Saturday, November 13, 2010

5: Manic Coffee

  Manic Coffee 
Address: 426 College Street
Neighbourhood: College/Bathurst
tel: (416) 966-3888


Popping up in 2007, at the beginnings of the Third Wave of great independent cafes, they found their niche on College street.. Sparking this was the consistency that Manic Coffee brought to the neighbourhood. During the early years they only served espresso and espresso based drinks, with tea as variety. They later expanded their line (or caved to demands) to include the Cover Machine and brewed coffee.

If you've never experienced the Cover Machine you definitely need to try out this amazing technology. (in a future post). They are also one of the most prominent cafes to serve Chicago's very own Intelligenstia Black Cat Espresso. They've done right by the Black Cat, but sometimes mix it up with newcomers Social Coffee and Tea Company - who's created their own blend for Matt and the gang.

Most of the barista are quite passionate about proper espresso offerings and can suggest drinks that you might like if you are wavering. This is a plus in their books.

Often at times I'm the only non-Apple laptop user, surrounded by many macbooks, or macbook pros... it's a little scary for me. Yet it's still filled with stereotypical young creative people writing, typing, reading and just enjoy the cafe. The ambiance is conducive to productive office sessions, and the cafe buzz normally drowns out any conversation. The high ceilings with exposed vents, spot lighting, and amazing smells from the back kitchen, make you want to linger about and just appreciate the coffee culture.



 Machine: La Marzocco Linea
Doser: Mazzer
Turnover: Heavy Traffic
Beans: Intelligenstia Black Cat Espresso; 
Social Coffee (alternating)
Music:indie hip - but really depends on the barista
Indie Coffee Passport: YES
Disloyalty Card: YES


 Verdict: Here's my bias: I enjoy Black Cat Espresso - smooth body and balanced acidity/citrus that has that much wanted crema for a syrupy sweet taste. I look forward to this drink when I venture into one of my staples. Yet, when they mix it up and place Social on the doser, I can instantly taste the difference. This is why one of my favourite cafes/ mobile office only breaks the top 5.
(Even their Berry muffins can not convince me to increase their rankings.)
You will often find me in here working on my projects.

7 comments:

  1. There was one just the other day which talked about how the "powerful" chips in some third-rate delonghi esam3300 parts video console were helping scientists carry out hard research. This piece of news coincided with the relaunch of a competing machine. And thus the churnalism of technology pulls the wool over our eyes.

    ReplyDelete
  2. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I enjoy Black Cat Espresso - smooth body and balanced acidity/citrus that has that much wanted crema for a syrupy sweet taste.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I used to visit that there, that so nice place with great coffee!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I enjoy Black Cat Espresso - smooth body and balanced acidity/citrus that has that much wanted crema for a syrupy sweet taste.
    CozyBeddingSets

    ReplyDelete
  6. I used to visit that there, that so nice place with great coffee!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I used to visit that there, that so nice place with great coffee!

    ReplyDelete