Roasterie

Spring is coming, how do I know this? We have taken the plastic off of our windows and they are wide open for the SUNNYSIDE breeze. In through the window comes the beautiful smell of roasting coffee, a smell that brings me back down to earth, and reminds me of why I live in this beautiful yet over priced community!
BEST COFFEE AND PEEPS IN CALGARY

If you want coffee brewed with care and a lot of options for your grinds this is the place. Always busy but have been lucky enough to always get a seat when we have stopped by. Because it is a smaller space not sure if I would ever come in and spend hours working — would feel bad about taking up space for that long.
Staff is always welcoming and gives you time to pick between all the delightful choices. Good at giving you some help with decision making too.
Their baked goods are pretty tasty too.
Love the décor. Love the space. Love that it costs less but way better than starbucks. Long live independent coffee shops!

I am sure that all of their products and staff reflect what other people are saying. This review is somewhat different. I live a block away, and I am covered in coffee smell. Everything in my apartment smells like roasted coffee. My clothes, shoes, cat, special cat, sofa, underwear, shower cap and toothpaste smell like roasted coffee. I look out on the balcony and there is this forest fire haze of roasted coffee Stephen King mist. I have dreams at night that I am naked in a coffee shop and people are throwing beans at me while I pay $ 5.00 for something with foam in it with a dirty picture carved into it. Is their anyway they could microwave it instead of roasting it? My boss thinks I’m lazy because I smell like roasted coffee all the time and she thinks I’m in the coffee house all day. Aw Lawd I’ma gonna need some help.

In my humble opinion the best place in Calgary to get a coffee.

The best cold brew coffee I’ve ever come across! Pretty hippie vibe here, but very welcoming and you should not be intimidated at all.

Not the first time I’ve been here but YYC Hot Chocolate Fest brought me back.
I love the feel of this place. It’s small with only a couple seats but you can smell the coffee before you enter the café. It’s so good!
The staff are quite knowledgeable and friendly. I brought my kids in for hot chocolate and they were acknowledged and involved in the hot cocoa «conversation» vs being overlooked or ignored. They are people to!
I’ve never had a bad experience or beverage here. It’s what keeps us coming back.

Came here with a friend after a long winter walk– even though we were planning on going for a coffee we went for the hot chocolate, which was simple delicious! The atmosphere is welcoming and very warm with all those pots and jaws filled with coffee beans coming from all over the world

My favorite coffee shop in Calgary, hands down.
They have the best coffee in town, and I love the character of the place — down-​to-​earth old fashioned look.
The barista of the café definitely knows his coffee, and I love the analogue coffee machines they have.

I love the beans from this place. I would go in just to smell them all if people wouldn’t look at me funny.

What a great shop.
Wide range of coffee blends to choose from.
Staff are all knowledgeable in what they are selling and always there to offer suggestions and insight.
They roast onsite and the smell is wonderful.

The Roasterie marches to the beat of its own drum, and you will love them for it! Or, well… you won’t.
Me? I hands down LOVE this coffee shop. From their superb espresso, and the smell of fresh in-​house roasted beans, all the way to the clutter of antique coffee grinders and somewhat, dare I say, «dive-​y» feel. it’s all character, and it’s all great!
There is a strong sense of community at the Roasterie, with local art and event postings on the walls, and a set of very colourful regulars as diverse as Kensington itself. The staff are always welcoming, happy to chat, and do their best to make you feel part of it.
Order something from the Salvador Dali chalk board, read a book, meet someone new to talk to, and grab a bag of beans to go. In my opinion, it’s the way a coffee shop should be.

Funny how after years of Kensington roaming, I’ve never really frequented this place. Maybe because I’m not a coffee junkie but the Roasterie has been around for a while hasn’t it? I remembered a coffee shop near the train station back in my SAIT days and could it have been this very place?
I strolled in here on a Sunday night, one of the first warm days of spring. I grabbed a double Americano which only cost $ 3. I opened my laptop prepared to get some serious writing down but realized I had grabbed the perfect people watching spot: a table w/​stool right by the window. No one noticed me watching them (and judging, always judging *leering eyes*) as they walked by. Yes pretty girls, that was me coyly admiring you and sheepishly looking the other way when we make that millisecond eye contact
The coffee was satisfying and the guy working there was cool enough to converse with. In fact like all men who appreciate the sight of beautiful women, we couldn’t help but swap stories :)

The Roasterie isn’t a bad cooffe shop, it simply doesn’t suit everyone. You can’t argue that their coffee is very good. The atmosphere is unique to say the leastj partially run down, a little bit divey, cozy, and with a staff that marches to the beat of its their own drummer– it’s the Roasterie.
Most of the time you can find people of all sorts smoking outside of it– not always welcoming. at the same time many of those people are great folk, a crowd of smokerrs isn’t always something you want to walk through before sitting down for a coffee.

Well, my mocha was okay, being that the coffee had kick and it was really hot (I hate it when my coffee cools in 2 minutes), but I had no desire to sit inside. The music was way too loud and the seating is crowded. I sat outside instead, but being that there’s no formal seating, I had to join the many other interesting individuals sitting on the sides of planters along the sidewalk. Thank goodness the weather was nice. My conversation was interrupted twice by sketchy strangers asking for change or the time.
Aside from the über hot beverage, there’s nothing else to brag about that would entice me to go back. I do realize it’s not the fault of the business that they have the crowd and foot traffic that they do, but unfortunately, the overall package is just not attractive enough for me to spend money there again.

