Thursday 15 January 2015

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.




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Friday 9 January 2015

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
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Saturday 20 December 2014

It's the holiday season!

Hello fellow coffee drinkers!

As you all start preparing for the Holidays, I'm sure that you would all just love to read all about who has the best Holiday coffee flavours. Am I right? I am pleased to announce that for the next few weeks of December, I will be taking the Holiday drinks by storm and finding the best Holiday drink in the coffee world.

My drink of the season? Eggnog latte! I realize that sometimes eggnog lattes are not always available, if this is the case, no coffee for this blogger.

The first coffee shoppe of my choosing is the one, the only; Starbucks! Baristas get ready for me! I am looking forward to this themed month, it's my favourite time of the year!

What other coffee shops do you want me to visit? Shoot me an email at thebeanmovement@gmail.com and tell me where I should go next.

See you next week xoxo.

Stay Caffeinated.











Don't forget to follow me on social media!

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Twitter: @TheBeanMovement
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Friday 19 December 2014

The Good Neighbour!

Hello to all my lovely and caffeinated readers!

I'm so sorry for being MIA in the recent weeks, my blogger hasn't been working!! There are a lot of new and exciting things coming our way in the new year; so make sure you stay tuned and keep reading to hear all about the crazy and unexpected adventure.

Also, I joined a brand new social media webpage called "Zomato" The app is super cool and useful for every foodie looking for a great place to hang out, pig out and go on romantic dates. Be sure to follow me on the Zomato app, so you can be sure to keep track of all my coffee (and not so coffee) explorations!

As you know, a few weeks ago I visited a little coffee shoppe called The Good Neighbour, don't take this name lightly kids, they really are The Good Neighbour and I mean this in every literal way possible!

The Good Neighbour is literally located in a neighbourhood (hence the name), the coffee shoppe looks like a typical home, inside of a typical neighbourhood. Once you enter the house (The Good Neighbour) you get an urban and hipster feel. Inside the coffee shoppe you will see the coolest looking people around town. The decor was filled with warm and deep colours, I got an industrial-studio feel from the decor. The tabletops were a light brown wood, there was a cute bar over looking the city streets and there were tubes of coffee beans hanging beside a chalk board menu behind the cash counter. It was cool and very different, definitely left an impact on the decor side of my brain. (1 Bean Point)

When I entered The Good Neighbour, I was pleasantly surprised to see that it was filled with cheerful, hipster customers. I walked up to the counter to order my medium double double the man behind the counter was so nice and happy to be working. As he was making my coffee, I asked him many questions about The Good Neighbour and he was properly trained and knowledgable about every question I had for him. He explained that the coffee The Good Neighbour sold was organic and 100% free trade, he also mentioned to tell me that when customers buy coffee from them, they know for sure they are buying quality and aren't just "throwing" money away. (1 Bean Point)

The flavour you ask? Raw, organic and great! As all of you know, I am a self-proclaimed coffee connoisseur, which actually means, I love coffee and not only do I love coffee; I also adore a great cup of coffee. Not many people really take the time like I do to make sure to really know and understand what kind of coffee I am indulging in, and I can honestly say that The Good Neighbour's coffee was just very real. Real, not like the processed coffee we are all used to from the typical franchises around us, but real in the sense it didn't taste like the favour was tampered with. The coffee was amazing and tasted a little fruity, which kind of makes sense; since coffee beans come from a fruit and then are roasted to get their flavour. (1 Bean Point)


There was no drive-thru option, and there was no parking spaces available. I had to park on the side of the road. (0 Bean Point)


Price: $4.25. The price is high, but as the barista said; you are getting what you pay for: amazing, free trade and organic coffee; with no secrets. (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: 0 bean point
Customer Service: 1 bean point

Total Score: 4/5 total bean points!


In all, The Good Neighbour was so amazing! I love how they are so transparent with their customers. When you visit The Good Neighbour, you really do know exactly what you are buying and if you have any questions about the coffee, the baristas are willing to explain everything to you without feeling like you are bothering them.



What do you guys think? Have you been to The Good Neighbour? I'd love to hear all about your experience.



Reminder:
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






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