, and let me tell you it is probably the best time you'll ever have in all of your high school existence. People go to after prom to soley have a great time with friends and school mates. I personally made amends with old friends and made new friends with people at my after prom, it is better then any other party you will ever attend. No matter how much fun you had at prom, after prom will always be better. People forget about prom, but will talk about after prom for the rest of their lives.


#8 Danger doesn't lose it's danger when you're a little tipsy** 

Just because you've had a little to drink does not mean you're invincible. I know that this may be unbelievable, but if you run through a glass window you will feel it in the morning. Just because you don't physically feel pain in the moment, does not mean you're not harming yourself. Dangerous activities are still dangerous even when you're tipsy, be responsible.


#9 Do not be "The Mother Goose" or the "Sloppy Drunk"

There is a fine line between having a good time and being the good time. No one likes the person who is running around making sure no one is throwing their guts (and all of prom dinner) out, but no one likes the person who is so drunk they can barley walk and are throwing up their guts.  The term "Mother Goose" is a person who is completely sober, running around after prom taking away drinks and stopping make out session only in hopes of being known as the saviour of the night. Sorry to break it to you honey, but if I want to finish that bottle of vodka, you will not be stopping me, you will be annoying me. If you have had too much to drink and more then just the "Mother Goose" is telling you to drink some water (aka your parents) then you should probably chill out and drink some water. Be responsible for yourself.

#10 Do you boo

At the end of the night, all that matters is that you enjoyed yourself. Be the Mother Goose or the Sloppy drunk if you want too. Make your date be the prisoner and match your eyeshadow to your prom date's tie if that is what makes you extremely happy. Do you boo. Love your night and love your time. Do you boo. Do you..


Try to have the best time ever, but at the end of the day its just prom. It's not as big of a deal as we all think it is. Remember, it's not like you're 19 or anything ;-).

xoxo, stay caffeinated.

Amelia


** I am in no way condoning or promoting underage drinking. Please drink responsibly and of legal age**

We are living in a veggie world!

Hello, Hello!

I am so sorry that I haven't been as frequent with my blogging escapades lately. I've been really busy working up a storm and getting myself more established as a vlogger (video-blogger). With that being said, I've missed connecting with all of you in the meantime.

The last time we spoke, I was in Acapulco, Mexico; I am back in Canada and ready for the thrills spring has to offer. For those of you who don't already know this about me, spring is my favourite season. I love the way the world starts to bloom after the long and frigid winter Canada (unfortunately) brings to the table. My favourite thing about spring is waking up to the sun beaming through my windows and hearing the birds chirping every morning. I love knowing that spring is the time of the year where (most) flowers start to bloom and (most) animal babies are born. For me, spring brings new life and new beginnings.

I love animals. From a very young age I have had a deep passion for every animal in the world. I love them so much that I remember going to petting zoos as a child and pretending the animals were literally my friends. I can actually remember trying to kiss a couple of donkeys during those days.. Call me crazy all you want, but I love animals and no one will be able to take that love away from me. I love animals so much that I decided to become a vegetarian 3 years ago. Proudly, I can say that I haven't touched a piece of animal flesh ever since then.

Honestly, when I was growing up, I never gave the slaughter of animals much thought. I knew that what I was eating was an animal, I knew I loved the taste of it and I knew I loved animals; but other then those two facts I didn't really understand what I was feeding into (pun intended). In 2012, my sister (her name is Chiara) had to do a school project which meant being a vegetarian for an entire month. I thought, being the wonderful sister that I am, I would join her in this project and be an encourager for her and make sure she didn't fail the project. However, being the most competitive person I've ever met, I decided to not only join my sister with her project and not eat meat for an entire month, but I would also give up all animal products in the meantime. I had just become a vegan cold-turkey (pun intended....again).

I remember, February 2012, I ate my last piece of meat for the rest of my life. I thought, at first, the only thing that the project entailed was to simply stop eating meat for an entire month. I was sadly (or happily) mistaken. During those 30 days, I was tortured to watch documentaries all about the slaughter of animals. Obviously, I cried my eyes out for 30 days straight. Those documentaries are not only extremely informative, they are also extremely gruesome. For a while I couldn't believe that for all these years I had been so extremely naive. I went around telling people I wanted to become an animal rescuer and I loved animals more then anything else in the world................ AS I WAS EATING A RACK OF RIBS. I felt like a complete hypocrite. Not only is the slaughter of animals completely inhumane, but it is actually extremely harmful to the environment.