Got some coffee to go yesterday from their adorable little takeout window. It was a BEAUTIFUL day out yesterday so I wanted to take it and walk around. I ordered the Café Bön Bön, which was a double shot espresso with sweetened condensed milk. The man serving me was so happy and pleasant, it made me happy!
On to the coffee — oh my GAWD it was SO GOOD! Seriously strong, seriously sweet, and SERIOUSLY GOOD! I am a convert. If I am getting coffee at any place in Kensington from now on — Roasterie it is!

As one of the few coffee shops open late on a Sunday night, we decided to drop in and give it a try.
As others have mentioned, it’s different. Once we got through the stench of weed and people sitting on the sidewalk, the inside of the store was quite interesting. The walls were very decorated, which added some charm. They have a nice machine in there, but the equipment quite clearly isn’t cleaned as often as I would have liked.
They don’t have syrups, so my wife had to get hazelnut flavoured beans instead. (For those interested, flavoured beans are usually the cheapest beans, as the infused flavours tend to cover up the crappiness of the bean.) The lattes weren’t bad, but they didn’t really have much taste. They were fairly bitter and «blah».
On the plus side, the barista who helped us was very nice.
Maybe it’s because it was 9 pm on a Sunday, but I could have gotten a better latte from Starbucks. Sorry, Roasterie, but I won’t be coming back.

The Roasterie is a righteously rustic coffee joint in Kensington serving up rich, in-​store roasted coffee at ridiculously low prices. I got a double Americano there for under $ 3 — good luck doing that at Starbucks!
And good luck finding a funkier and more aromatic joint to get your java.
The walls are covered with antique coffee grinders and the massive roaster at the front of the café fills the Roasterie with the seductive aroma sure to make you salivate while you wait. And you won’t be alone, as the sweet aroma entices an eclectic crowd of coffee connoisseurs, from the down-​and-​out to the well-​to-​do.
So if you’re serious about your coffee, follow your nose down to the Roasterie — you won’t be disappointed.

I admit that I don’t go for coffee dates at the roasterie, but I love to visit. The eclectic mix of people, the smell of roasting beans and the unusual décor inside make it a fun stopover. There isn’t a lot of seating, which is okay seeing as a ton of people spill out and around the building. Much of the crowd is the alterna crowd, but the baristas are always friendly, the selection is simple and the place has an authentic and community feel. I feel like when I visit the roasterie, I get a buzz on more than just coffee, it’s the true community atmosphere that you can’t find anywhere else.
Warning: People who are uncomfortable with some unusual characters may not enjoy.

Finding the Roasterie is not a difficult thing to do, it’s getting into it that’s the difficult part. You have to hop skip and jump the myriad of legs, sneakers, bike wheels and dogs. Simply said it’s where Kensington’s locals love to hang out.
Why? Well for one thing you can smell it from blocks away, the aroma makes you want a coffee, and the prices are unreasonable cheap. Thank god, I can still buy a good cup of coffee fewer than two dollars and it’s amazing. The décor is really welcoming too, different antique grinders, and coffee bags, a grinding roaster graces the corner of the shop and glass cookie jars surround it with particular bean offerings.
The staff is nice too, just plain down to earth, no Starbucks sleekness here, it’s just like having coffee with a good friend and having him make it for you.
Imported beans from all around the world, you have the option of buying in bulk too, very affordable and highly recommended.
So have you been to the Roasterie in Kensington, yes I have bean.

The Roasterie is one of those extremely alternative coffee shops. It would seem that everyone who frequents there knows everyone else and they all have the same goal in mind: to take over the Roasterie once and for all. There are always so many regulars crowding the entrance and till that it’s difficult to see any sort of order in the place. They don’t offer very much indoor seating so there are always a lot of people just standing around.
The Roasterie crowd has managed to take over all the seating outside too. There are a couple of large planters and benches in the surrounding area that always seem to be occupied by Roasterie goers. This wouldn’t be such a bad thing except that these people appear to be judging the hell out of anyone who goes in… anyone they don’t know anyways. It seems like a very popular place for dirty hippies and bums to hang out. Perhaps that’s because the drinks are cheap and they can loiter for as long as they want outside or in.
The coffee isn’t really that great either. I find that even their light roast is way to strong and their specialty drinks aren’t really that special. I used to enjoy going there because you could still smoke inside, but after that was banned there was no need for me to visit the place. From time-​to-​time I walk by and still see the same people sitting outside, in the same spot, drinking the same things.
What I do find neat about the place is the service window they have to the outside. You don’t even need to go inside to get your coffee. If you can manage to creep your way past the regulars and get to the window it’s an easy and quick way to get your coffee.
If you’re brave enough, and are looking to have some so-​so coffee served to you, then stroll on by the Roasterie. You’ll be sure to have your needs not met, and probably encounter some bums in the process. If only they hadn’t closed the Roasterie II that was just across the street. That was an awesome coffee shop! I guess people prefer poor coffee and a noisy, crowded environment instead.