Whether you get your caffeine fix as a black coffee, as a latte, or as a shot of espresso, I think we can all agree that coffee beans play an essential role in the lives of many. You might drink coffee to kickstart your day, or grab a cup as a pick-me-up in the afternoon, but whenever you drink it, it's doing something good for you. What if you could have your coffee and do good for it's producers too?

Meet Good Coffee, a Canadian coffee company based out of Edmonton. This local business was born out of a desire to impact the lives of people, yearning to find a meaningful way to connect people with communities in need around the world, in a way that could lead to hope, transformation, and flourishing relationships. The search for the cause led to Burundi, Africa, which happens to produce some of the best coffee in the world, but is also one of the poorest nations on the planet.


Charles Ndayishimiye, Coffee Farmer in Burundi
Burundi is a small country situated in Central Africa just south of Rwanda. Ranking second poorest in the world, over 90% of the population depends on agriculture to survive, with coffee and tea making up over 90% of the country’s exports. After connecting with Ben Carlson, a coffee hunter, Good Coffee came to the realization that there was potential for Burundi's coffee industry to transform the entire country.

The mission is simple: Good Coffee aims to create the perfect cup of ethically sourced coffee with a strong emphasis on the relationships that coffee creates. The company sources their beans from Burundi through the Long Miles Coffee Project using a direct trade approach. This method allows for farmers to be paid 20-35% more than they would through fair trade, and actually leads to acquiring higher quality coffee beans.


Salvator Ntavyo, Coffee Farmer in Burundi
By purchasing a bag of beans from Good Coffee, consumers actively make an impact with every sip. 25% of all profits are reinvested into the communities from which the beans are sourced. This funding can be used to train farmers, provide tools and resources, construct new washing stations, and empower the communities where the beans are grown to improve the quality of life for the farmers and their families. The farming communities can then in turn invest in infrastructure, wells, schools, hospitals, orphan care, and more. By enjoying a cup of Good Coffee, you're helping to address the complex issue of poverty in this African nation.

Good Coffee offers single bags of coffee for purchase, or there is the option of purchasing a coffee delivery subscription to be delivered straight to your door (purchase here!). The coffee beans are roasted locally at the Transcend Coffee Roastery on a weekly basis, so you receive only the freshest coffee to your doorstep. If you're not yet ready to take the plunge, some local restaurants have jumped on board to serve Good Coffee. The Sugarbowl has started to serve Good Coffee's single-origin espresso in all their espresso-based drinks, and Block 1912 has bags of beans for retail. If you're in the Beaumont area, Crepe & Shake serves up Good Coffee too.

What are you waiting for? Get a bag of beans, brew your daily cup, and feel good knowing that you're giving back and making a difference with every sip of your Good Coffee.

*Images thanks to Good Coffee & Long Miles Coffee Project

*Disclosure: Good Coffee contacted me to discuss their initiatives and try their coffee. An affiliate link is embedded within this post. This post is 100% my opinion, and as always, my priority is to you, the reader, to present an unbiased, thorough review.

It's the inaugural YEG Coffee Week, or what I am now calling the week where Edmonton gets buzzed on caffeine! From March 7-15th, 27 different cafes across the city are hosting different events and letting the quality of locally-roasted coffee beans speak for themselves.

Leva - 11053 86 Avenue - Edmonton AB

Throughout my university years I was never a real coffee drinker. Sure, I had a little caffeine here and there to get me through classes and writing those papers into the early morning, but I never really loved it. Fast forward to this new career where I work 12 hour days and nights, and coffee is slowly becoming my new best friend.


Lemon Meringue Tart
To kick off coffee week my boyfriend and I stopped by Leva for coffee and breakfast. What I particularly love about Leva is that it isn't on any major roads, making it a quiet place to visit during the day. It's tucked away in the heart of Garneau and really is a great spot to grab a bite to eat and get some work done!

The breakfast menu at Leva has a variety of offerings ranging from yogurt and fruit salads to heavier items like breakfast sandwiches and pizzas. There's a little something for every appetite, and it's definitely a challenge to resist the tempting display case full of freshly baked pastries.

My boyfriend opted for the Smashed Avocado Open Faced Sandwich ($13.25) served with a potato hash. Avocado is mashed and spread over artisanal toast and topped with cherry tomatoes, maple bacon, and an over easy egg. The crisp bacon was the perfect combination of salty and sweet, and the runny yolk brought every ingredient together. The potatoes were soft with a crisp golden exterior, and with a bit more seasoning they would have been perfect.