Being a veggie girl (which is what I call myself) in an Italian family is much easier said then done. Italians are known for all the different type of meats they serve on a daily basis. Thankfully, my family isn't one who eat (ate) meat everyday, but they definitely loved their meat sauce and homemade meatballs on their pasta. To this day my Nonno will cut me soppressata expecting me to eat it. Last Sunday (aka family lunch day at Nonno and Nonna's house) my Nonno pulled me aside and asked me "Amelia, if you don't eat meat... then what DO you eat?" I answered that question by saying "Well Nonno, if I don't eat meat, then I eat anything that isn't meat" he was shocked by this answer and says "Amelia, EVERYTHING is meat." Yes, being a veggie girl in an Italian family is very hard.

I see becoming a vegetarian one of the best choices I have made in all of my 21 years existence.  I was born with a form of anemia and right before becoming a vegetarian, I had my regular blood test to make sure my iron levels didn't drop since my last visit, it had but not only did my iron levels drop but my B12 levels were low as well. After becoming a vegetarian, I lost 10 pounds, my iron levels became significantly higher and my B12 level went back to normal. I had a much higher level of energy and I felt healthier inside.

There are many different types of vegetarianism: 

1) Lacto-ovo vegetarian: vegetarians that eat both eggs and dairy products.
2) Pescatarian: vegetarians who occasionally eat fish.
3) Ovo-vegetarian : vegetarians who do not eat/ drink dairy products, but do occasionally eat eggs.
4) Lacto-vegetarian: vegetarians who do not eat eggs, but occasionally eat/ drink dairy products.
5) Vegan: vegetarians who do not eat animal flesh of any kind, shellfish, dairy products and eggs.

As I said before, when I first started my veggie girl journey, I was a vegan and I loved every second of it. Unfortunately, I had to stop being a vegan because I still live at home and it was hard for me to be 100% vegan (because my mom still buys me food and feeds me). I do however, plan on returning to the vegan lifestyle once I move out of my house; but for now I am 100% ovo-vegetarian. I do not eat any animal flesh, or dairy products, but I do occasionally eat a few eggs here and there.

Today, after being a full fledge veggie girl (for exactly 3 years, one month and 10 days) I can say being a veggie girl has had it's extreme struggles, when I first started becoming a vegetarian, I hated vegetables to the very core of my soul and I craved meat profusely. Eventually I started to really appreciate vegetables (along with their weird flavours) and as for the meat cravings, they are still very much alive and well. Fortunately enough, I haven't eaten meat in so long that I think veggie patties taste like an actual meaty hamburger, so once I get my teeth in those veggie burgers, the cravings are quenched. Now when I look at a steak all I can think of is that it is literally the flesh of an animal and I get completely repulsed by it and nauseated thinking about someone eating it.

Being a vegetarian is a great choice, but a hard and life-altering decision I've made for myself. It has made me become a more caring and empathetic person. I think of the world in a completely different light and literally imagine myself in the position of the animal during each stage of their miserable life. I wish I could save each and every single one of those poor animals and make them feel loved, but unfortunately I don't have the means to do that. In the past 3 years, one month and 10 days I have happily been able to save a total of 631 animals, 609 lbs of meat and 5,027 lbs of CO2 was not released into the atmosphere (http://vegetariancalculator.com/vegetarian-calculator-monthly).

If you're thinking about joining the animal-saving crew? shoot me an email: thebeanmovement@gmail.com

meow for now!
xoxo, Amelia


Stay Caffeinated.

ps. I'm now on YouTube! Check out me first video at this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hADcvRrXsYI

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Si Señor; A Sangria with a view!

Hello Hello my lovelies!

As I said in my previous post, I'm in Acapulco, Mexico! I will be here for the next week and I am very very happy about it.

Acapulco is heaven on earth in itself. The most beautiful and amazing place I've been to in my life. No matter how old I get, and how busy my life is; I can't seem to free myself of the desire to take my yearly trip to this beautiful city. I've been to many other Mexican states and found that they all became very Americanized. Being "Americanized" is not necessarily a bad thing, I just prefer to go to a country and be completely immersed in their culture. I love learning about different cultures and it is one of the main reasons I travel in the first place. When I travel and it doesn't feel like I've left my homeland, I don't feel as though I've gotten the full travel experience. Luckily for me, Acapulco is both Americanized and 100% Mexican.

Acapulco has two parts. The "new part" being the Diamante area and "old Acapulco" which is the famous "Acapulco Bay." By choice, my favourite is "old Acapulco" where all the culture is. New Acapulco is much more Americanized and modern; beautiful, but not the Acapulco I grew to love. "Old Acapulco" is where most of the Mexicans stay. Also, majority of the local people live in "Old Acapulco" and the cultural experience is prime here. I've been coming to "old Acapulco" for the past 18 years now. My Dad and Mom have had the privilege be part of Acapulco's growth for the past 35 years. For all these years, we have noticed that less and less tourists have been coming to Acapulco due to fear of the unknown. What is the unknown you may ask? For the past 10 years Acapulco has unfortunately been apart of some very bad publicity that have caused less and less people to come here every year. I understand the fear, but as a tourist (I'm as "gringa" as it gets) I wanted to publicly announce that Acapulco is not as unsafe as people have made it out to be. Yes, bad things have happened and yes,  it is very terrifying to hear of such things, I agree. As a person who has been coming here (almost) my entire life, I can honestly say I have never felt unsafe and I have most definitely never been harmed.

