I have been getting my coffee from Raymond at Art Brulant, my local artisan coffee roaster in Shawville, Quebec for some time now. If I run out while in Ottawa I occasionally buy a pound from Bridgehead, the roaster in Ottawa. Raymond’s coffee is preferable because he does his own blends and takes the time to explain about coffee. It’s personal.
Trish and I recently went on a three-day trip to Barrie and Parry Sound. Our route took us below Algonquin Park through Bancroft just for the scenery. It wasn’t part of the planning to consider food or coffee but in this day you would think a decent cup of coffee is not too much to expect. Well apparently it is. Lunch and coffee in Griffin was a mistake. Our first night was in a hotel in Barrie with dinner at a high-end (read high-priced) steak house with passable food at an inflated price – someone has to pay for the expensive decor. Coffee and sandwich in a local indi coffee shop was ok but we both noted it wasn’t Raymond’s coffee.
Second night in Parry Sound – arriving in a snow storm that dumped a foot of snow in a very short time – and a stay at a delightful B&B. Dinner was a short walk to an excellent meal at a bistro. Didn’t do coffee as it was too late in the day. Great breakfast at the B&B but we both noted again that it wasn’t Raymond’s coffee.
We took the Huntsville, Algonquin Park and Renfrew route back home and stopped at the farm to get Raymond’s coffee from our supply. At last. Arriving back in Ottawa late at night we just tossed the trip garbage into the bin and unpacked things before going to bed for a well deserved sleep.
With the noise of the city I was awake at 3:30 and decided to relax, read a bit and then went to prepare the coffee for the usual morning espresso. I then realized that we had forgotten the coffee at the farm. Getting back into bed I mentioned to Trish that we had forgotten Raymond’s coffee at the farm and had no coffee at all for the morning. She insisted we did not forget it. It was in a bag very similar to the bags that we carried the garbage in.
Oh oh. I had tossed the coffee in the dumpster! It was 4:30 in the morning but we quickly realized that, as we were late getting home, there was probably not much garbage on top of what we had put in a few hours before. We retrieved the coffee after only a few minutes.
Ah, Raymond’s coffee. Worth dumpster Diving For. A new advertising slogan Raymond?
M
Beaux Arbres
(I must admit, shamelessly, that when Trish and Michael shared their story with me I asked them to get it to me so I could post here! – Raymond)
artbrulant 
HILARIOUS! Wonderful story, well done!
K>