Gluttony began early in the day for me as I chose to go with the Breakfast Prosciutto Cotto Pizza ($15). This was actually a margherita pizza topped with prosciutto, finished with an over easy egg and fresh basil. If there's an egg, it's breakfast! The crust on my pizza was nice and thin, whereas the underside was crisp and browned and the cornicone (outer ring of the pizza crust!) was crunchy and airy. Due to the heavy nature of the garlicky tomato sauce, prosciutto, and cheese, the crust itself didn't hold together well enough to be picked up, so I enjoyed my pizza with a fork and knife. It was a massive portion for breakfast, but I worked my way through it since it was so tasty.


Chocolate Croissant
All meals have to end with something sweet, and when you're at a cafe with freshly baked pastries the rule definitely applies. I would have loved to try one of each item behind the display case but ultimately went with the beautiful lemon meringue tart and chocolate croissant. Leva's lemon tart is delightfully tangy, giving your lips a bit of a pucker, but is balanced out with just the right amount of sugar. The cream is velvety smooth and the tart crust is soft and flaky. If you're a citrus fan you definitely have to give the tart a try. Now if you're more of a chocolate lover, the chocolate croissant will do you no wrong. Layers of flaky, buttery croissant dough are wrapped around a stick of semisweet chocolate and baked to a point where the crust has the right crunch and airy texture. It is so, so good.

Great coffee, in-house pastries, a seasonal menu, and the use of local ingredients are just some of the things that make Leva one of the great cafes in Edmonton. With 27 different cafes participating in YEG Coffee Week, I urge you to go check out at least one you've never been to before. And even if you don't like coffee, YEG coffee week is meant to use coffee as a means of connecting with others and building community. Get yourself to a great cafe, meet up with a friend and enjoy your favourite non-coffee beverage!

For more info on YEG Coffee Week, visit the website here.

On Saturday I found some time in my schedule to stop by for the grand opening of Edmonton's newest coffee digs, Iconoclast Koffiehuis. D'Elle Event & Design and Culina Catering partnered up with Iconoclast to host the party and I was excited to see what they had in store.

Iconoclast Koffiehuis - 11807 105 Avenue - Edmonton AB

As we walked into Iconoclast we were greeted with the sight of the grand coffee bar and a flute of champagne. After taking a quick walk around I was quite surprised that they were promoting the space as an event and wedding venue - something I never would have imagined! D'Elle Event & Design put together an elaborate table which proved that the right decor can transform any space into a celebratory environment. Everything about the table was gorgeous and I would absolutely love to host a quaint get together here. Culina Catering did a wonderful job serving up hors d'oeuvres (as always), and I loved the charcuterie table they put together with local cheeses and spreads.

Although coffee wasn't the star of the show that evening, I'll definitely be back to see what a typical day at Iconoclast is like and grab a cup of joe. Perhaps I can convince them to let me play around and roast some coffee beans? We'll see.

A couple weeks back before school got all crazy busy, I had a study break with my friends Teresa & Diane - of course, "studying" was done, but we needed a place to wind down after staring at our laptops and books. We did a little walking around downtown until we stumbled across this quiet little cafe right by Grant MacEwan....

T.H.I.S. (Place) - 10382 105 Street - Edmonton AB

T.H.I.S. = To Be Happy is Simple. How often do we complain about our lives and forget how grateful what we should be to have? Inspired by his mom, this is the philosophy of the owner, Tom, at T.H.I.S. Place.You may not be familiar with Tom in this environment, but if I mention Lan's Asian Grill, his name may ring a bell. Yep! Tom has ventured into the downtown core to open up a cafe featuring coffee, frozen yogurt, ice creams, and... popsicles! Yes! Homemade popsicles.

Being able to sit down and have a conversation with him gave me the opportunity to understand where the concept for the cafe came from. Coming from his roots, which stress the importance of family and food, why add more than is needed? All you need is happiness, family, friends and food to share in. And this philosophy is reflected in all that encompasses T.H.I.S. Place. The decor is simple and clean, and is a great place to sit down and just enjoy everything around you. I wouldn't recommend this as a place for studying (stools don't give you lumbar support!) but I could definitely see myself sitting here for a study break and endulging in a treat or two.. ;)

Keeping with simplicity, the crew at T.H.I.S. Place strives to make a majority of their menu items from scratch with the freshest ingredients. A variety of coffees and drinks like fresh squeezed lemonade and limenade ($3) are available, but what really caught my interest was the housemade all-natural fruit popsicles ($2.75-$3), frozen yougurt, and shaved ice! As I was scheduled for dinner soon, I refrained and tried out the mango coconut popsicle.

What I love is that upon the first taste, I could tell it was freshly made in house. There is always going to be a difference between homemade and manufacturer produced popsicles, and I love knowing that what I'm eating is all-natural and free of preservatives. The popsicle was creamy and contained fruit chunks here and there - I'd love to try more! I know that I'll be back to check out the froyo (love!!) and shaved ice, but Tom gave me a little inside secret - they're in the process of making their own condensed milk. Yum!

Take a break from your busy life and check out this place :)