The Mexicans (that I've met at least) are so warm and friendly to everyone they meet. Today for example, the taxi driver took us on a tour of Acapulco free of charge. Just because he loves the city he lives in and wanted us to experience the beauty Acapulco has to offer.

If you still feel a little uneasy about the whole situation, but still want to give Acapulco a chance (which is what I totally would do) try "New Acapulco." There's many new and beautiful resorts. The weather in Acapulco ranges from 28 degrees Celsius to 35 degrees Celsius. I have never seen rain in Acapulco, and you pray for wind to appear (because it is just that hot). Every year, Acapulco's weather blesses me with an amazing tan. I typically wear number 30 sunscreen and still manage become a dark chocolate colour by the end of week two. Acapulco never disappoints. #AcapulcoPuede

As I said before, I love to experience different cultures. I especially love to explore different cultural foods. This Thursday (and every Thursday to follow) is pozole Thursday. What on earth is a pozole you ask? Well that was my question too. Until Thursday.

This Thursday I went to a restaurant named "Si Señor" a traditional Mexican restaurant, that follows no traditions, except for in their foods. Si Señor's had a name change. As a kid I always grew up going to a place called Señor Frogs, but the owner of the restaurant decided to drop the name (and the franchise fees) and start his own restaurant; taking all his past knowledge and experience of the food business with him. After speaking to the locals (and seeing how packed the restaurant was) I found out that the name change did not only make the restaurant more profitable, but it also improved the quality of the food, along with the experience that came along with the food.

Si Señor was extremely busy this Thursday, and by "extremely busy" I mean, we had a Linner (lunch + dinner) reservations for 5:00pm, we were 10 minutes late and our table was given away. We then waited two more hours before being able to get a new table. During the wait, the waiters brought us large drinks to ease the pain of waiting in the scorching heat (and being insanely hungry). You don't realize how hungry you are until you're asked to sit and wait for two hours before you're able to get some food; let me tell you! The drinks seemed to really help, I must say.

Before I knew it, we were being lead to a table that had the most amazing view of the Acapulco Bay. I was very impressed.

I ordered my sangria, and started sipping away all my troubles.

Just kidding. I mean, with that beautiful view of the ocean AND the city, who could have any troubles? Not this girl.

For some reason Mexican drink (in shot glasses) shrimp soup before their meals? Not really sure what happened there, but before I knew it a waiter had given me a shot glass filled with shrimp soup and told me to add salt and lime juice... I did as I was told. Naturally though I questioned him and decided to try this soup au natural.. bad idea. The soup was weird and extremely fishy. I decided that I wasn't giving the soup a fair chance because I wasn't eating it the Mexican way. I added the lime juice and salt. I loved it! The lime and salt took away the strong fishy flavour. I ended up having two of them. (hehe!)

As the night goes on, there is music pumping on the stereo systems. The whole restaurant was going along wit the music and singing. Mexicans know how to party. Nightlife in Acapulco is very much alive. A few minutes later, I noticed a strange looking band walking towards us with guitars. It was a mariachi band! Such an awesome and authentic Mexican experience.

Finally my (specially made) vegetarian pozole arrived. Actually they brought to my table a strange plate with so many different things on it I really didn't understand what was happening. Unfortunately, the restaurant was very dark so the picture I took didn't come out at all. It was explained to me that the first plate with filled with blocks of cheese, avocado and other Mexican delicacies. That plate was the appetizer and was part of the main meal. Confused? So was I. Apparently you were suppose to wait for your main meal before you started munching away at the first mountain of food. I did not understand this concept and I was hungry..... so I ate almost all of it before my second course arrived (oops!). The second course: soup! Guys, I was so confused at this point I just poured the soup in my mouth and called it a day (but not before I threw in a couple of cheese squares in there first). Apparently the soup was made out of vegetables and Mexican corn. The corn honestly looked like popcorn, I know.. don't believe me.. just look at the (horrible) picture I took.

There's something you need to understand before I continue. There are few things in life I love just as much as I love coffee. Here's a short list of them:

• My dog Bacio
• Cheese
• Spicy foods
• Salt
• Chips
• Animals

Soup is not one of those things. Actually, I can honestly say I maybe have one soup per year. For some weird reason soup grosses me out. I don't know why. I really don't understand what goes through my head sometimes, but it just does. This soup though, was actually really good! Now, I didn't eat it properly, but I was told you're suppose to put the cheese and the avocado along with all the spices they had placed on the table AND THE LIMES in this particular soup.  Now, I can admit that kinda sounds gross and maybe I wouldn't have enjoyed it quite as much if I had followed the rules, but you know what? The pozole without all the fancy toppings was really good! I actually liked it! 

