Year 1 of
The Roadside Attraction Coffee Series
We started the Roadside Attraction series of seasonal coffees in 2022 to celebrate our love for coffee, road trips, and for Canada!
The names and logos of these Limited Edition coffees are inspired by giant sculptures and other quirky and cool attractions that are found across Canada.
Keep checking back here on the Sparkplug Blog - or follow us in your inbox - so you don’t miss our NEXT destination!
Seasonal Coffee Selections
Each coffee in the Roadside Attraction Coffee Series is a limited edition blend (our seasonal selection) made of premium coffees roasted in Toronto and delivered to your coffeemaker.
We’ll fill you in on the specific coffee sources and roast level as they are released. The beans that go into the Roadside Attraction Series may be a single-origin (from one country or even part of a small lot from one farm) or a blend of special beans from a couple places. We don’t plan the specific coffees far ahead as we are always on the lookout for extra special coffees and grab one as soon as we find it, so we can bring it to you!
What makes a coffee extra special?
Good question! For the Roadside Attraction seasonal coffees, we are looking for:
Delicious (of course!)
A chance to try coffees from a different country or region, especially one that we haven’t visited for a long time or ever (Congo, El Salvador, or India!)
Different styles of coffee - honey processed, natural processed or other interesting ways that the coffee has been grown or processed that give it a different taste
One thing is for sure, each one is a limited edition. It's only around for a few weeks so try it out while you can!
Drink up & dream of YOUR next road trip!
Our Travels So Far…
In Season November / December 2022:
Big Nickel & The Sudbury
Our newest blend in the Roadside Attractions Coffee Series celebrates SUDBURY and its BIG NICKEL.
I love this giant roadside attraction! I hope next time I pass through Sudbury, it’ll be when the Science North centre is open. (We usually arrive too late in the day when it is closed). I hear it is a great museum, even if you’re not a hardcore mining buff.
Here are some Big Nickel Fast Facts, from Dynamic Earth / Science North in Sudbury:
The Big Nickel is the LARGEST coin in the world. It was built in 1964 to symbolize the wealth that Sudbury & nickel production contributed to the Canadian economy.
The 1951 5-cent coin was minted to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the isolation and naming of the element Nickel.
On the “heads” side is King George VI, and on the “tails,” a stylized nickel refinery with one large stack. However, it is not the Sudbury superstack!
It is about 64,607,747 times the size of a real Canadian nickel.
Since 1999, the composition of the 5-cent coin has changed to 94.5% steel, 3.5% copper, and only 2% nickel.
Our big nickel coffee, THE SUDBURY, is perfect for winter. It’s a great example of why we love a coffee blend more than a single origin coffee.
This is a medium-dark roast blend of coffees from Southeast Asia with a honey-processed Costa Rican bean.
Each of the coffees in THE SUDBURY contribute something so that the end result is complex with sweet & spicy wintery flavours. Think of cinnamon and figs and molasses. Perfect with gingerbread or fruitcake (if that’s your thing).
In Season September 2022: Davidson Saskatchewan’s Giant Coffee Pot
When we were thinking about which cool Canadian roadside attractions to feature for our coffee series, a couple people mentioned Davidson’s giant coffee pot.
A giant coffee pot? In rural Saskatchewan? And a coffee cup, too!
It was obvious that we had to include this in our celebration of big things next to roads. And now that we’ve learned more about the town and its coffee landmark, I am scheming our next cross country road trip. I need to check this out in person!
Our DAVIDSON coffee is a dreamy, lighter roast, Kenyan & Ethiopian blend.
You may know that I LOVE East African coffees. and this one is a berry, berry delicious blend with notes of blackberry and peach. Brew up a cup, sit back and dream of your next travels!
In Season Summer 2022: Enderby BC’s Giant Push Lawnmower
Our virtual tour of cool Canadian GIANT Roadside Attractions takes us to the World’s Largest Lawnmower in front of the Deep Creek Tool Museum in beautiful Enderby, British Columbia.
This museum showcases an extensive collection of tools, engines, and equipment dating back to the early 1900s… Very cool!
The Giant Lawn Mower is about 15 years old and about 7 metres tall. (That’s around 25 feet - which sounds bigger than 7 m, don’t you think?)
Our coffee THE ENDERBY featured coffee from Chiapas, Mexico, near the border of Guatemala. This sweet, spicy, suave coffee features a whisper of caramel + a hint of vanilla + cinnamon. Perfect for coffee breaks between summer gardening and landscaping chores. (Or the perfect excuse to avoid these chores. )
In Season June / July 2022: THE DRUMHELLER DINO
Medium Roast from Papua New Guinea
T-REX can’t drink coffee with his tiny arms… but YOU can!
Featuring the giant Tyrannosaurus Rex from Drumheller, Alberta, this coffee has an intense, bold jammy flavour. It makes me think a bit of a homemade date square.
In Season May 2022: THE KILDARE celebrating PEI’s Giant Mailbox
COSTA RICAN HONEY PROCESSED COFFEE
A LIGHTER roast coffee with those distinctive syrupy, fruity tastes you get from honey processing.
We think THE KILDARE tastes kinda like coffee with a side of marmalade toast. Classic orange marmalade, not lemon or grapefruit.
The label features a GIANT mailbox that is a great road marker in western PEI in the countryside near Kildare and Tignish.
March 2022: VEGREVILLE Alberta’s Giant Pysanka
This coffee label features a drawing of Joe and I in front of the Vegreville Giant Pysanka (Ukrainian Easter Egg) from a trip to Alberta several years ago.
THE VEGREVILLE was a dark roast coffee featuring a wonderful coffee from the highlands of HONDURAS. We kinda think the flavour is like a bittersweet chocolate caramel - like a Rolo or a caramel-filled Easter egg. (One made from premium quality chocolate, of course!)
In light of the tragic situation in Ukraine, net proceeds from sales of The Vegreville were donated to Doctors Without Borders / MSF Canada.
January 2022: KENORA Ontario’s Huskie the Musky
We started the Roadside Attraction Coffee Series in January 2022 with THE KENORA, a lighter roast, small batch coffee from EL SALVADOR.
The Kenora’s label depicts Huskie the Musky - a giant statue of a muskellunge (a variety of pike) that sits next to the Trans-Canada Highway in Kenora. The drawing has my husband, Joe, next to Huskie the Musky. The real life Huskie is 12m / 40 feet tall and is in McLeod Park at the north end of Lake of the Woods.
Send Us Your Fave Roadside Attractions!
We have shortlisted a number but are open to your suggestions. Send them in and tell us WHY it would be a good pick for the Roadside Attractions Coffee Series! Your suggestion has a much better chance of being selected if you share photos of you with it &/or personal stories of why you love it.
Here are some photos of Canadian Roadside Attractions shared with us by Sparkplug coffee lovers. Will one of these be featured in our Roadside Attraction Coffee Series? Stay tuned to find out!
Don’t miss out on our next seasonal coffee and other coffee news: