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Toronto Life - The Dish

The latest buzz on restaurants, chefs, bars, food shops and food events. Sign up for the Dish newsletter for weekly updates. Send tips to thedish@torontolife.com

Caffeine High

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October 6, 2011 | 12:12 pm

With news of price hikes at Starbucks, we called around to see what indie shops are charging for their coffee

The coffee display at Manic Coffee (Image: Renée Suen from the Torontolife.com Flickr pool)

On Tuesday, the Toronto Star reported that Starbucks had raised its prices for coffee and other beverages across the country by anywhere from 10 to 15 cents for a grande bold (16 ounces). This comes after Tim Hortons raised its prices back in April, which interim CEO Paul House attributed to the increasing cost of coffee thanks to a fungus that destroys coffee plants in Colombia. We decided to survey several local coffee retailers to see how a shift in the market is affecting their business. Check out whose prices went up, whose stayed the same and what innovative measures are being taken to offset costs, after the jump.

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Caffeine High

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September 23, 2011 | 3:29 pm

“Stuff of Canadian legend”: locals and expats react to the new Dubai Tim Hortons

We’re pretty sure that Tim Hortons brass were excited to set up shop in Dubai last weekend, but going by initial reports, that’s nothing compared to the joy of expats who’ve discovered a tiny oasis of Canadiana away from home. Sure, we’re used to getting our fix at any of three locations within spitting distance, but Canadians living in the Middle East have had to live Timbit-free since leaving home. We decided to poke around the Emirati blogosphere to see how locals and blissfully re-caffeinated Canucks have taken the big news.

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Caffeine High

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September 21, 2011 | 3:31 pm

Tim Hortons opens first Dubai shop, begins new era of coffee and doughnut colonialism

(Image: Tim Hortons)

After fulfilling its mission to open three stores for every library in Canada, this weekend Tim Hortons went ahead and set up shop in Dubai. According to a story in The National, Canadian expats swarmed the “Tim Hortons Café and Bake Shop” on opening day, rejoicing that the coffee and doughnuts taste exactly the same—which is not surprising, coming from the company with the infamous finely tuned par-bake then freeze process. The Dubai location has the same menu we’re used to—sadly no fun McArabia Kofta equivalent—and the staff has been fully educated on what that whole “double double” thing means.

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Caffeine High

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August 24, 2011 | 12:40 pm
Sam James to celebrate his coffee bar’s second anniversary this Sunday with free lattes for all 

Toronto espresso hero Sam James is celebrating his tiny Harbord Street coffee bar’s second anniversary this Sunday, when he’ll be dispensing free lattes and other drinks to all comers (if it’s anything like last year’s celebration, expect a line). Over at Post City, Jon Sufrin has written a coffee geek’s guide to what makes the place special. Some of it is standard issue bean-nerdery: James is picky about his portafilters and he treats his tap water before using it in his espresso machines. But some of it is definitely next-level: apparently he’s been taking sommelier training courses to help “realize my potential for tasting coffee.” That’s dedication. Read the whole story [Post City] »

Caffeine High

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February 4, 2011 | 4:29 pm

Why you should choose the medium roast (hint: it’s good for you)

Probably too dark to be healthy (Image: Nate Steiner)

Good news for over-caffeinated java junkies: a new study out of UBC has found that roasting coffee beans helps create stable antioxidants, the latest fad compound believed to help protect human cells from damage and premature aging. The research provides long-sought answers as to why roasting produces creates such potent antioxidants, and even suggests which roasts are best for a maximum dose. After the jump, four interesting things we learned from the study.

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Caffeine High

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January 19, 2011 | 10:47 am

Starbucks announces new supersized drink; stomachs shudder

A puny grande

The Internet was aflutter a couple days ago on the announcement that, starting yesterday, U.S. Starbucks customers will be able to order the 31-ounce (917 mL) Trenta, an enormous drink that makes Starbucks’ current largest size, the Venti, feel puny. The Trenta is so big it’s almost Big Gulp–sized: it is a whole seven ounces, or 207 mL, larger and costs 50 cents more than the Venti, but is exclusively for iced coffee, iced tea and lemonade.

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Caffeine High

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January 17, 2011 | 11:23 am

The rise of the indie coffee mini-empire

Dark Horse's new Queen and Euclid location keeps it real (Image: Jon Sufrin)

For Toronto coffee lovers, 2011 started in much the same way that 2010 finished: with further proof that the indie coffee craze shows no signs of slowing down. A third incarnation of Dark Horse opened at Queen and Euclid on January 2nd, joining Lit and Crema B Espresso as burgeoning mini-empires, with three locations each (a third Crema location is in the works). All of this, of course, raises the question: with indie cafés thriving due to their personal touch and attention to quality, will expansion mean selling out?

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Caffeine High

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January 11, 2011 | 10:20 am

Foam craft: seven baristas show us their best latte art

Mercury’s co-owner Matthew Taylor pours a fire-breathing dragon in a cup (Image: Jon Sufrin)

Ten years ago, latte art was virtually unheard of in Toronto. Today, finding a rosetta, heart or tulip swirled into a latte is as common as, well, an indie coffee shop on Queen West or College. While latte art is essentially just a garnish, it’s also telling of a barista’s competence. As Bulldog’s Stuart Ross—who helped bring the craft to the city—notes, it just won’t work unless the espresso and the milk are done right. And as the city’s coffee scene broadens, so does the complexity of coffee presentation. We hit the streets to find some of the more unusual, intricate and interesting examples of this culinary art. Click here to start the show »

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Caffeine High

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December 17, 2010 | 11:50 am

David’s Tea comes closer to world domination, but can it survive in the coffee-loving Annex?