Si Señor was filled with tons and tons of people. There was not a single chair free in the entire restaurant. The vibes were positive and upbeat. There was not a single negative comment I could ever have. Inside the restaurant they had all these random signs up that were hilarious to read! If you are ever near a Si Señor do not miss the chance to try their pozole Thursday event! No one else has missed it, I promise. 

^^That picture is just an example of me and Si Señor trying to be funny. Si Señor accomplished it, I for one did not.


Adios Amigos!

Stay Caffeinated.



ps. I'm now on YouTube! Check out me first video at this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hADcvRrXsYI

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Loco in Acapulco

Hello there my little fraps!

I'm coming to you live from Acapulco, Mexico!! I am so excited to be able to share my adventurous vacation with you. I will be in Acapulco for the next two weeks and I'm going to be sharing experiences I've had here; along with pictures and of course coffee reviews! So get ready to have a great time!

Acapulco is literally my second home, I have been coming here ever since I was literally 1 years old. In total, I've missed three years since then, so this trip marks my 18th time here in this beautiful city. Honestly, when I was much younger, I would come to Acapulco only because I was being forced to come with my family, but now I come because I have really fallen in love with Acapulco. It really is paradise.

On Wednesday February 18th, 2015, (aka my mom's birthday) my whole family took a flight out from Toronto to Acapulco (along with a stop over in Mexico City).

The flight from Toronto to Mexico City was delayed for about an hour, due to a panel being loose. Other then that, the flight went perfectly.

Once we finally arrived in Mexico City (5 and a bit starving hours later) we waited for the wheels chair assistant to direct us on our way (my uncle needed the wheel chair). We figured that we had 2 hours to go through Mexican customs, get our baggage, drop off our baggage to the connecting flight, go to terminal 1 of the Mexico City airport, go to the AeroMexico booth (to get our boarding passes) and then run onto the plane... it seems like a lot for a two-hour lay-over but since we've been coming to Acapulco our entire lives, and have done this exact thing over 18 times, we thought it would be a breeze. WE WERE WRONG!!!!

Once we got off the airplane and went through customs and dropped off our baggage (which took us 30 minutes of time) we had to TAKE A BUS (the terminal train was broken) from terminal 2 (international terminal) to terminal 1 (national terminal). Not only did we need to take a bus, but we needed to take a wheel chair accessible bus. There is only one of those in the entire airport. We waited 30 minutes for the bus to finally arrive (then be squished in there like a pile of sardines). We then were stuck in Mexican traffic for 45 minutes!!!

Finally, we made it to terminal 1. Now, keep in mind, at this point my feet are swollen from wearing fashionable, but not sensible shoes; the wheel chair assistant told us we literally had 2 minutes to get to the AeroMexico terminal to get our boarding passes... we ran. No, we BOLTED to the terminal. We ran so quickly through this airport I promise you it was like in the movies. People literally thought we were insane. Not to mention, my uncle in the wheel chair was being pushed so quickly he said he felt like he was getting car sick. With that being said, we got to the AeroMexico booth and were told that they gave our tickets away, because we were TWO MINUTES LATE. Infuriated is an understatement people. I was beyond mad, I was so mad that my anger had anger. They then directed us TO A LINE UP longer then Macy's cash line on Black Friday, and told us to find the next outgoing flight for Acapulco. The customer service was ZERO.


We get into this line up and when we were finally spoken to we were told that every single flight going to Acapulco for the day was completely taken. They put all 6 of us on "standby" which was the extent of the help they gave us.

They told us to go back to terminal 2 and talk to Air Canada about the situation because that's who brought us to Mexico City. We did as we were told, and also PAYED the terminal bus to take us back to terminal 2. Air Canada did nothing, but tell us our luggages would be waiting for us in the Acapulco airport.

We then thought that we would rent a car and drive to Acapulco, its a 5 and bit car ride but its completely manageable. We asked every single car rental booth the entire Mexico City airport had this is what all of them told us "its $200 to go to Acapulco, $600 for not bringing it back to us and  $200 for a navigation". UM EXCUSE ME?! Non comprende..... BYE. Like come on, thats the most ridiculous thing I've heard in my life. We decided to keep our money and take it elsewhere.

Taxi. A taxi would be cheap, it would be safe and it would know where to go. Right? Wronnnngggg! The taxi drivers told us we would have to pay them $700 for them to drive us to Acapulco.

We literally didn't know what else to do. We thought maybe we could take a bus? We thankfully found a bus ticket station (aka a booth where they sold bus tickets). They had a bus that would leave in 2 hours that would take us to Acapulco, it was only $50 per person. Deal.

