El Cafecito

Cafe: El Cafecito
Address: 3 Westmoreland Ave.
Phone: 416-623-7752
Store Hours: Mon-Fri 8 AM - 5 PM, Sat-Sun 9 AM - 5 PM
Website: N/A

Wi-Fi?: Yes
Study Appropriate?: Yes
Stamp Cards?: Yes

Interior

Menu

Drinks - Soy/Almond/Lactose-Free Options?: Only almond
- Roasted coffee beans from Classic Gourmet and Bona Fide Bean
- Offers iced latte in the summer
- Offers cortado
- 25 cents discount if you bring your own mug/cup

Food - Vegan/Vegetarian/Gluten-Free Options?: Yes to all
- Offers empanadas and sandwiches
- Baked goods from Circles and Squares
- Offers a selection of ice cream, limited in the winter time
- Offers affogato, ice cream with espresso

Single Shot Latte Macchiato, $2.85

Review

Drink of Choice: Double Caffe Latte, $3.80

The first time I was at El Cafecito, I wasn't all too impressed. I remembered a number of dead wasps or flies on the windowsill beside me. Ever since then, I dreaded going back. It was not pleasant being in a cafe that wasn't so clean (chilling with the wasps, does that sound like a good cafe experience to you?).

But second time was the charm when I came in, impressed with how full the cafe was. The previous year I went, there were a lot fewer customers. However, despite being full, the cafe was quiet as people worked away or kept their nose behind the newspaper. And no more bugs on the windowsill! Yayy!

To get in touch with its Latin American roots, El Cafecito offers dancing lessons after the cafe closes down and changes the place into a dance floor. They have tango every Wednesday and salsa every Thursday between 7 PM to 10/11 PM. So if you are looking for something new to try, why not with some fun dance lessons to bring out your inner dancing queen/king? With some coffee on the side of course.

Overall, I think this is a sweet place for people who would like to study or work in peace but still be surrounded by people (does that make sense?). It's one of the reasons why I whole-heartedly love cafes: in order to work with an environment full of people. Despite it being full, for this trip and the one I did after, it was as quiet as the library, except for the light instrumental music in the background.

Balluchon Raymond Inc. - CLOSED

This cafe is no longer in operation. i deal coffee has replaced it.

Title: Balluchon Raymond Inc.
Address: 221 Sorauren Ave.
Phone: 647-889-1279
Store Hours: Mon-Fri 7:30 AM - 5 PM, Sat-Sun 8:30 AM - 5 PM
Website: N/A

Wi-Fi?: Yes
Study Appropriate?: Yes
Stamp Cards?: No

Interior

Menu

Drinks - Soy/Almond/Lactose-Free Options?: Yes to all
- Flax milk available
- Custom roasted fair trade organic Ethiopian coffee beans
- Offers apple cider in the winter
- Discount if you bring your own cup/mug

Food - Vegan/Vegetarian/Gluten-Free Options?: Yes to all
- Offers bagels
- Offers gluten-free brownies and other baked goods
- Offers sandwiches and wraps

Review

Drink of Choice: Large Latte, $4.48

Balluchon Raymond Inc. is located far west in Roncesvalles. When I made my trip, it was a couple of months back when the weather was still freezing and dreary. The trek from the bus stop to the cafe seemed to go on forever in the cold. However, I finally made it to my destination in one piece. The cafe was snuggled deep in a residential neighbourhood with another cafe, Joes (that was also part of the Indie Coffee Passport), down the street.

I was greeted by the owner, Raymond, who was a person full of life and character. He was a roaster by trade and was more than enthusiastic to talk about his cafe when I asked. In fact, he took me to the back to show me a layout of where his second cafe was going to be. It was going to be at Duffy's Farm Gate Market, located in Hepworth (which is north of Toronto with a 3 hour drive for those who have never heard of it), that had indoor and outdoor vendors that offered local produce, coffee and more. However, the current cafe is now under renovation but is still open to the public. For regulars, they would be seeing a transformation as the cafe gets new French windows, a front patio and some reno on the inside.

Raymond emphasized on wanting his customers to "enjoy the moment" when they are at his cafe. He is not a fan of the fast-paced lifestyle that Torontonians tend to have, grabbing their coffee to go or always on their laptops (he offers Wi-Fi, but he prefers that you don't you use it so much or at all!). He is inspired by the European cafes and wants to create that environment for people to be able to sit for hours and relax with a delicious cup of coffee. So if you do go to his cafe, take your coffee in "civilized ceramic" rather than in a to-go cup and stay as long as you can!

The cafe have plenty of gigs that happen every so often. You pay what you can to enjoy some fun and live performances. They have anything from live acoustic music to young professional classical musicians performing. As well, there are always new art up for sale every month with an artist opening. After the reno, the cafe will be having a grand re-opening and will be inviting the neighbourhood to come out, which is later to be announced.

Merchants of Green Coffee

Cafe: Merchants of Green Coffee
Address: 2 Matilda St.
Phone: 416-778-6600
Store Hours: Mon-Fri 8 AM - 6 PM, Sat 9 AM - 6 PM, Sun 10 AM - 6 PM
Website: www.merchantsofgreencoffee.com

Wi-Fi?: Yes
Study Appropriate?: Yes
Stamp Cards?: Yes but a prepaid card

Interior

Menu

Drinks - Soy/Almond/Lactose-Free Options?: Soy and almond
- Offers maple syrup latte during the winter season, made with Forbes Maple Syrup #3
- Coffee beans roasted in-house for drink purchases
- Sells roasted coffee beans from Dark City Coffee 

Food - Vegan/Vegetarian/Gluten-Free Options?: Yes to all
- Offers vegan oatmeal peanut butter banana muffins
- Offers gluten-free macaroons
- Baked goods from Desmond and Beatrice

Cafe Mocha, $4

Review

Drink of Choice: Latte, $3.80

When I first attended Merchants of Green Coffee last year, I wasn't too impressed. The location was seemingly awkward and it felt isolated. At the time, there weren't too many people when I went and with the space, I wasn't too comfortable with it. I simply didn't like the vibe. When I saw the cafe again on this year's Passport, I wasn't too thrilled to make the trip.

Except this year, my perspective completely changed. I tried going there with my boyfriend at first but the place was rented out for some sort of movie shoot. I didn't come back for a couple of weeks. I was then completely thrown off by how busy and bustling it was! Compared to what I remembered, it had so much more energy and liveliness in the cafe. I noticed there were a few board games available for the customers to enjoy. The selection was small but some people really made use of it and had a good time. I was a little puzzled by the Twister they had available because I couldn't see the space and time for it to be played. They also have a cute cafe kitty that likes to nap on the sofa every so now and then.

I was really happy that I was really productive studying at the cafe. Lately it has been a lot more difficult for me to focus in cafes compared to before. However, during this trip and a trip I made afterwards for my second Passport, I managed to plow through my work like a hurricane (maybe I have found the perfect studying cafe?). I also enjoyed the music selection the baristas had on the stereos, for both of the times I was there (I ended up downloading a couple of the played songs!). I think it really sets a cafe when it has good music. The cafe also sells prepaid coffee drink cards, $30 for 10 drinks.

So the lesson learned here is that sometimes, you have to give a cafe another shot, even though the first time may not be the best (unless they have horrendous service!). You may be surprised how much you might like it the second time around!