FCB Coffee

Here is one happy discovery we made during our stay in Brighton. I noticed it when we set foot in the train station: I saw a Flying Coffee Bean, or FCB Coffee stand. I thought at first it was a Flying Bean Café, which I always liked. But no, it's a completely different company. On the way back home, we stopped there for a drink and a snack for the journey. I love discovering these kinds of shops when I travel by train. Not necessarily big chains, but smaller ones which makes a railway station a little bit different than the others. It's one of the little things I enjoy when travelling.

Panda Babyccino

Sometimes, I go and pick up Wolfie from school by myself, when I have a free afternoon. We go and then stop at one of the local café, where we have a cake or a pastry to eat and something to drink. I drink a tea or a rooibos and he drinks a babyccino. They often make a design on them with the cocoa powder. It's often a panda, like this one. And that's it. It's just quite cute. It never fails to make Wolfie's day.

Au Café Croissant

 En regardant mes vieux billets, je me suis rendu compte, avec un peu de surprise, que je n'ai blogué qu'une seule fois sur le Café Croissant. C'est étrange, parce que pendant des années, le Café Croissant a été le lieu de bien des déjeuners et des brunchs en famille, parfois aussi des dîners (mais moins souvent). À Chicoutimi, ça a été peut-être le premier endroit où on a offert des déjeuners continentaux, avec, ben, des croissants. Je me rappelle que je trouvais l'endroit un hâvre de sophistication, même si c'était plus une cafétéria qu'un café proprement dit. Le Café Croissant existe encore, il a même une page Facebook. Il semble être figé dans le temps, le menu ne semblant pas avoir vraiment changé depuis les années 80 et 90. Ce que je trouve rassurant. Je ne me rapelle pas quand je l'ai visité pour la dernière fois, peut-être aux alentours de 2005? Pour ceux qui habitent ou ont habité à Chicoutimi, ou ont visité le Café Croissant faites-moi part de votre expérience et de vos souvenirs dans les commentaires. J'y reviendrai dans de futurs billets.

The God Sucellos

The things you learn sometimes thanks to a café. I took this picture the Coffee #1 in Wallingford, one of my favourite quaint English towns. So I learned about the Celtic god Sucellos (or Sucellus). I might have read about him before, but have forgotten. I must confess I don't know all that much about pre-Christian Celtic lore, except from what transpired through and into the Arthurian legend. He seems, in appearance at least, to be the Celtic equivalent of Thor, what with his hammer. Anyway, I'm glad I know a little bit more now about Celtic mythology.

La Saint-Pat au Cambio (rappel)

Tout d'abord, joyeuse Saint-Patrick à tous. Ensuite, veuillez noter pour ceux qui vivent au Saguenay que le Café Cambio la célèbre.Détails sur leur page Facebook, j'imagine.

Rhinoccino?

 Des fois, en revenant de l'école, mon fils et moi nous nous arrêtons dans un café pour manger un morceau et boire quelque chose. Je prends du thé ou du rooibos, il prend souvent un piccoloccino ou babyccino. J'aime bien le premier terme, le second beaucoup moins. Du lait chaud moussé avec un peu de cacao dessus pour faire joli. Servi dans une tasse toujours spéciale. La dernière fois, elle avait un  rhinocéros (rose) dessus. Ce qui fait du breuvage un rhinoccino? Je trouve que ça sonne bien.

La Saint-Patrick au Café Cambio

Pour les Saguenéens qui se demandent où célébrer la Saint-Patrick, j'ai une bonne nouvelle: : j'apprends sur la page Facebook du Café Cambio qu'ils vont fêter ça en grand. Cool. Je savais qu'ils l'ont soulignée en 2024 et, j'imagine, l'année suivante. Mais il semblent vraiment créer une tradition. Bon, ce ne sera pas celles du défunt pub irlandais ici ou celles de Liverpool, mais quand même.