What's the catch, right? We had to take a taxi from the Mexico City airport to the Mexico City bus terminal. The bus taking us to Acapulco left at 6:15, it was 4:00 at this point and the traffic was insane, but this was are last and only option to be able to make it to Acapulco today.

We took the taxi from the Mexico City airport and drove for an hour until we finally reached the bus terminal.

We were an hour and 15 minutes early (finally something was working in our favour) but we were STARVING. We hadn't eaten since dinner the day before, so starving was an understatement. We found the absolute sketchiest sandwich shop in the bus terminal (funny enough, it was the least sketchiest food place in the entire terminal, we were starving and decided that anything would be better then nothing). I bought a pre-made veggie sandwich  (which was probably sitting in the window the entire day, if not week). It was soggy and wet. It was gross! but I was starving and ate it... but then it made me sick (yuck).

We get on the bus from Mexico City taking us to Acapulco

*** 6 hours later ***

Its 12:15am. We made it to Acapulco's bus station!!! We then took a taxi from the bus terminal to the Acapulco airport to pick up our suit cases..... THEY WERE THERE! Safe and sound. This day was turning into a more positive day (finally).

we arrived at our hotel, exhausted and hungry at 2:00am.


Although this was a pretty gnarly day, Acapulco is worth every single second of it. Acapulco is literally paradise.

I'll be back soon to blog all about the coffee and food!!

Adios!!

Stay Caffeinated.

Don't forget to follow me on social media!

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheBeanMovement
Twitter: @TheBeanMovement
Gmail: thebeanmovement@gmail.com
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Email me: thebeanmovement@gmail.com

Second Cup Classic Hot Chocolate!

Hey there my lovely cups of hot cocoa!


Why hot cocoa you ask? This week I visited the newly improving Second Cup. I'm not sure if you all know about this, but they are currently having a hot chocolate contest! All you have to do to enter is (1) try their hot chocolate (2) rate their hot chocolate 1-5 (and seeing as I already do that on a weekly basis, I thought why not?).

I went into the Second Cup location the ambiance was really awesome and cozy, they location had a lot of customers (mostly students doing their homework). Their store colours were mostly dark browns, red and gold.  I felt like Second Cup had a very Canadian feel to it, which is very refreshing for a Canadian franchise. I walked up to the cash, where the barista asked me what I wanted, she proceeded by asking me which size I'd prefer (a small, I'm not typically a fan of hot chocolate) she smiled as she waited for me to give her the money. (1 Bean Point)

I then went to the "pick up" side of the coffee bar, where there was a different barista. That barista was so sweet! As soon as she saw me, she flashed me a big smile and asked me how I was doing and if I had ever tried their hot chocolate before. (1 Bean Point)

Now is the moment of truth. The second barista gave me my hot chocolate; and let me just say (coming from someone who literally never drinks hot chocolate) this hot chocolate was AWESOME! I give them a full 5/5 for flavour. It was just so rich and chocolatey, I also tasted a hint of coconut; but that could have just been my lip gloss (LOL). (1 Bean Point)

The Second Cup location I visited was right across the street from a Target store (which is where I was before I had my awesome hot chocolate). The location, I believe, is in a prime spot. (1 Bean Point) 

The price you ask? $2.75, aka perfecto. (1 Bean Point)

Now it's time for the run-down:

Flavour: 1 bean point

Price: 1 bean point

Ambiance: 1 bean point

Drive-Thru: 1 bean point

Customer Service: 1 bean point

Total Score: 5/5 total bean points!

I was overall so happy with you Second Cup, I really had some hard feelings from my previous visit and was nervous because the trust between us had been broken. I am now very happy to say that I am ready to start building our relationship of trust and mutual understanding. This coffee-chick, aka a girl who prefers salt over sweets, thinks that your hot chocolate was amazing. I will be back very soon, maybe tomorrow? ;-)

Ps: The Bean Movement Instagram contest is still running!

Here's what you've gotta do to enter:
(1) follow The Bean Movement (if you haven't already done so)
(2) take a picture of whatever coffee you are drinking, from whatever coffee shop its from
(2) rate the coffee experience 1- 5 Bean Points
(3) tag The Bean Movement and hashtag #StayCaffeinated

On February 14th, I will be picking a winner. Will there be prizes you ask? Yes!

The prize are: coffee mug, coffee beans and a coffee gift card!





Reminder for the medium double-double challenge:

The Good Neighbour: 4/5 Bean Points
Coffee Culture's score: 4.5/5 Bean Points
Timothy's World Cup Coffee's score: 4/5 Bean Points

LavAzza's score: 0/5 Bean Points
McCafé's score: 5/5 Bean Points
Aroma Espresso Bar's score: 5/5 Bean Points
Faema Caffè's score: 3.5 Bean Points
Second Cup's score: 1/5 Bean Points
Illy Caffè's score: 4.5/5 Bean Points
Starbucks' score: 3/5 Bean Points
Tim Hortons' score: 2.5/5 Bean Points



Until next week! xoxo

Stay Caffeinated.