The Annex loves its coffee (Image: John Vetterli)

Last weekend, a new David’s Tea location opened in the old Alex Cuts space along the Annex’s busy Bloor Street strip ($20 haircut lovers can breathe easy; Alex just moved a couple blocks away). After witnessing the recent closing of two tea shops on the two-block stretch from Brunswick to Albany, we can’t help but wonder: does David’s Tea have what it takes to avoid suffering the same fate as the late T-Café and All Things Tea?

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Caffeine High

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December 7, 2010 | 1:01 pm

Introducing: Sense Appeal, a cafe with a “director of coffee extraction”

This is the first cafe for the Nobleton-based roaster (Image: Jon Sufrin)

With an undeniable indie cafe explosion taking place, it’s only a matter of time before Toronto’s coffee scene enters the realm of molecular gastronomy. With Sense Appeal Coffee Roasters, which opened near the corner of Spadina and Adelaide last month, we’re getting closer. Head barista Sameer Mohamed, for example, only half-jokingly refers to himself as “the director of coffee extraction.” He argues that coffee is more complex than wine, but far less explored. “There are 1,000 volatile compounds in coffee that contribute to aroma and taste,” he says. “We have the capacity to manipulate 33 of those. With wine, there’s 200 compounds, and you can manipulate 15.” We’ll take his word for it.

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Caffeine High

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December 2, 2010 | 4:47 pm

Starbucks’ Toronto recycling pilot program a success

(Image: Quinn Dumbrowski)

Starbucks has finally proven that its paper cups are recyclable. Turns out that most paper drinking receptacles from Starbucks end up in the garbage—recyclers usually don’t accept them. The coffee behemoth wanted to demonstrate that recycling its paper cups is feasible, so it looked to the GTA, of all places, where it collected 6,000 pounds of used paper cups and sent them to a pulp mill in Mississippi as part of a six-week pilot project. We always knew Torontonian latte sippers were good for something.

Apparently, the project was a success. Old paper cups were turned into new ones without any special kind of wizardry, although the Mississippi paper mill that successfully recycled them is the only mill in the U.S. that produces recycled paper fibre that’s sufficiently high quality to be used for eating and drinking purposes.  The whole thing was part of Starbucks’ latest commitment to ensure that 100 per cent of its cups are reusable or recyclable by 2015. Still, it seems to us this whole thing should have been looked into a while ago. Like 1991, maybe.

• Where Does That Starbucks Cup Go? [New York Times]
• Starbucks and International Paper Demonstrate Viability of Recycling Used Cups into New Cups [Businesswire]

Caffeine High

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November 23, 2010 | 12:29 pm

Finally, Tim Hortons gets debit terminals

We’re pretty sure this is all the fault of latte-sipping downtown elites. First Starbucks announced that it was going to make people wait longer for take more care with people’s drinks, regrettably leading to longer waits (FYI: the Starbucks at King and Yonge has apocalyptically bad lineups in the morning rush). And now even that bastion of rapidity, Tim Hortons, is caving to the demands of people who want to take longer to pay. The ubiquitous doughnut chain is about to break its Mastercard-only rule and let customers pay with debit cards.

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Caffeine High

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October 14, 2010 | 11:51 am

Phase two of Starbucks’ world domination plan: get baristas to slow down their beverage-making

Starbucking the trend: a location of the famed chain at College and Dovercourt

Mark our words: this will not end well.

According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, Starbucks has instructed its baristas to slow down their latte-slinging in order to ensure better drink quality. That’s a noble goal, but anyone who’s watched the espresso bar at a Yorkville Starbucks on a Saturday morning could be forgiven for thinking these reforms aren’t likely to last long.

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Caffeine High

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September 8, 2010 | 11:46 am

Toronto’s 13 new cafés: board games, Bohème and a resurrected waffle house

(Image: one2c900d)

These days, the arrival of a new indie café on Queen West or in Leslieville is about as novel as a Gap opening in a mall, which is why we’re pleased to inform readers that the newest coffee houses in town aren’t located in hipster hubs. Since our last café census in March, we count a total of 13 new spots for Hogtown’s java lovers.

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Caffeine High

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August 27, 2010 | 8:50 am

The best way to get cheap coffee at Manic, I Deal, Crema and more

Lattes taste sweeter when they're free and with a cookie (Image: Georgette via the Toronto Life Flickr pool)

While the reasons to avoid corporate coffee shops are abundantly clear to any aficionado, there is now a new enticement to explore Toronto’s coffee scene: the Indie Coffee Passport. For $20, the passport allows the bearer to indulge in one free coffee or tea (up to $5 on the menu) at 24 indie coffee shops throughout the city. For the mathematically disinclined, that’s $120 worth of coffee or tea for $20, plus a little legwork to traverse the city. The passport can be purchased on-line here or at some of the participating coffee shops. While some big names are conspicuously absent from the list (Sam James, Dark Horse and Lit, to name a few), the choices should allow for some interesting experimentation. Participating locations, after the jump.

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