Pumpkin Spice Latte at the Yellow Ladder

 I am posting again about Yellow Ladder Coffee, the coffee shop we found out in London last month and which we really liked (well, I really liked it). You can find my original post here. I had forgotten to mention one other reason why I really liked this little known chain. They offered to my wife a pumpkin spice latte, which was the daily special brew, if I remember correctly. Now, I don't drink coffee, I actually hate the taste of coffee, I don't enjoy the effect it has on me, and it's the same with lattes. However, as an autumn and Halloween lover, I am glad I live in a world where pumpkin spice latte exists. It's one of those signs of my favourite season and my favourite holiday. I blogged yesterday about a possible early sign of Halloween to come. Well, this brew is the exact same thing: a reminder of autumn and Halloween. On a cold winter day, it also makes perfect sense to enjoy such brew, if you like coffee. In any case, Yellow Ladder Coffee just won themselves a new customer.

Yellow Ladder Coffee

 For those visiting London and looking for a decent coffee shop when you are on the go, I have a recommendation for you, especially if you stop at Whitechapel station on the tube: Yellow Ladder Coffee. We stopped there at random during our last family trip to London, the staff was so very nice and helpful and Wolfie even got a free babyccino. After a stressful journey to and through London, it was very much appreciated. We will stop back there when we can.

Gingerbread Man Babyccino

Sometimes, after I pick up Wolfie from school, we stop by one of the local coffee shops and we have a drink and a cake together. I have tea, he goes for babyccino. And, as Christmas is coming, it seems that they have special figures for their babyccino. Now, there is no gingerbread or ginger at all in this drink. It's just literally a figure made of cocoa powder, like you often see on real coffee. All the same, it'svery cute and festive and worth the price of the babyccino. Which is very reasonable, by the way.

North Star Bucks Coffee

During our last family trip to a near(ish) petting zoo, which lead us to the North Pole through Christmas magic (or so said the elves who were not very little), we made a few discoveries. Wolfie was very skeptical it was the real North Pole, but I think it was. Asit turns out, they have their own coffee shop for Santa's helpers and anyone else living there: the North Star Bucks Coffee. Not related to a certain coffee chain. Of course, the bucks are meant to be reindeers and the North Star the actual North Start. I took a picture for proof of its existence.

Two Spoons Tea (and rooibos)

 You may remember that I blogged before, back in February, about  Two Spoons Tea, a fairly local tea company I have been wanting to discover. Well, it turns out that this is the brand that one of our local coffee shops offers. So since then, I had the chance to drink their teas a couple of times. And their rooibos too, which I believe is what you can see on the picture. I drink rooibos for two reasons: it tastes strong like a black tea, but has no caffeine, so it does not trouble my sleep when I drink it late and my father-in-law is South African. I feel like I'm connecting to some of the culture of his country. Anyway, I now know another tea company to enjoy.

Caffè Nero is here

 I blogged about it before and then again, but I heard the news from my wife yesterday: there is a Caffè Nero in our little town. I thought it was a good news at first, but then I thought again: we didn't always have good experiences there and last time we went into a Caffè Nero was pretty catastrophic. Also, it will be about the third big coffee chain that will have a franchise here. And that never fare wells for the small independent cafés we love. Not that I like coffee anyway, mind you, but I love the atmosphere of such places. So maybe, instead of going to Caffè Nero, we will encourage the long standing independent local businesses.

Wolfism about Caffè Nero

 I blogged a few days ago about the imminent opening of Caffè Nero, which I was quite looking forward to. My wife and my son don't share my interest in this coffee chain. And Wolfie reminded me why: last time we went to a Caffè Nero, we had a rather lacklustre experience. Bad enough for him to remember it. Too many people, barely anything to eat or drink behind the counter, dirty place, it truly was a terrible experience. As he explained himself in an hilarious Wolfism: "It was like: "Welcome to the King of Rubbishness!" So we might not go there any time soon, come to think of it.