Don't forget to follow me on social media!

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheBeanMovement
Twitter: @TheBeanMovement
Gmail: thebeanmovement@gmail.com
Google+: TheBeanMovement
Instagram: TheBeanMovement
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Email me: thebeanmovement@gmail.com

Moroco Chocolat Boutique!

Hello my sweet caramel macchiato's!

This blog post is going to be all about two very special events:

#1 There is an Instagram and Twitter contest going on right now for The Bean Movement.
#2 I visited a cute boutique on Yorkville, Toronto this week called Moroco Chocolat Boutique.


So, about that Instagram contest... The contest was to reach my goal of 1,000 followers on Instagram. I was 320 followers away from that goal, I thought it would take by Valentines day to achieve that goal. Today, exactly THREE DAYS later I am extremely happy to announce that I have accomplished that goal, on Instagram I now have 2,000 followers. I am insanely excited about that! Thank you all so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so much!! I could not have achieved this without the help of my beloved beans.

Since the goal was achieved, its time for the contest!! From tomorrow (January 23) until February 13th, I want you to:
(1) follow The Bean Movement (if you haven't already done so)
(2) take a picture of whatever coffee you are drinking, from whatever coffee shop its from
(2) rate the coffee experience 1- 5 Bean Points
(3) tag The Bean Movement and hashtag #StayCaffeinated

On February 14th, I will be picking a winner. Will there be prizes you ask? Yes!

The prize are: coffee mug, coffee beans and a coffee gift card!

Rules:
you must be following The Bean Movement on Instagram
you must tag The Bean Movement and hashtag #StayCaffeinated
you must rate the coffee experience 1-5 Bean Points

Check out my Twitter feed for more information on the upcoming Twitter contest.



Now, as I said before this week I visited Moroco Chocolat Boutique. When I got there, I realized that it would be fair if I just spoke today about my experience instead of giving it "bean points" because it isn't technically a coffee shop.

So here I go!

As you all know, last week was more of an adventure then I am used too (ya know, the whole tire explosion situation), but it turned out for the good, because on my way to Nespresso me and my mom walked by a sign (I am a marketing graduate, so I'm obsessed with advertisements.. don't judge me..k?). This sign was not like any other sign.. it was really pretty and fancy; it also happened to say the word "Chocolat" on it aka the only thing I love almost just as much as coffee (almost). The sign was really girly, it had lavender purple cursive writing on it... and it had something to do with chocolate.. so why wouldn't I want to check that place out?

I walk towards this breath-taking building (photo below)

and my jaw was so wide you could fit an entire coffee mug in my mouth.

I walked in (starstruck) and confused because I never even thought about the fact that this place was a "salon cocoa bar" aka not a coffee establishment, so would they even have coffee? I walked into the front door (where there was a chocolate shop, look down for picture) and I asked the lady at the counter,  if I could get a coffee. She asked me if the coffee was "for here or to go?" I answered, with a smile on my face "for here."

She then took me inside this beautiful room (look down for picture), gave us (me and my sister) menus and told us our server would be with us soon.

After about 10 seconds of a glance, I already knew I wanted the Cafe Latte. A few minutes went by and this beautiful creation popped in front of me. As the waiter placed the coffee in front of my presents, he continues by saying "your coffee with a complimentary macaroon."  I literally was going to fall off my chair,  I LOVE MACAROONS!!!!!!!

The macaroons were so delicious that we thought maybe we should order ourselves another one.. which me and my sister both did. I had the cassis and my sister had the salted caramel macaroon. We both had heaven in our mouths. I literally didn't think something could taste as good as those macaroons did, so naturally we decided we had to bring some home. 6 to be exact, we bought 6 macaroons to take home to our family. Which btw (by the way) they LOVED.

NOT ONLY THAT! But they also had chocolate hand prints all over their walls of different celebrities that has ever walked through their lavender doors!! SO COOL!

In all, Moroco Chcolat Boutique was wonderful, it's the most perfect place on earth to surprise your beloved Valentine for Valentine's Day (hint hint). It is so fancy and elegant and everything tasted so amazing! Their macaroons were to die for. The absolute best I have ever had (if I was blogging about macaroons, they'd win first prize).




Moroco Chocolat Boutique, I will be back very soon. I promise.





Until next week! xoxo

Stay Caffeinated.




Don't forget to follow me on social media!

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheBeanMovement
Twitter: @TheBeanMovement
Gmail: thebeanmovement@gmail.com
Google+: TheBeanMovement
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Email me: thebeanmovement@gmail.com

                 

Nespresso Cafe!

Hello there my lovely readers, me again.

