Local Business Spotlight Chilliwack: Amble Coffee

Amble Coffee went from being a humble food truck to a packed storefront, and the revamped space is bright and inviting with some great drinks and a lively crowd of people. 

The building was exceptionally clean, except from some surfaces left unclean by guests - amplified by the sheer amount of customers within the café. For service, it was quick and smooth to order beverages and baked goods; with my order consisting of a matcha latte with oat milk and vanilla (instead of the honey in the standard drink on the menu) and a chocolate chip cookie. 

Although the food and drink were of high, pleasant quality - the atmosphere of the building was both overwhelming (too small and crowded with people) and underwhelming (muted colours, lack of décor) at the same time. Despite high quality matcha, it is not the best in the city - and there are better coffee places to go to where you get more bang for your buck, with four items being nearly 30 dollars (after tipping) for very small drinks and standard baked goods. The lack of flair that Amble has makes it one of the lower coffee shops of the Chilliwack area, but it manages to be one of the most booming places you can go to; it isn't worth the long wait for very standard quality drinks.

The chocolate chip cookie was what I would consider to be the highlight of the experience - with a great mix of sweet and salty and a crunchy edge with a gooey soft interior, the baking is great. It is without one of the best cookies you can get from a coffee shop in town. 

One of the most unique aspects of the building was the layout, with there being plenty of tables, something rare for a coffee shop. It had adequate space, but the amount of tables meant a lack of standing room was apparent. It was the first business I have seen other than an arcade (or photo studio) that had a photo booth, which I was not able to try out this time.

For the menu itself, there was a slight lack of variety, but the business still has enough options to be interesting; especially for coffee lovers with the different types of coffee. It is less of an overall drink location and more of a coffee-only spot, with a few teas and some fresh pressed orange juice being the main non-coffee options, alongside the bright matcha. 

The matcha had a very deep, bright green colour, with a slightly odd sea-like taste that turned sweet and creamy due to the vanilla syrup the further into the drink I got. It was refreshing being iced, and despite it being a somewhat cold day, a nice iced drink with the bright sun hit the spot very well. 

Overall, the experience at Amble coffee is good - but not entirely great. Out of all of the coffee spots in Chilliwack I have tried, Amble is one of the few I am least likely to come back to, but I would like to try more of their options and see what specials they have to offer in the seasons to come.

RATINGS!

BUILDING: 6.5/10

LOCATION: 7/10

SERVICE: 7.5/10

COOKIE: 8.5/10

MATCHA: 7.2/10

PRICES: 5/10

OVERALL: 7/10