And The Best Island Coffee Shop Award goes to...

Hi everyone!

Happy Thursday.  I love going to a local, character-filled coffee shop or cafe anywhere I am.  I'll admit that I hit up Starbucks, but I honestly am not a fan of their coffee.  I love the local places, and where they use Fair Trade or organic or shade-grown coffee, or local ingredients if they offer food - even better.  Below I'd like to share my top 3 picks for cafes here on the islands.

There are lots of pictures, so remember that you can click on the picture to get a clearer image.

I have to add this because I just realized it and smiled widely - I am writing this post as I sit at a non-local, non-character-filled Dunkin Donuts of Aruba.  Haha.  Here come the local places...

ROCK ISLAND - BERMUDA

You can't get much more local than this place.  Rock Island is a local coffee shop in Hamilton, the main city on the island of Bermuda.

It's the only place in all of Bermuda that roasts its own coffee.  It's located in an old machine shop on Reid Street in Hamilton and is basically a few different rooms from a few past small business combined into one coffee shop.  The floors are old wood, the walls are covered in local artists' works, and my favorite aspect of the inside is that none of the tables or chairs match.

I can't sit at Rock Island over the lunch hour because they do not have any food besides pastries, but the coffee and the atmosphere are well-worth it.  Also, this picture doesn't do it justice, but you can see the sound (a sound would be like a bay) out the window, as the building is situated on a hill.  Bermuda is shaped like a fish hook, so if you look closely you can see the sound/bay out the window with part of the island behind it (and then the open ocean would be behind that):

Thanks, Rock Island, for the almond milk lattes and warm, local atmosphere.  Website: http://www.rockisland.bm/.


TOP CARROT - ST. MAARTEN

The French lady who owns Top Carrot knows me as the tool girl who rarely has cash and racks up a bill throughout the day to then pay the total with a credit card at 5 p.m. when they close.  This local 'cafe' is more like a healthy restaurant that also serves coffee.

They are known for their juices, their hummus, and their Bulgarian yogurt.  The French lady who owns Top Carrot is married to a man from Bulgaria who makes the yogurt using the Bulgarian active cultures that you should find in real, authentic Bulgarian yogurt.

They have an industrial juicer, and I usually order the Carrot/Beet/Ginger juice, the Pineapple Cooler (pineapple and fresh mint leaves), or the Locomotion (peanut butter and banana).  They have great "toasts," which are whole wheat baguettes cut open and toasted with whole foods like avocado, roasted peppers, feta cheese, and olive oil drizzled over the top.  Another one of my favorites at Top Carrot is the Mediterranean Platter (grape leaves, feta cheese, hummus, pita bread, roasted red peppers, tabouli salad).

Top Carrot also has cute artisan jewelry.  Something I've discovered on the islands and LOVE is a tea called Bush Tea.  No, it's not Red Bush Tea that has shown in recent studies to contain potentially toxic ingredients from the 'bush;' but rather, this bush tea contains hot water with honey, mint leaves, and real lemongrass.  So delicious and real!



JESSIE'S JUICE BAR - GRAND CAYMAN

And my favorite coffee shop on the islands award goes to - Jessie's Juice Bar!

This is hands-down my favorite cafe/coffee shop of the islands.  They have great coffee (Panther Coffee, roasted in Miami), but what I really love about them is their food, their juices and their smoothies.  The owners are wife and husband Jessie and Lachie, from Australia and New Zealand, respectively.  Jessie was raised on a farm in the Australian countryside, and she knows and embraces real food with real ingredients.  The menu is written with chalk on the wall.  It's a colorful and vibrant place with a welcoming atmosphere and real, wonderfully-healthy food.

I usually order the Americano (espresso with hot water), and then for breakfast it's the homemade muesli parfait with yogurt and fruit or a All-Day Breakfast smoothie (homemade granola, banana, almond milk), and then for lunch it's my favorite juice - the Green Alkalizer (some watermelon and then all greens - spinach, kale, cucumber, spirulina, celery) along with one of the awesome Salads in a Jar.  Jessie's Juice Bar also focuses on reducing consumables, so for all of the business people in the area who stop in for lunch, they put the salads in tall Mason jars so that the customers can take the salads to their offices and put them on a plate to eat, and then they return the Mason jars the next time.  Here is a picture of the Salad in a Jar menu:

I love them all, but here is a picture of the first one on that list.  Then if you wish, you can add toppings like shaved almonds or feta cheese.  Just look at the color in this wonderfully-tasty and extremely-healthy food!

Jessie tries to use as many local ingredients as possible, but it's difficult being on an island.  She uses local coconut water, mango, avocado, and a few other fruits and veggies.  Here is Jessie herself:

And here is her husband, Lachie, who you will usually find by the espresso machine making your delicious morning cup:

It gets expensive to eat real food, as you may know, so this place is not the least-expensive, but it is well worth what you pay for what you get - real food with real ingredients, cleansing juices, refreshing smoothies, and a friendly local atmosphere.  I think that many of us need to learn that if we have the means to afford to eat well - real, clean, healthy foods without tons of extra ingredients, that we should spend the money.  Our bodies are going to thank us in the long-term.  I also can't forget about the beet/banana/raw chocolate muffins and also the reliable WiFi for us business travelers.  I'm grateful that Milwaukee Tool pays for so many of my meals here.

Here's a picture in 2013 of my friend, Karen, and me at Jessie's. Karen came along to Grand Cayman for a long weekend last year.  I sold tools on Friday and Saturday while she hung out at the beach, and then on Sunday we beached it up together with a lunch break at Jessie's:

The only change I would make is this: once their repair man walked in to fix something, and he had a Makita drill in his hands.  I need to convert that guy sooner than later...

Thanks for reading, and be sure to check these places out if you ever find yourself in Bermuda, St. Maarten, or Grand Cayman.  Here's an island latte - have a good weekend everybody!

-Anna Banana