Caffè Nero (coming soon)

I blogged back in February about the Caffè Nero that was going to open soon in our town's high street. Well, in six months or so, it hasn't opened yet, which is kind of baffling. That said, word of mouth said the opening is now imminent. It's official enough that there's posters announcing it. Some residents are cynical, because we already have plenty of coffee shops. It's not like we needed another. That said, I'm welcoming it, because I quite like the atmosphere in their shops. Also, the building it is going to be in has been empty for at least a year, so it's going to fill an empty space that looked pretty depressing. Anyway, I'll probably blog about my first visit there, so I'll keep you posted...

Coffee Zone on the railway

 There is something I really like when we travel by train. I mean, there are lots of things I like, even love, since I love train travel, but one of them is stopping by one of the coffee shops and get a hot or a cold drink and maybe something to nibble. Now I don't like coffee and I wished they'd call it tea shops or something, but I love the ambiance and the whole buzz of these places. Sometimes I buy things just to try the shop. So when we were waiting for our train at Three Bridges, I was happy to find a new shop I hadn't seen before, called Coffee Zone. But as it wasn't staffed, I did not buy anything. I love the name though, Coffee Zone. Even though I hate coffee. It's the Zone bit I like.

Where is Café2U?

Some of my very long time readers might remember that a decade ago or so, I sometimes used to blog about Café2U. It was, it is, a franchise of coffee vans delivery coffee and other hot drinks at offices. We used to receive the visit of the van every few days, back in my old, old job. I mean the job I had between 2010 and 2017, so four employers' ago. I loved their very decadent hot chocolates and sometimes I treated myself with one cup of them (as I loathe coffee). Now that I work from home, I don't buy myself treats from coffee vans, but I see them sometimes around in the neighbourhood, going to the various business estates in our little town, while we are on the school run. But I haven't seen a Café2U van in a decade or so. I checked their website, and the company still exists. So where are the vans? If you know the business, if you once drank their coffee, or their chocolate, tell me in the comments.

Cub Coffee Sighting

A couple of weeks ago, we went downtown and we stopped at the local market. Sadly, as we arrived too late, everything was closing. Including the Cub Coffee van. Not that I drink coffee, mind you, but my wife does and she likes the idea of an ethical, vegan coffee company. She tried this brand once, back in 2022. Not since then, but we saw their distinctive trailer with the bear cub and the green colours from time to time driving round town. I don't know where they stop, probably in one of the business estates here. They don't only serve coffee, so I might buy something from them one day, just to encourage them. But truly, I just like Cub Coffee because of the bear cub. He's very cute.

Ciao Caffè Nero

Well, here's some good local news for a change: we learned that there will a Caffè Nero opening soon in the town centre. No, I am not a coffee drinker, but of all the coffee chains in the UK (not counting the independent coffee shops), Caffè Nero might actually be my favourite. I'm not sure why. Because it's pseudo Italian, perhaps? Because I always find something I really like there (see this post)? Also, it's oneof these underdog chains, not nearly as big as Costa or Starbucks. But mainly, I think I like Caffè Nero because I like the look and feel of their places, the general atmosphere. It just feels nice there. Anyway, many cafés have closed down in the near 20 years we have been living here, so I welcome a new one, even from a chain. So it is on our to visit list, whenever it opens and when there aren't too many customer cramming it.

Winter Tea?

Not everything that is seasonal is actually enjoyable. I found it the hard way recently. We went to a local café, which I will not name, as I generally like their products. There was a seasonal food and drink menu. And one of the special drinks they had was a winter tea. Black tea with cinnamon, cloves and some other stuff. I thought I'd try it. This is what I got. Hot water with a cinnamon stick, some root stuff (ginger I think?), a slice of orange or other and cloves that I had to spit back every time I was taking a sip. Oh and there was some tea in it. Seriously, this was one of the most underwhelming tea drinking experience I ever had.