Cafe Culture

• The first coffee house in Toronto—aptly named Toronto Coffee House, which served alcohol alongside the dark brew—was founded in 1801 near the St. Lawrence Market by British immigrant William Copper.
• Even though the first espresso machine was patented by Angelo Moriondo in 1884 in the Italian city of Turin, the version we use today was made in Milan at the turn of the twentieth century by liquor-makers Luigi Bezzera and Desiderio Pavoni.
• From 2008 to the present day, the number of daily espresso and espresso-based coffee drinkers in North America has tripled.

THOR ESPRESSO BAR, nestled in the Zed Loft Minto apartment building at the southern end of Bathurst St., is at the very top of the top list of new Toronto cafés. It is said that there is something magical in their coffee and in their cappuccino made in their $16,000 Slayer espresso machine; the only one in Toronto. They get their coffee from a quality local roaster, Pilot Coffee Roasters, who also have their own espresso bars. The name of this little café bar with good coffee and a dominant mural of the Norse god Thor is the popular Danish expression hygge, which does not have a direct translation in any other language, but which can be equated to “better than comfortable” or “just right.”

[Thor Espresso Bar, photo: mintogroup.com] 

ESPRESSO is made in an espresso machine, whereby hot water at 88-93°C is poured over 7g of ground coffee spread over a 5cm diameter at more than 9 bars of pressure. It takes around 40 coffee beans to make one espresso, which yields approximately 25ml and contains two thirds of the caffeine in a cup of regular coffee.  

“A good espresso is the result of good chemistry.” – illy Coffee

ESPRESSO COFFEE is made of finely ground, dark roast coffee; a mix of two beans called Arabica and Robusta. Robusta is known for its strength and earthy taste, and acts as filler for Arabica, which has a fuller, sweeter, and fruitier taste. Even though it is more difficult to cultivate and has a smaller yield, Arabica dominates around 80% of global production. Its taste depends on its region of origin, so a good espresso uses a mix of this bean from various regions. The magic mix of beans that Italians use most often for espresso is called miscela.  

[Photo: muldoonscoffee.wordpress.com]

JIMMY’S COFFEE, a unique café on King St. with good coffee and chatty baristas, quickly became successful and opened locations on Gerrard, Baldwin, Queen West, Ossington, and McCaul within only a few years. Jimmy’s offers excellent espresso and espresso varieties, as well as good filter coffee, ciders, and delicious baked good from OMG Baked Goodness bakery, known for its vegan cupcakes, garlic focaccia, and various gluten-free pastries.

[Jimmy’s Coffee in Kensington Market, photo: blogto.com]

ZAZA ESPRESSO BAR, one of Toronto’s cult coffee spots that has been described in many international travel guides, opened its attractive Yorkville doors in 2009. At the beginning, it served only illy coffee, but now its special southern Italian-style Zaza espresso mix is made in Italy exclusively for these cafés. You can enjoy a Zaza espresso and Nutella biscotti at their other locations in Bloor West Village, St. Clair, Yonge and Eglinton, and King St. West. In the summer, Zaza also serves gelato. The owners of this chain of cafés are proud of their contribution to the development of la cultura del caffè in modern Toronto.

[Zaza Espresso Bar logo, photo: blogto.com]

[illy cappuccino, photo: illy.com]

[Espresso bar for rent, photo: pilotcoffeeroasters.com]

CIVET CAT AND BLACK IVORY COFFEES are still not available in Toronto, despite the hoards of eager coffee connoisseurs. The Doi Chaang Coffee Company in Vancouver distributes the famous and expensive Thai civet coffee: coffee cherries fermented in the stomachs of civet cats and collected 24 hours later from their waste. A small pack of cleaned and roasted beans is available for $55 on their website, or in larger packs on costco.ca. An even more expensive kind, Black Ivory coffee—fermented and excreted by Thai elephants—because of its exclusivity and small production volume, can only be enjoyed in around 20 exclusive hotels in Thailand, Malaysia, and the Maldives, and purchased on the Internet through websites like theelephantstory.com.  

KOFFEA ESPRESSO BAR enriched the café culture of Bloor West Village and Toronto this summer. The new café offers exquisite espressos and cappuccinos, a pleasant ambiance in plentiful natural light, comfy benches, a patio, paninis, ice cream, flaky home-style sour cherry pita, and sweet treats from Sweet Gallery pastry shop. If you have any further questions regarding coffee or à la carte service, do not hesitate to approach the cordial and charming hosts and owners, Nikola and Dragan, who often assist the baristas in the café.

[Koffea Espresso Bar, photo: facebook.com]