By Nadine Moedt (The Cascade) – Email
Print Edition: September 17, 2014
Coffee shops can be home to a variety of diversions, from work to pleasure, and the atmosphere of a coffee shop can be just as important as the quality of the drinks. Here’s a guide to navigating both the coffee and the ambience of Abbotsford’s cafes.
For chatting with friends: Duft and Co.
Hours: Monday to Saturday
9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Big tables and a bright, cheery atmosphere make Duft and Co. the perfect place for a morning catch-up with friends. The service is friendly and talkative, and the butter croissants are a must-have. Its busy downtown location allows for some good people-watching, so grab a table by the window. While Duft and Co. doesn’t serve drip coffee, its specialty coffee drinks are fantastic. There are daily specials from the bakery; try the real butter croissants or the giant glazed cinnamon buns — they offer a gluten-free version for those with dietary restrictions.
For studying: Wired Monk (McCallum location)
Hours: Monday to Friday
6:30 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Saturday 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Sunday 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
The Wired Monk’s convenient proximity to UFV makes for a pleasant change of scenery when you’re writing that paper that’s due tomorrow or cramming for whatever exam you’ve managed to ignore for as long as you could. A newly installed laptop bar offers a wealth of outlets to keep your laptop going for hours and the Wi-Fi is dependably fast. A large selection of Mighty Leaf teas, coffee that’s better than Starbucks or Timmy’s, and an all-day breakfast menu will keep you focused and (hopefully) productive.
For a work meeting: Legal Grounds
Hours: Monday
7 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Tuesday to Friday
7 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Saturday, Sunday
9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Legal Grounds is more than just a punny name. The coffee and light lunch place is one of the only in town that offers a private room for meetings outside of the workplace. Legal Grounds is very community-based; local artists are displayed on the walls, and community organizations and clubs meet at this friendly downtown location on the regular.
For taking your date: Cannor Nursery’s Tamaringo’s Cafe
Hours: Monday to Sunday
9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
This flowery-scented cafe adjoins a garden shop and nursery. Plenty of comfortable seating and a generally quiet atmosphere will give you and your date privacy to stare dreamily into each other’s eyes. After having coffee, gelato (I recommend the Baileys flavour), lunch, or a baked treat, you can walk through the greenhouse, admiring the flowers in bloom and the kitschy garden gnomes at your leisure.
Treat yo’self: Afterthoughts
Hours: Monday to Saturday
8 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Afterthoughts has no outlets or Wi-Fi, gets a little too noisy for getting any work done and has mediocre coffee. These flaws are made up for a hundredfold by the decadent made-in-store cheesecake and pies. Seventy velvety flavours rotate through daily, including everything from seasonal pumpkin to every kind of chocolate bar you’ve ever dreamt of becoming a cheesecake. Not a cheesecake fan? If you don’t become one after trying an Afterthoughts cheesecake, try the incredibly rich almond Copenhagen, or a flaky pie pocket topped with whipped cream. Whatever your fancy, Afterthoughts has got your back. Treat yo’self.
