Turned out that most of Sandy Hill showed up for this CD release party as the T.A.N. was packed with locals. Good thing we got there early, otherwise we would have been relegated to the back of the place standing and squinting to see the musicians perform.
After a great dinner and conversation, it was nice to walk over to the café for coffee, a little conversation and some local music.
When we arrived the musicians were just setting up. So we found a table, ordered our drinks and sat down.
The Order: 1 Medium Roast Black Coffee, 1 Hot Chocolate and 1 Medium Roast Coffee with Cream.
The black coffee was perfect as apparently T.A.N. supposedly roasts their own fair trade coffee on site. But there has been some speculation that this may not be the case as the coffee roasting machine present doesn't seem to have any evidence of use. The coffee though is superb tasting and way better than you would find at any national chains. It is right up there taste wise with Bridgehead, the local Ottawa coffee chain that also roasts it's coffee in the Ottawa area.
The hot chocolate temperature wise wasn't that warm. Sure it was slightly better than lukewarm, but should have been piping hot when served just like when you were a kid being served by your mother.
The music started slowly as apparently the drummer had car issues on the way in Highway 417. So the pianist started on his keyboard allowing the sound person to adjust the sound levels somewhat. The rest of the band, with the exception of the drummer, soon followed to play a couple of pieces from their albumn. Of course apologies were issued from the band about the problem of no drummer. Nobody in the crowd seemed to care of the lack of drums at the beginning as they enjoyed a full coffee shop with camaraderie and good jazz music.
Eventually, the drummer rolled in that provided an opportunity not only for the drummer to set himself up, but for more drinks to be poured and legs to be stretched. More music eventually continued.
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| Rimbombante playing at T.A.N. Coffee Cafe |
The drums only enhanced the already good music along with the stand up base, saxophone, guitar and hand drums.
Overall, T.A.N. Coffee Cafe was an excellent local spot to enjoy a cup of coffee. Many University of Ottawa students use the cafe during the day to grab a cup of java and study. Hidden in the local neighbourhood, off the beaten path, T.A.N. Cafe is like a local coffee spot to meet the locals. With the hopefully continued support of local artisans and musicians like Rimbombante, this cafe will continue to thrive.
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