This week has been so crazy, literally crazier then my typical overly-caffeinated life. I really had no idea where to go this week to fulfill my coffee-fanatic needs. I then spoke to my mom, she told me of a "cool" place in Yorkville named "Nespresso." She goes along by saying "Amelia you have to see the experience, you can tell it's Italian design (she was an interior designer in some part of her lifetime).. it's just a beautiful experience." Guys, my mom became emotional, literally with tears in her eyes...So with that, I decided I should give in to my mother's begging (constant begging) and go on a mother-daughter coffee date.

On our way to this magical land my mom describes as Nespresso, we were driving along minding our own business, we stopped at a red light (just like any other normal human being would do at a red light) when all of a sudden, a scary (actually petrifying) man knocked on the passenger window (I was petrified, thinking we were both about to die) and the man proceeds after I screamed in his face by saying "hey lady! You have a flat tire!" As if my life couldn't get any worse, we called the car dealership who then told us that we would need to be towed and the tow truck wouldn't arrive for another 3 HOURS. 3 HOURS!!! Man, was I ever mad.


3 hours (and a bit) later, the tow truck came and we were off set to find Nespresso on foot, just like the "good old days." GREAT MOM, I LOVE TO WALK (there's a reason why I blog about coffee and not fitness). Finally after a 45 minute walk in -20 degrees, we finally found The Nespresso Cafe. Actually, now that I think about it, they call themselves the "Nespresso Cafe Boutique." I have two words to be able to completely describe to you what the Nespresso Cafe was like and here they are: Nespresso understands. Guys, I don't know if you have been to the Nespresso Cafe, but it was worth every flat tire in the world, every minute of waiting, every different type of frost bite I got on my body and every step that I walked in the freezing cold Canadian winter. It was absolutely stunning. (1 Bean Point)

I took it upon myself to post pictures of the amazing boutique and here they are:

The Nespresso Cafe Espresso Bar.

Nespresso Cafe seating. 

Nespresso Cafe menu and monogrammed table. 

After being completely frozen over *singing the cold never bothered me anyways from the Disney movie, Frozen* we finally go in the warm Nespresso Cafe, there was a hostess at the front desk, who then sat us down at a table, gave each of us a menu and a glass of water with lemon. After I took a photoshoot of the cafe, menu, tables and pretty much anything with the letter "N" on it, the waitress then came (who by the way had a beautiful English accent) and took our orders. I ordered a medium Cafe Macchiato (and asked for it to be as hot as it could possibly be made). (1 Bean Point)

This was then brought to the table: 

And I literally almost fell out of my chair. I was trying to stay cool, calm and collected. I think I played it off well though, don't you worry. The flavour and presentation was absolutely impeccable. (1 Bean Point)

The cost? $7.50. Yes, I know, it was a pretty steep price, but considering the experience it was worth every penny. (1 Bean Point)

There was no drive thru option, but the location was perfect. Nespresso is located right on Yorkville, which makes up for the high prices. (1 Bean Point)

After my amazing cup of coffee, water and chocolate, I took a tour around the Cafe and saw that they actually sell almost all of their machines in their Nespresso Cafe, along with millions of different pods. It was such a cool concept. My mom was right, those Italians, they really do know what they are doing.


I know that I've mentioned this before, but I will say it again. I've been to Italy and I have personally seen with my own eyes what the Italian coffee experience is like, Nespresso nailed it. I have also been to France, and I feel as though Nespresso was an Italian and Parisian cafe styles mixed together. I felt like I was in both Italy and France at the same time (is that even possible?). The presentation, style and flavour was impeccable. Nespresso understands. 

Now it's time for the run-down:

Flavour: 1 bean point

Price: 1 bean point

Ambiance: 1 bean point

Drive-Thru: 1 bean point

Customer Service: 1 bean point

Total Score: 5/5 total bean points!

Overall, I was extremely impressed by you Nespresso. I love you Nespresso. You make me proud to be Italian. I hope you open up many other locations around the world so we can share with everyone what a true coffee experience looks like. You are classy and fabulous. Keep up the outstanding work. Love you long time. 

Reminder for the medium double-double challenge:
The Good Neighbour: 4/5 Bean Points
Coffee Culture's score: 4.5/5 Bean Points
Timothy's World Cup Coffee's score: 4/5 Bean Points

LavAzza's score: 0/5 Bean Points
McCafé's score: 5/5 Bean Points
Aroma Espresso Bar's score: 5/5 Bean Points
Faema Caffè's score: 3.5 Bean Points
Second Cup's score: 1/5 Bean Points
Illy Caffè's score: 4.5/5 Bean Points
Starbucks' score: 3/5 Bean Points
Tim Hortons' score: 2.5/5 Bean Points



Until next week! xoxo

Stay Caffeinated.




Don't forget to follow me on social media!

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheBeanMovement
Twitter: @TheBeanMovement
Gmail: thebeanmovement@gmail.com
Google+: TheBeanMovement
Instagram: TheBeanMovement
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Zomato: TheBeanMovement
Pinterest: TheBeanMovement

Do you have any suggestions to help improve my blog? I'd love your feedback!
Email me: thebeanmovement@gmail.com

Starbucks Eggnog Latte!

Hello my little beanies,

So nice to be back on my blogging quest. I am so sorry my posts have been less frequent, the holidays have been a bit on the cray side.

As promised, new and exciting things have been happening to The Bean Movement. As of today, I am an official blogger on a online magazine called "Generation Nothingness" (http://gnothingness.com/). I will be writing all about coffee trends, news and other cool coffee topics twice a month! Stay tuned to my social media websites, I will let you all know when my posts have been published on there. Below you will see a screenshot of my Generation Nothingness profile.

I know that by now, most of the holidays are over, its officially 2015 (crazy how fast time flies), school has started back up and diets are being planned; but I still just LOVE the holidays. I love the way the malls are during the holiday season and I love how festive people are. Now, being a coffee addict, I also really love how coffee shops change it up a bit during the holiday season, I love how they change their cups, their flavours and they customer service is on its game too.

Now as you all know, for the winter season my goal is to find the coffee shop with the best Eggnog Latte. The first place on the blogging list was Starbucks.

If it wasn't for Starbucks, I can honestly say that I wouldn't even know there was such thing as an "Eggnog Latte" they were the first that I heard to have such a thing (a very long time ago, aka pre-blogging days) and I can say that because of them, I have the pleasure of looking forward to having an eggnog latte almost every day of the holiday season (don't judge me, I'm addicted).

Starbucks tends to never disappoint in the eggnog latte section of my life, they are consistently encouraging my eggnog latte addiction and I do not hate it.  Now, unfortunately I tried to write this same blog post last year ( LOL, get it.. last year? It's 2015....) but I had a little set back. The Starbucks I visited RAN OUT OF EGGNOG!!!!!!!!!!!!! My heart was broken for about a second, then I decided to have a wet cappuccino (aka the love of my life).

Thankfully, this week when I went to Starbucks, they were in high stock of the eggnog for me, and this is how my story begins....

I went to Starbucks and the lady behind the counter was actually so sweet and cute. I literally loved her, she brightened my day! She took my order, tall eggnog latte, and actually ASKED me how to spell my name; instead of guessing and completely bombing it, which typically makes me want to get my name legally changed to something "normal" and easier to spell. (1 Bean Point)

When my lips touched the lid of the magical eggnog latte, I thought my mouth tasted what heaven tastes like. Needless to say, the flavour was perfect, creamy and brought me back to the first day I every tried an eggnog latte (I think it was 2008?). It was amazing. (1 Bean Point)

The price? $3.75. That hurt my bank account... I feel like Starbuck's prices keep rising and my bank account keeps getting smaller and smaller....... (No Bean Point)

The Starbucks location was prime and had a drive thru, which makes me very happy when it's -20 outside (not kidding, it was literally -20.) (1 Bean Point)

Now, I didn't enter the Starbucks this time, so I didn't get to vote on the ambiance. The point is given to them because I know it's amazing in there and because I chose to not enter, which isn't their fault.



Now it's time for the run-down:

Flavour: 1 bean point

Price: 0 bean point

Ambiance: 1 bean point

Drive-Thru: 1 bean point

Customer Service: 1 bean point

Total Score: 4/5 total bean points!

Overall I am very, very impressed by you Starbucks. I love your eggnog latte, and as I said before you are the reason I know it exists so I owe you my eggnog latte addiction. I am hoping your prices may lower... even just by a couple of cents, and if it does you deserve a 5/5!! Keep up the great work! Love you longtime.

Reminder for the medium double-double challenge:
The Good Neighbour: 4/5 Bean Points
Coffee Culture's score: 4.5/5 Bean Points
Timothy's World Cup Coffee's score: 4/5 Bean Points

LavAzza's score: 0/5 Bean Points
McCafé's score: 5/5 Bean Points
Aroma Espresso Bar's score: 5/5 Bean Points
Faema Caffè's score: 3.5 Bean Points
Second Cup's score: 1/5 Bean Points
Illy Caffè's score: 4.5/5 Bean Points
Starbucks' score: 3/5 Bean Points
Tim Hortons' score: 2.5/5 Bean Points



Until next week! xoxo

Stay Caffeinated.




Don't forget to follow me on social media!

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheBeanMovement
Twitter: @TheBeanMovement
Gmail: thebeanmovement@gmail.com
Google+: TheBeanMovement
Instagram: TheBeanMovement
Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/thebeanmovement
Zomato: TheBeanMovement
Pinterest: TheBeanMovement

Do you have any suggestions to help improve my blog? I'd love your feedback!
Email me: thebeanmovement@gmail.com