Cochrane Coffee Traders Ltd — Restaurant in Town of Cochrane

Extremely rude barista working Sept 9, 2025 at 11am (blonde hair, no glasses). I was the only person in line when I arrived. After 10 mins of waiting in the hallway at the counter for pick ups, the barista said "latte" and put one on the counter.

I assumed it was mine; no one was standing near me. I drank it and it tasted weird. I asked her if it had caramel in it or something odd and she said "it's an oat latte and it's not yours". I asked her why she'd put it on the counter calling it a latte knowing I ordered a latte and hand it in my direction if she knew it wasn't mine. I'm also curious as to why she chose to just simply say "that's an oat latte" or "that's not yours yours is behind several other orders (apparently - even though I was the only person in line when I came in)".

She then became even more rude saying loudly "well now I'm going to have to remake this" and rolled her eyes at me. I figured it was safe to assume that when you've been waiting over 10 mins for a coffee and a barista hands one in your direction saying "latte" it's safe to assume it's yours, but apparently not at this coffee shop.

I told her to raise her voice and pronounce the word "oat" in oat latte next time she was putting out drinks, especially when the people who ordered them aren't even present at the counter. This barista has zero self awareness. She wasn't even apologetic; instead she became hostile toward me and rude because she cannot clearly enunciate a full description of the coffee she's serving to customers.

She became even more rude and started death staring at me then death staring at her coworker smirking (blonde hair with glasses). This was so unnecessary and made things quite hostile. Her lack of self awareness and choice to double down and introduce hostility to a customer simply ordering coffee (and patiently waiting 10+ mins) is why I'm writing this review. This barista has a very short fuse and is lacking in self awareness. If I were a business owner with an employee who was acting like that with customers, she'd be escorted out the front door and looking for a new job with no interaction...

My favourite coffee shop this side of the Rockies.

Ambiance is Coffee Traders best feature. It's built like a log cabin and it doesn't disappoint when you enter through its heavy wooden front door. They have a wood burning fire that warms the place all winter long. Lots of seating, but unfortunately no lounge chairs or couches. They updated the furniture upstairs so now there is some booth seating.

Their baked goods are my FAVORITE; if you want a treat for the road or want to catch up with a friend, this is a great place. Their coffee is good, with lots of variety for specialty drinks and plenty of milk alternatives. It's certainly not the best coffee I've ever had, but I've never been displeased.

In recent years, they have been branching into breakfast/lunch types of food. First, I am happy that they have added this to their repertoire, it makes Coffee Traders an excellent spot for meeting/catching up with people. However, quality - in my experience - has been hit and miss. We had Mac and cheese a while ago and it was bland and tasteless, I've had their vegan/veggie wrap and it is well priced, tasty and filling. Their cooler is typically filled with a smorgasbord of options I haven't seen before, so I get the feeling the menu is rotating without any rhyme or reason. I REALLY wish they would narrow the menu and focus on nailing a handful of items. I think wraps and salads would be an excellent place to start (3 options of each + a few breakfast specific wraps). People will pay for quality. You want to charge me $16 for a salad I know will be excellent? I'm game. Their options are presently much less expensive than this, but I am hesitant to buy anything. I've had great experiences with their food, but unfortunately I can't wholesale recommend what they serve (except their baking!!!!)

That aside, I really like Coffee Traders, I think they are a wonderful local business and are an important part of...

Incredibly slow and rude service. There where 2 girls working behind the counter and we had maybe 4 people ahead of us in line and we still had to wait almost an hour to get up to till. Watching the staff work was excruciating as they cleaned the same areas or cups over and over again instead of moving the line along and completing orders. It wasn't as if the customers in front of us where ordering a ton of food they only ordered a coffee and maybe a muffin or cookie that was already premade from the showcase. When we finally got to the front of the line the staff didn't even greet us or say anything to acknowledge that they see us and will be with us in a few moments. Instead we where waiting there in silence for another 10 mins before someone finally asked what we would like. After buying about $100 of coffee they told us they will get in from the back and bring it right out, this took another 15 minutes before someone finally went to the back and came out with our coffee. They get 2 stars only because the coffee itself is really delicious. It's too bad as the location is beautiful, the smells inside are great but with the lack of of friendly and efficient customer service it just ruins the experience...