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8 Local Ottawa Coffee Shops with Eco Rewards


As a new snowstorm is upon us, the thought of settling down into a coffee shop for a warm beverage to escape the cold can be comforting.

Over the last few weeks, I have been exploring several coffee places across the city, with a particular interest in their 'bring your own mug/cup' policy (for research, you know). Below is the list of all the places that I found accept customers bringing their own, some of which even provide a discount or incentive for doing so. Not only can you feel good about bringing your own mug instead of using a takeaway for your coffee, but you can be rewarded for your efforts to be more sustainable!

Read on to find out which coffee places recognize consumers that do their part for the environment...

1. Bridgehead
Several locations across Ottawa.
One of the original local coffee shops that serves Fairtrade coffee, they accept any mug (travel or ceramic) and give a $0.27 discount per drink purchase. I love this place because they serve delicious Fairtrade-certified coffee and all of their takeaway cups, cutlery and paper napkins are compostable.

2. Happy GoatSeveral locations across Ottawa.
This local Ottawa coffee shop is making a name for itself in the city, with 2 shops recently opening in the Ottawa South area, on Main St and at Bank St/Hopewell. They offer a $0.25 discount per drink purchase. I don't know about you but I'm anxiously waiting for the day that their stands are set up in the designated LRT stops to make my commute that much more enjoyable...

3. I Deal Coffee
176 Dalhousie St, Ottawa, ON K1N 7C6

They serve Happy Goat coffee - yum - and offer a $0.25 discount per drink purchase. Plus, their scones are to DIE for. I highly recommend the white chocolate raspberry. Their oat milk lattes are also very good. See picture on the left.

4. Thyme & Again
They have 2 locations, on Wellington St W and Carling Ave. They offer $0.25 discount per drink purchase and their millionaire chocolate-covered shortbread bar was out of this world. Also recommend their London fog.
                                                                                                                 
5. Cafè Nero
2690 Alta Vista Drive, Ottawa, Ontario K1V 7T4

A sweet place owned by a friendly couple. They serve organic and fairly-traded coffee, and give you 10% off your purchase when you bring your own cup. I highly recommend trying the caramel macchiato if you like your coffee on the sweet (but not too sweet) side. See picture on the right.

6. Arlington Five
5 Arlington Street Ottawa, Ontario K2P 1C1



In addition to being in a cute a cozy spot with warm rays seeping through their windows on a sunny day, they have a free mug loaner program. If you donate 2 travel mugs you get 1 free coffee. If you donate 1 mug, you get $1 off you purchase. Arguably the best London fog in the city, beautifully decorated and topped with lemon zest! If you have some spare time before catching you bus at the Greyhound station, check this place out! See picture above.

7. Little Victories
801 Bank St. Ottawa, ON K1S 3V7
A small and cozy place in the Glebe that has an amazing swap program where you buy a Husky mug for $25 and bring it back for another coffee in a new clean mug.

8. Morning Owl and Life of Pie
Morning Owl: various locations
Life of Pie: 1134 Bank Street Ottawa, Ontario K1S 3X6

These shops only charge you for a small size if you bring a medium or large size - win! I got a latte with coconut oil at Morning Owl (see picture above). Life of Pie has delicious pecan pie and their blondie was very good too.


After going through this list and if you prefer to go to Starbuck's or Second Cup, you can get $0.10 and $0.20 off your purchase, respectively, when you bring your own mug.

I want to know!
What are you doing to stay warm today? Do you prefer to get cozy at home or to settle into a comfy chair in a coffee shop?

I'd love to hear from you if you know of any other Ottawa coffee shops that reward their customers, either with a discount or the cost of a smaller size coffee, for bringing their own mug? Do Black Squirrel, Blue Bird, Equator, Tim Horton's or any others offer similar incentives? Let me know in the comments below!
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Location: Ottawa, ON, Canada

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